“14 fun things to do together during a first visit”

Oct 26th “14 fun things to do together during a first visit”

Take a picnic to a park or the beach

There are few things more romantic than sharing a nice bottle of wine on a picnic blanket at sunset. Picnics are also great for giving you time to talk without the intensity and pressure of being home alone together. So pack up some treats and find a lovely spot to spend some time soaking in the beauty of the outdoors, as well as the beauty of each other.

Go to a concert or a musical

Do you both like the same sort of music? Is there a famous musical you’d like to see? Take the opportunity to catch a special show together. It doesn’t have to be epic (U2 at the Rose Bowl in LA… Best. Concert. Ever!). Just being out together with some great music will make for a great time.

Go to an amusement park

Are one or both of you thrill seekers? Do you like the energy and fizz of rides and games and cotton candy? If so, an amusement park might be the perfect way to spend a fun day together—and there could be lots of time to talk if you have to wait in line for the rides.

Do an adventure activity

If you are adventure junkies (or even if you’re not, but you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone) go and do something adventurous. What can you do near where you live? Can you go ziplining, canyoning, or white-water rafting? Go-karting, horse-riding, or parasailing? Find something that sounds awesome (but not too scary) and book it in.

A quick word from the wise on this one, though: Don’t go bungee jumping or parachuting. The goal when picking something in this vein for a first visit should be “fun-scary” not “OMG-maybe-I’m-actually-going-to-die-scary.” Save the truly terrifying stuff for at least visit #2.

Go to the zoo

I don’t know how you feel about animals in captivity—but a long stroll through a nice zoo can be a great way to spend quality time with someone. After all, who doesn’t love watching monkeys play?

Take a long walk

Get your walking shoes on. Go for a hike or take a long walk through the city. Hiking is another great way to enjoy the beauty of the natural world and do something together where you can talk at the same time.

Just a word of warning on this one, though. Make sure you’re both on the same page about what constitutes a “fun hike.” Mike once took me on a “little hike” to see the sunset in LA. I thought we’d be walking for 20 minutes and then kicking back and opening a bottle of wine. Ninety minutes after we started walking we were still sweating our way up a trail in the San Bernardino mountains, it had already gotten dark, and I was… pretty mad.

Go grocery shopping and then cook a meal together

Spending time together during your first visit doesn’t have to be all about epic concerts or roller coasters. In fact, it shouldn’t be.

Doing something completely ordinary like doing the grocery shopping and cooking together is a wonderful way to spend relaxed, quality time together. And as a bonus, you get to enjoy the meal together instead of with a video screen in between you. Add some candles to the table and you can’t get much more romantic than that, for real.

Play a board game

As long as you can keep your competitive side in check, playing a game is an easy, cheap way to spend some time laughing together. Put some thought into the game choice, though. Unless you are die-hard trivia fans or word nerds, Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble can make people feel, um, “less than smart.” Try something like Settlers Of Catan, Carcassone, or an online game you both love already.

Have a games night with a few of your close friends

If playing games sounds good to you, why don’t you broaden the circle a little and take the opportunity introduce your long distance love to some of your friends? Hosting a games night is a good way to get the group laughing together and introduce everyone to each other in a low-pressure sort of way. Taboo or Apples To Apples are good group games, if you’re looking for suggestions.

Have a dinner with family and friends

You don’t want to spend the whole visit alone, especially if you have more than a weekend together. (Well, you might want to, but you shouldn’t.) If you’re playing host for this visit, it would be good for your new partner to meet some of your friends, and vice versa.

One way to make that happen is by organizing a pot-luck dinner. Have this as a picnic, or at your place. Make it pot-luck or go out to a restaurant so you don’t have to spend heaps of time and energy preparing for and hosting a group.

Go to your favorite restaurant

Do you have a restaurant you love? Share it! Great food + great company = all the ingredients you need for a lovely night out.

Take them to one of your favorite spots

In a similar vein, take your long distance love to some of your favorite places. They will love seeing the spots you love, and you will love sharing them. When I lived in LA I used to take people to the Santa Monica Pier, the Hollywood Bowl, the Huntington Gardens, or rollerblading around the Rose Bowl.

Play tourist in your own city

Another fun way to get out and about in your own city is to play tourist. Go to TripAdvisor and look up your own city. Find something that you’ve never done before that sounds interesting and go do that together. That way you’ll both be having a new experience.

Watch a movie

There’s a reason this a classic couples date night favorite, and it can a great way to spend some time together during your first visit. Grab some snacks, a blanket, a good movie you’re pretty sure you’ll both enjoy (don’t waste this time on a sub-par movie), and snuggle up together on the couch. Enjoy the cuddle time and the chance to relax together. After all, how many nights have you spent dreaming about the chance to do something simple together like this?

I hope…

I hope whatever you end up doing, you have a really awesome time together. I think you most likely will. But, occasionally, when you meet someone for the first time, things won’t go as you’d planned and hoped. That’s OK, too. Chalk it all up to valuable learning in life.