Every time my wife and I get a date night, my mind is whisked away to an amazing adventure where we head out in our limousine.  I am wearing a tux and she is in that oh so gorgeous little red dress.  Then we paint the town (whatever that means) and take a chopper ride at night over the beautiful downtown lights.  When we land on the helipad of the tallest skyscraper, we repel down, run to the nearest cargo train, jump on and hope we don’t get caught and amazingly enough, the train brings us to a perfect, private beach where my wife sits next to me, wearing my coat and we watch the sunrise while eating steak dinners.  But what we really end up doing is the laundry and then catch up on the Bachelor.

Is there something in between an amazing date and watching a couple on TV do that amazing date?  Of course.  With a little effort, you can plan some unconventional, brilliant dates with the one you love.  I have some ideas that will shake up your date nights, but there is a catch.  Do all of them.  There are 12 dates.  That’s enough to have one very cool date night a month.  By the time the year is over, a dinner and movie might actually be fun again.  So here are 12 dates that are better than dinner and a movie:

1. The Goodwill Date

Go shopping at the local goodwill store, dress each other up and show off your threads for all to see.  Actually, there are a lot of fun things you can do with it.  But wear your own underwear.  Just trust me on that.  Here are the unofficial rules.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beas2msjJ8k

2. The $10 Date

The excitement is in the challenge of only spending $10.  You will find that having to improvise with a limited budget will have you pulling your hair out.  But I promise it will be fun.  If you need to up it to $15, I understand.  These ideas should make you fill fulfilled instead of broke.

3. Recreate Your First Date

Remember the warm and fuzzies of your first date?  Recreate it the best you can.  If it was a bad date, now is your chance to fix it.  Need some help preparing for it?  Go here.

4. Try Something New Date

Think about it.  Both of you experiencing something new for the first time can bring you closer together.  Maybe there’s something you’ve both wanted to do before but it never happened.  Here are some dates that can get the ideas going.

5. Scavenger Hunt Date

I make scavenger hunts for our kids and they LOVE them.  Guess what?  Grown-ups love them too!  This site has some great guidelines.

6. Take A Dance Class Date

My wife and I took salsa dancing classes.  We messed up.  We laughed.  We started with two left feet.  We left with two left feet.  But ultimately we had fun!  How about Ballroom dancing?

7. Become Amateur Photographers Date

Need a new date idea?  Need to freshen up on your photography skills?  Both of you can get cameras (or your phone) and go out to the city, country or both and take some pictures.  End the date looking over the pics that you took.  Want some more ideas?

8. Go On A Glamping Date

Picture just you, the one you love, a tent and your microwave.  Well, not really.  Glamping is where nature meets luxury.  It’s actually a big deal.  You can make it as simple as going to your local lake or beach with all of the accommodations you need to something more extravagant.

9. Volunteer Together Date

By giving back and focusing on someone or something else can actually bring a couple closer together.  And you get to see a side of him or her that I am sure you will love.  This website has some great ideas.

10. Do Your Own DIY Project Together

Everyone loves DIY and why not make a date out of it, from buying the items to seeing a project through to the finished product.  Here are some ideas to get you started.

11. Relive Your Childhood

Make a list of all the past times you enjoyed as a kid and then pick the top 3 or four and make a day out of it.  Need some more help, take a look at this site.

12. Have A Themed Date

Have you ever wanted to go to Paris or Rome?  How about China or Germany?  Why not recreate it in your hometown?  Want to take it up a notch?  Try this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8CJr5BqkzM

If your dates have been a little dull and you need some excitement, then take the plunge and try these out.  You won’t be disappointed and your significant other will be blown away by how savvy you are with your date ideas.

Do you have any cool date ideas?