Date Ideas: For When You Feel Like Hibernating • The Rose-Tinted Globe

If you don’t look below the surface, post-holiday-season-winter seems like the all-time worst season. It’s freezing (especially here in Wisconsin), it’s dark out like 70% of the time, and there aren’t any really exciting things happening until spring break finally shows its face.

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, especially if you are in a relationship. While the pattern of putting on your coziest sweats, making food, and burying yourself under an untold amount of blankets might be fun, it doesn’t do much to build or maintain your relationship.

Now that we are deep in the month of February and Valentine’s Day is creeping up, it’s time to throw off your blankets and get yourself out of the house for some fun with your love.

Without further adieu, here is a short list of date ideas for February (and other months) that go beyond your usual dinner and a movie:

1. Learn to Escape an Escape Room.

If you haven’t tried an escape room yet, you are missing out. Essentially, the concept is that you (and several of your friends/loved ones) are locked in a room filled with clues and are given 1 hour to decode everything and bust your way out. Escape rooms leave you with a rush of adrenaline whether you break out or not. Bonus: Escape rooms allow you to see a totally different side of the people you are locked in with. It’s amazing to see how everyone’s brain works differently and how each person usually brings something unique and valuable to the team.

2. Make Art Together.

If escaping sounds like a bit too much pressure, maybe you’d rather relax and create something beautiful. Art dates are fun because they still allow you to be creative and see another side of someone, and they don’t have to have strict guidelines. Paint a picture, make a bowl, drop paint on a wineglass, the sky’s the limit!

3. Stroll through a museum.

Whether you are art fans, history fans, or just fans of being inside when the weather is freaking cold, a museum date can definitely fit the bill. Wandering through rooms and looking at exhibits while hand-in-hand with someone can be a very relaxing way to spend an afternoon. Bonus: You can pause in front of each piece and mutter about colors or style while thoughtfully stroking your chin.

4. Try an outdoor sport.

Yes, winter is cold and painful. No, you can’t spend every single minute inside. There are actually a ton of fun ways to get outside and get active on those slightly warmer days. Might I recommend ice skating, snowshoeing, or simply bundling up and going on a winter hike? There are generally a few places in every town where you can rent skates or snowshoes for relatively cheap. Bonus: if you are uncoordinated, you can hold onto your date for balance and score some extra snuggles. 🙂

5. Watch an indoor sporting event.

If you don’t feel like testing out your own athleticism and coordination, go watch someone else show off theirs! There are plenty of opportunities to watch sporting events year round, and even if you aren’t particularly interested in the sport, it’s a good idea to get out of your comfort zone and experience something new. Plus, there’s a good chance your partner may be interested, even if you aren’t. (Cough–me and basketball–cough.)

Also, if you are watching a local team, there are usually fun audience-participation games and contests to keep you distracted from the actual sport.

6. Test your skills at trivia.

If you aren’t interested in any kind of sport, whether the participatory or the spectator kind, you might want to check out a trivia night. Perfect for showing off your intellect and/or obscure and useless knowledge, trivia nights are usually fairly simple to find at local bars or restaurants. You can also find specialized trivia from time to time, which is perfect if you are a part of a particular fandom: Star Wars, Gilmore Girls, Harry Potter, etc. You can dazzle your loved one with your quick wit and your exceptional memory.

7. Read between the lines on a bookstore date.

Bookstore dates might sound nerdy, but they can be delightful. And maybe also nerdy, but that’s totally cool. A fun way to add some allure to a typical trip to the bookstore: choose books for each other. Assign your significant other the task of choosing one book for you. You can designate the genre or give them free reign. They spend time choosing a book and then they buy it for you, and vice versa. Whatever they choose, you have to read. Bonus: this date is fantastic because it leads to further discussion later on as you start reading the book and give them some feedback on their choice.

8. Bet on some indoor games.

Like to be competitive with your partner? Rather than sitting on the couch and playing Mario Kart for the umpteenth time, get out and compete in bowling, darts, or shuffleboard! You can trash talk all you want and will still get some moderate exercise: a win-win for sure.

If you’re an Oshkosh local, like we have recently become, I’ve dropped the links to some fantastic places to check out in-town that meet one or more of the above date ideas. Check ‘em out and let me know what you think! Happy date-ing!

(Oshkosh Edition)