Do you ever look at your spouse and wonder—when did we become experts at discussing carpool schedules and home repairs, but forget how to just have fun together? Life's routines and responsibilities can slowly drain the romance from even the most passionate marriages.
Making time for enjoyable activities is crucial for sparking those feelings of excitement, joy, and closeness with your partner again. Shared new experiences release oxytocin, the "love hormone," fueling emotional and physical intimacy. Trying creative activities together also builds communication, laughter, and memories that carry your marriage through all seasons.
1. Rekindle the Romance
Here are some ideas for rekindling romance in your marriage:
Classic Dates with a Twist
Try a romantic tea party date that provides a cozy, elegant atmosphere right at home. Brew flavorful teas, bake delicate scones or macarons, and bring out your fancy china and teacups. Dim the lights, put on some ambient music, and escape together over endless cups of Earl Grey or Chamomile.
For indoor camping nights, build a blanket fort in your living room, complete with string lights and pillow beds. Roast s'mores over the stove for a taste of summer. Exchange spooky ghost stories or reminisce over your most memorable camping trips. The indoor setting adds comfort while still capturing the adventure.
Recreate your own personal prom night and relive your youth for a night. Get all dressed up in your finest formal attire. Take cheesy couple photos posing with balloons or fun props. Dim the lights, clear a space, and slow dance together in your own living room to all your favorite throwback tunes.
A murder mystery dinner party combines intrigue, food, and roleplay. Follow a script or plot outline and assume character roles. Over a multi-course meal, drop clues and seek to solve the crime together. This interactive experience promises new discoveries about each other's more dramatic sides!
Adventure Dates
Escape into nature together by going on an overnight hiking or backpacking trip. Spend quality time together away from distractions as you take in dramatic vistas and enjoy the physical challenges. Pack a special meal or champagne to share an intimate picnic at the summit. Gazing at the sunset from a mountaintop creates powerful memories.
Book a weekend trip to an exciting new city you've both been wanting to explore. Wander unknown streets hand-in-hand, try funky new cuisines, and take in shows or concerts together. Discover hidden corners only locals know about. The shared journey bonds you as you create fresh memories.
If you're craving winter fun, go skiing or snowboarding together. Cruise down the slopes, take in stunning snow-covered mountain views from the lift, and relax with apres-ski drinks after. Or try an extreme sport like skydiving or bungee jumping - you'll feel the adrenaline rush and exhilaration together.
For water lovers, go whale watching, snorkeling, or paddle boarding as a couple. Glimpse majestic marine life together, then discuss the beauty and wonder. Or swim through bioluminescent waters under a starry sky for an unforgettable experience.
Creative Dates
For an immersive painting experience, try an acrylic pouring or fluid art class together. Let colorful paints swirl and mix in mesmerizing abstract designs. Moving the paint across the canvas and seeing the colors blend is meditative. You get to create a dual work of art to proudly display in your home.
Unleash your inner potter by visiting a pottery painting studio together. Get creative decorating mugs, plates, vases or bowls however you wish - with inspirational quotes, fun patterns, or artistic images. The finished pieces make great memorabilia from your date that you can use daily.
Tap into your romantic sides by writing old-fashioned love letters to each other. Thoughtfully reflect on your favorite memories as a couple, express what you appreciate most about your partner, and reveal your deepest romantic thoughts. These heartfelt notes can be saved and treasured for years.
If you're musical, try composing songs or poems together as unique expressions of love. Whether you write lyrics over an instrumental track or craft poems based on themes like eternal love or natural beauty, the artistic collaboration bonds you creatively and emotionally.
2. Strengthen Communication and Shared Goals
Here are some ideas for strengthening communication and working towards shared goals together:
Monthly Vision Board Night
Set aside one evening a month to get creative and focused on your goals as a couple. To begin your vision board ritual, enjoy a candlelit dinner together or pour some wine to set the mood. Gather poster boards, arts and crafts magazines, scissors, glue, and any other desired materials. Now take time to reflect individually on your personal dreams, goals, and aspirations for the coming months. Cut out inspiring words, phrases, and images that represent what you want to achieve and experience in all areas of life.
Come together and take turns sharing your visions, and discussing how you can support each other in making progress towards your goals. Then collaborate on a shared vision board, visualizing couple goals like travel plans, home projects, and relationship growth. Keep the vision boards displayed where you'll see them daily for motivation. At the start of each month, reconvene for an update - revise the boards, brainstorm action steps, and add new inspirations.
Book Club for Two
Pick out relationship-focused books together that align with topics you want to explore more deeply, like communication styles, resolving conflict, financial management, or parenting. Agree on a reading schedule that works for both of your routines. Set aside uninterrupted time at least once a week or month to come together and discuss what you've read. Meet in a comfortable spot without distractions, and come prepared with notebooks to jot down reflections, lessons, or conversation prompts that stood out to each of you.
Don't just chat about the plot - pull out key insights and directly apply them to your own relationship. Discuss which concepts resonated most powerfully and why. Share personal examples to gain deeper understanding of each other's perspectives. If you disagree on an approach, have a thoughtful discussion and find common ground. Let the books inspire open and vulnerable communication between you.
Volunteer Together at an Animal Shelter
Fostering a sweet furry friend in need can be a rewarding experience to share as a couple. Animal shelters often rely on volunteers to care for rescue dogs and cats by walking dogs, cuddling cats, bathing animals, or helping clean living spaces. You’ll be working as a team to give love and comfort to abandoned pets until their forever homes are found.
Along with the satisfaction of improving rescued animals’ wellbeing, you’ll also strengthen your bond through this collaborative act of service. Experiencing the joy of pets’ affectionate responses to your caregiving may inspire conversations about one day adopting a shelter animal of your own! Volunteering together nurtures empathy, patience and responsibility too.
At the end of each volunteer session, you’ll have lots of cute and humorous stories to exchange about the unique orphaned pets you assisted. And nothing tugs the heartstrings more than witnessing scared, shy animals gradually begin to trust and blossom under your gentle devotion. This altruistic date activity can deepen connections in your marriage through acts of selfless love.
3. Build New Skills and Memories
Here are some ideas for building new skills and memories together as a couple:
Learn a New Language Together
Choose a language you've always been curious about that ties into your heritage, an upcoming trip, or just sounds captivating. Then get audio lessons, books, and apps to immerse yourselves in picking up vocabulary and grammar.
Make your practice sessions playful by inventing silly dialogues, gesturing wildly while speaking, and rewarding each other with a kiss for every new sentence you master. Test yourselves by attempting conversations over candlelit dinners. When you fumble an expression, laugh it off together.
Learning side-by-side builds intimacy through vulnerability, play, and patience with the process. And acquiring a secret language just the two of you share some fluency in can heighten romantic mystique.
As your new bilingual skills blossom, envision the doors it opens - dazzling locals by ordering in their native tongue on your next destination vacation, passing hidden coded love notes when out in public, or eavesdropping on exotic foreign conversations during date nights!
Immerse your relationship in the music of a new linguistic culture. Let clumsy mistakes bring laughter, not frustration. Your shared command of an uncommon language will forge intimate memories to cherish for years.
Start a DIY Project
Starting a DIY or remodeling project together allows married couples to get creative as a team. Choose something manageable yet interesting to both of you—maybe repainting the guest bedroom, building some new shelves, tiling the backsplash, or landscaping the yard. Plan it out together discussing vision, logistics and budget. Split up tasks like shopping for materials and figuring out tools required. Then work side-by-side bringing your goals to life. You’ll gain problem-solving skills, compromise, feel productive, and experience a shared sense of accomplishment. Plus you get to admire your joint handiwork when it’s complete!
Join a Sports Team or Club
Find a local club or organization that offers casual games and tournaments for sports like:
- Beach volleyball
- Tennis
- Bowling
- Kickball
- Golf
- Bocce ball
Choose something you're both interested in or curious to try. Sign up to join a coed team as the dynamic wife-husband duo! Attend practices together to brush up on rules and your abilities. Travel to weekly games holding hands en route to dominating the scoreboards as an unstoppable pair. Applaud great plays your spouse makes and cheer them on through any setbacks.
Being teammates is wonderful bonding! Sports summon a sense of adventure and lively energy. New shared interests and inside jokes will emerge watching each other strategize matches, strike silly poses, and build camaraderie with fellow players. After games, celebrate victories by going out for drinks, pizza, and plenty of banter recapping your most epic moments on the field/court/lanes.
Stay active while adding fresh fun to your marriage through recreational games you can look forward to playing as a team all season long!
4. Prioritize Intimacy and Physical Connection
Here are some ideas for prioritizing intimacy and physical connection in your marriage:
Couples Massage Night
Transform your living room into a soothing spa sanctuary. Dim the lights, put on calming music, place candles around the room and burn relaxing essential oils. Lay out yoga mats or soft blankets on the floor and have massage oil or lotion at the ready.
Take turns slowly massaging each other's sore shoulders, aching backs and tired feet. Let conversation wander while you gently knead away built up tension and stress. Be present in enjoying the sensation of muscles unwinding under your fingertips. Spread the massage love by surprise, starting at the scalp then working all the way down the body over time.
After an hour of blissful rubbing and attention to every knot, snuggle up close under a blanket. Whisper words of affection and appreciation for your loved one. The care and devotion shared through massage is wonderful bonding. Continue taking regular time just to lavish TLC on each other. A monthly couples massage night promotes intimacy of body, mind and spirit!
Couples Yoga or Dance Class
Attend a beginner-level class designed specifically for pairs to strengthen both body and romantic bonds through delicate acrobatics or sensual movement. Follow along to an instructor guiding you through mirrored poses or footwork patterns set to ambient music.
Gaze lovingly into each other's eyes as you maneuver limbs gracefully into heart-opening poses with names like "divine duo" and "eternal embrace". Or let hips sway and sync up for steamy Latin ballroom styles like the salsa, rumba, and bachata. Make missteps together then burst into laughter rather than frustration.
Connecting physically by learning new ways to bend, balance, lift or gyrate your bodies in tandem helps align energies. And there’s no better bonding than the vulnerability of trying something unfamiliar as a team. You’ll leave class feeling both refreshed and closer than ever through the supportive experience.
Then carry that in-tune intimacy home by dancing in the kitchen as you cook dinner together afterwards! Trying a couples movement class bonds relationships on multiple levels in enjoyable ways.
Weekend Getaway
Book a cozy cabin or cottage together nestled in the mountains, wine country, seaside or another serene natural setting you both enjoy. Choose one within comfortable driving distance - a sweet secluded haven all your own for two nights.
Disconnect from work and devices to fully unplug and reconnect with each other's company. Sleep in late, lounge on the patio with tea/coffee, hike nearby trails, visit local wineries and hole-in-the wall eateries. Play board games, read by the fireplace, soak in an outdoor hot tub, share wine under the stars.
Focus completely on rekindling romance. Trade massages after long soaks in the oversized bathtub, slow dance to favorite songs, stargaze blankets and reminisce about your relationship journey. Prepare home-cooked meals together in the cottage kitchen. Let the peaceful setting invite personal conversations and laughter that nourishes your bond.
Escape to recharge as a couple - no kids, pets, or daily life duties. Just quality 1:1 time celebrating each other's love by an idyllic lakeside or wrapped in a cozy cabin blanket. Deepen intimacy through simple pleasures in nature's splendor. Return home feeling refreshed and grateful for your marriage oasis.
5. Keep It Fun and Spontaneous
Here are some fun, spontaneous activity ideas to keep the spark alive in your marriage:
Surprise Scavenger Hunt
One spouse can get creative and set up a surprise scavenger hunt date for their partner, leaving fun clues leading to sweet hidden gifts or special destinations. Get a sitter for the kids. Make the first clue cryptic then place it with a small treat where your spouse will discover it - their car seat, under their lunch napkin at work. Have the clues guide them through places that hold meaning, providing silly challenges or questions to solve about your relationship at each spot. The last stops should lead them to you for a romantic dinner or getaway celebration to cap off the adventure. It’s an unpredictable, playful experience you get to reminisce about after. Making it a yearly tradition or for special anniversaries keeps the magic alive.
"Yes Day" Challenge
Shake up date night by taking turns planning a "Yes Day" for each other - a full day where your partner has to say YES to everything the planner suggests doing (within reason!). Treat your spouse to their favorite activities, foods, and adventures with zero complaints allowed. Go for a hot air balloon ride at sunrise. Lounge by the pool all day. Splurge on a couples' massage. Wander through funky thrift shops. Say yes to trying that spinach feta wrap. Then close out the evening watching their preferred shows curled up together. Practicing this level of care, trust and openness to your partner's whims helps maintain intimacy. Take turns indulging each other with no judgments, only shared joy and new memories.
Game Night
Make some popcorn and blow the dust off those boxes in the closet for an old-fashioned game night! Break out the Scrabble to see who has the superior vocabulary over wine. Get competitive over Jenga. Laugh your way through a round of charades or Pictionary as you act out silly prompts. Play "Two Truths and a Lie" and share stories about your past. Bring out cards or dice for some poker - make it strip poker and add a spicy twist! Game nights are a fun way to be present, let loose, laugh at each other’s goofy sides and bond doing simple activities without distractions. Make sure to gloat or console each other accordingly! It’s all about enjoying low-key quality time and making memories.
Finding time to nurture your marriage is so important, yet can be neglected amidst busy schedules. Make activities together a priority to keep your bond thriving. The ideas shared in this article aim to spark inspiration for enjoyable shared experiences that fit your unique relationship.
Whether it's planning romantic date nights, volunteering for a cause, taking a class or going on fun adventures, you'll discover new sides of each other. Approach new activities with openness and playfulness. Adapt them to align with your interests and personalities. Most importantly, do them together.
Investing in your marriage takes effort but pays dividends through deeper intimacy. Shared activities will create fond memories that carry you through challenges and renew your feelings of love. Stay committed to nurturing your friendship and partnership. The excitement you feel in the beginning may ebb and flow, but it can be reignited again and again through your willingness to play, explore and grow side by side.
