Stale relationship? Inject some excitement

How long have you been with your significant other? Whether or not you’re legally married, the two of you are a couple. Your names are often thrown together like a unified concept. Maybe you have kids. Maybe you don’t. Regardless, you’re seriously invested in this relationship, and you’ve never regretted committing to someone you cherish.

Even with all of those good feelings and intentions, things can start to feel stale. People fall into ruts. It’s inevitable. But, you don’t want that for your relationship. You love being excited to see your other half and spend time with them. You want the romance to thrive and to be able to put that special smile on his or her face.

How do you get the magic back? Really, it’s all about the simple stuff. These ideas will help you think about how to reconnect and get your relationship kindling again.

Make date night a regular thing

The best way to breathe life into a relationship is to make time for each other. Any little bit matters, but you can take a page out of everyone’s book to great effect. Make a regular date night. It doesn’t have to be every Tuesday. You can work around the two schedules to figure out what makes sense.

What matters is that you are putting forth the effort to spend time together. It also matters that you pick activities that are good for you. Share each others’ interests. Try new things. Definitely find something that makes you laugh together. These moments are what build or fortify the connections that keep you together and happy.

These are just a few date ideas to help you jumpstart your creativity.

Take a walk

It’s the simplest thing in the world, and it works great. A walk gets you outside, which is a good thing for a lot of us. It’s also leisurely enough that you can have a good conversation while you walk. You can experience something together — especially if it’s a new walking route that you haven’t done before.

Your walk can be a hike or a bike ride or just about anything. The idea is to move a little to promote some endorphins and pick an activity that gives you the freedom to enjoy each others’ company.

Karaoke

Karaoke is supposed to be silly. Don’t worry if one or both of you are bad at singing. That’s kind of the point. Do stupid songs that you both love. Laugh the whole time. Get a little embarrassed together in public. It’s surprisingly good for bonding.

If karaoke isn’t right, think of activities that are just as silly and unrestrained.

Art project

Have you ever seen a wine and painting class? It may seem cheesy, but it’s a chill evening where you get to drink and hang out while painting something. Alternatives could include a cooking class, ice sculpting, or any other activity that allows you to be a little artistic.

The art subject is great for eliciting conversation that gets you talking and having a good time. Also, these activities are easy, accessible, and a little different from your daily routine.

Play games

Board games get it done sometimes. You can opt for silly kids games or a duel to the death in Risk. It’s all about how the two of you feel about things. But, playing games together generates engagement. You don’t have the stale moments where you run out of stuff to talk about or have trouble getting energy going for the date. The games keep things moving and comfortable.

Surprise your other half

A spontaneous gesture will always be more valuable than can be expressed in words. Have you ever received a surprise from your significant other just because they wanted to make you happy? It’s the absolute best, and you can do that for them any time.

Cook them a special dinner. Surprise them with flowers or cute notes. All you need is to step outside of the ordinary for the two of you, and make sure your motivation is all about making them smile.

Get some time away from the kids

You love your kids, but they can kill romance sometimes. You don’t need to ship them off to boarding school (depending on their behavior), but it is important to have a little bit of dedicated adult time. The dates mentioned above can include your kids in many circumstances, but make sure that some of them don’t.

Call the grandparents to watch the kids for a bit. Hire a babysitter. Do whatever you need to do to have some quality alone time with your special person. It’s vital to the entire idea of injecting excitement into your relationship.

Try a new look or style

This is stupidly simple and often undervalued. Make a simple change that you think they will like. Try a new haircut. Dress up for no reason. Try a new fragrance to tantalize the senses (can we recommend Refined™?).

This is about shaking things up for the sake of it. It captures attention and starts a conversation. There’s one catch to this idea. Make sure they know that this little change is about them. You don’t want to send the wrong signal and accidentally suggest that you’re seeking someone else’s attention.

Every relationship ebbs and flows. When you are with someone for years, you’ll see how things change over time. None of that means that change has to be bad or stale for the relationship. As long as you keep making an effort, the two of you can grow together, and you’ll find that happily ever after is a lot more within reach than it sometimes seems.