When you’ve been together as long as you have, it’s easy to fall into a dating rut. Fortunately for you—and for your relationship—it’s also easy to keep things interesting by planning a surprise date.
The key to any surprise date, of course, is keeping it secret, but the most important thing is to make it special. Plan the date around something your spouse likes, but rarely gets to do. Does your wife like to pamper herself? Plan a trip to the day spa. Does your husband like to go to sporting events? Surprise him with a pair of tickets to see his favorite team play.
From cheap and simple nights out to extravagant weekends away, here are six simple and swanky ideas for planning a date full of surprises.
NIGHT OUT
Simple: Pick a restaurant your spouse has always talked about going to but has never been. Plan ahead for an extra special evening with these surprise details:
* Stop by the restaurant earlier in the day and drop off a bouquet of flowers. Ask them to keep the flowers for you in the back and have the flowers waiting on the table or have the waiter present the bouquet at a certain point in the dinner.
* If the venue has live entertainment, call ahead to request they play your special song.
* Don’t end the night after the dessert. Keep the date going by doing an activity you both used to enjoy when you first started dating: shoot some pool at a local bar, go dancing or simply walk around the city. Remember, it wasn’t that long ago when all you had to do was walk hand-in-hand to enjoy a night out.
Swank: Tell your spouse you’ve planned a night out, but don’t give away any other details except what to wear and when to be ready. Have a limo or a private driver waiting outside to escort you for an evening of VIP treatment. Pick the hottest venue in the city—the current place to be seen—and reserve a private table in the VIP area. Splurge on bottle service and enjoy a night of star treatment.
OVERNIGHT
Simple: Make your spouse even more excited for the weekend by sending them on a mini scavenger hunt. Here’s how to pull it off:
* Leave a note on their car Friday afternoon with instructions to go straight home to find a surprise.
* At home, leave another note next to a bottle of their favorite wine or champagne (or beer!), instructing them to bring the bottle with them to the following address. Give them directions to a hotel, including the room number, where you’ll be waiting.
* Order room service and stay in bed all night.
Swank: Instead of going to a local spot, reserve a room at a swank hotel in a nearby city that’s less than half-a-day’s drive away. Tell your spouse to pack an overnight bag and put them in the car without any further explanation. Spend a night on the town at all the best places, but be sure to spend time exploring the city the next morning before driving home. You can order breakfast in or take a walk in the city to find something to eat.
WEEKEND AWAY
Simple: Find a cheap bed and breakfast that’s offering a weekend discount. Sites like TravelZoo.com let you sign up for free weekly e-mails that alert you to last-minute discounts on everything from hotels and flights to car rentals and cruises. The deals may be last minute, but that’s all the better for planning a surprise weekend.
Swank: Pick a city your spouse has always wanted to go to and buy two plane tickets. Check online city guides for the best places to go and eat, be entertained and explore. This is a place your spouse has always wanted to see, so immerse yourself in all the city has to offer. For an added surprise, plan the trip around a sporting event or concert you know your spouse will love to attend. You’ll both have so much fun you’ll never want the date to end.
Steve Cooper is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Hitched. You can follow him on Twitter at @hitchedmedia.
