10 Cool-Weather Date Ideas to Warm Your Marriage

By September 19, 2018Time

Last fall, we posted a roundup of 10 fall date ideas for you and your spouse to enjoy together. We got some fantastic feedback from many of you, so this year we’re back with a follow-up post that incorporates some of the ideas you shared with us. (For even more great suggestions, head over to last year’s post and check out the comments section.)

Now, let’s dive in!

1. Carve jack-o-lanterns

There’s something whimsical about pumpkin-carving that takes us back to childhood Halloween celebrations and trick-or-treating. Pick up a few pumpkins with your spouse and choose your favorite patterns to carve (painting is fair game, too!). Then, head home, roll up your sleeves, and have fun. Put tea light candles inside your pumpkins and light them up after sunset.

2. Take a scenic drive

The natural beauty of fall leaves is a great setting for an afternoon drive or an outdoor date. Take your camera along, snap some photos, and take a picnic spread if the weather permits.

3. Attend a pie-eating contest

Carnivals and county fairs are chock-full of activities and events you can watch together. If your fair has a pie-eating contest, this could be a fun and hilarious date idea. And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous (or just hungry), you two could get in on the action.

4. Have a game night with friends

Cool weather is a great time to plan a game night at home. Make your favorite snacks, add a little hot chocolate or apple cider, and invite another married couple or two over for the evening.

5. Collect (and cook!) family recipes

With the holidays approaching, now would be a great time to get your hands on some of your favorite family recipes. These are especially meaningful if they were part of one of your favorite family traditions growing up. This also a great way to share some of your favorite memories with your spouse.

6. Root for your spouse’s team (for an evening)

Not only is fall the season for football, it’s also the season for spirited team rivalries. This can bleed over into your marriage if you and your spouse each root for a rival football team. Have a little fun with your friendly disagreement by watching or attending football games for one another’s favorite team. (Bonus points if you manage to wear the rival team’s colors for a night.)

7. Attend a marching band contest

Were either (or both) of you band geeks? Attend a marching band contest at a local high school. You can sit in the stands together, enjoy a few snacks, and watch halftime show after halftime show–with none of the football (if you favor the band over the game, that is).

8. Work together at a fall event

Fall is busy, particularly if you’ve got kids. There are plenty of opportunities for parents to get involved at events like football games, trunk or treat, and fall festivals. So, tag-team with your spouse and turn a work night into an unconventional date. Work the concession stand, decorate a vehicle for trunk or treat, or man the cake walk together.

9. Throw a Halloween party

Plan your couples’ costume and decorate your home for a memorable Halloween party. Invite friends over, set up some games for the kids, and have your own costume contest.

10. Volunteer together

Once the weather starts cooling down, there tend to be many opportunities for service. Team up to rake your elderly neighbors’ yard, volunteer at a local Thanksgiving meal for the needy, help collect canned foods for the food bank, or take a day to sort through your seasonal clothes for nice, gently used things to donate.

Which dates will you try?

As the seasons change, plan a few dates together. In the coming week, give one a try! Staying connected through this busy season will warm your marriage year-round.

What cool-weather activities do you and your spouse enjoy together? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

14 Comments

  • Kevin McCarthy says:

    Visit a Cider Mill or Orchard. Take a walk in the woods when near peak color. Enjoy a Sunset, or an Indian Summer picnic. Enjoy a bonfire on a cool evening. Enjoy a glass of mulled wine on the back porch, under a warm blanket if necessary. Fall is cuddle alert season!

  • carol says:

    Drive to a cute little town that’s got its fall deco up (we have several here in Michigan) park your car and walk to your favorite coffee shop. Grab a table and talk. Thank each other for the blessings they bring to the relationship. I call this a gratitude date. No matter what is going on – its put aside and gratitude is spoken and displayed.
    We had a dunkin donuts not far so we would walk (every fall we did this) and go get hot tea and talk.

    • Katherine Lorelen Nauert says:

      I love love love this idea! I’m generally the only one that plans anything and it’s getting irritating so thank you for the great idea!

  • Debi Walter says:

    I’m a huge fan of You’ve Got Mail, so every fall my husband plans a You’ve Got Mail date for me. It’s a tradition I look forward to each and every year. Sometimes it’s more elaborate than other years, but we always enjoy the time together.

  • Katherine Lorelen Nauert says:

    So I don’t have the best ideas! But one of my favorite things to do together is make pizza crust from scratch and then obviously eat dinner together 🙂 I have a great crust recipe if anybody wants it! We also like to watch hockey together 😁

  • Don Meckley says:

    yES, RECIPE pLEASE

  • Joel Gerber says:

    Please share the recipe if you would please!

  • Rosemary Finan says:

    Would love a copy of your recipe please. Thank you!

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