Valentine's Day is slowly sneaking up, and many couples are looking for new ways to celebrate, opting to ditch the traditional dinner for two and exchanging of chocolate boxes. It got us at coBlossom thinking about some less conventional date ideas, so we decided to source some novel activities from the team.
Valentine's Day is a day where couples really focus on celebrating their relationships, reflect on past milestones, and think about future relationship growth. As such, you should take the opportunity to change things up to create some excitement. Justin Garcia, executive director of the Kinsey Institute, says about Valentine's Day, "Our research shows that mood setting and novelty is good for maintaining passion in a relationship, especially for long-term couples." (Source) He even goes on to suggest that partners should use this time to consider creating a new tradition. While we'd be flattered if you made some of our date ideas recurring traditions, we hope that you'll at least be inspired to try some of the following Valentine's Day ideas this year.
1. Dress Up, Decorate, And Cook In Your Favorite Decade
For those who haven't had enough of the inside of their own homes yet, this date will get your creative juices flowing. Once you finish debating which decade was the best (personal fan of the 80s), you can pick out some outfits (hello scrunchies and ripped jeans), decor (neon for days), and foods that fit the era (ummm, Sloppy Joe's and Chicken Pot Pie??).
2. Learn A New Activity Together
Why not use a day dedicated to your relationship to learn something new together? Whether that's trying out a cooking class, taking a dance lesson, or learning how to ice skate, learning something new from scratch is bound to bring you closer together. And given you will both be new to this, there are bound to be some mishaps in the kitchen (for those in cooking classes) or some falls on the ice (for skaters) that will lead to some laughs and fun memories.
3. Volunteer Somewhere Together
Valentine's Day can also be a day where you and your partner give your love to those who may need it even more than you do. Find a nonprofit or volunteering opportunity in your neighborhood with a cause that both of you are passionate about, and spend some time spreading your love to others. Research shows that people who volunteer report better health and greater happiness than people who do not.
4. Take A Nearby Mini-Vacation
Live in the city and want to get a small escape, or have a nearby town that you've been dying to visit? Find an Airbnb or hotel and do a mini-vacation for the night (or two). You can explore the town together, do some window shopping, star gaze at night, or just stay cuddled up in the Airbnb all weekend long.
5. Swap Out The Material Gift And Get Crafty
Rather than exchanging material gifts that you purchase from a department store, try making each other a gift instead. Research shows that it's the thought that counts when it comes to gift giving, and nothing is more thoughtful than putting the effort and energy into creating a gift for your partner.
Bonus Idea: Download coBlossom And Have Fun While Building Your Connection
We'd be remiss if we didn't also mention that coBlossom is launching in the app store later this month, and that you can get on-demand access to an app built for couples to have fun while building relationship habits that bring them closer together. You can sign up for the waitlist today, and expect to receive early access to our minigames that help you craft dates, learn new things about each other, track milestones, and more!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Looking for an exciting way to continue growing your relationship? Busy but want some quick date ideas or activities that you can do with your partner? coBlossom is a new, fun app for couples that offers flexible minigames designed for busy couples, providing positive boosts to your relationship each day. Couples will benefit from building healthy relationship habits to achieve their couple goals!
We’re coming to the app store soon, subscribe here for updates and early access to our couples app. And follow us on instagram for great couples memes, couples games, date ideas, and more.