The age old valentine’s date idea, but with a few pointers and tips to help the night go without a hitch. I recently had the honor of providing a romantic date night for my beloved and by the end of the night she was absolutely ecstatic with the way everything went. Since I have been in the same place you probably are now (that is searching for some hint to impress your sweetie), I thought I would share how I managed to show how much I love her in a way she never expected.
First off, the first thing I decided on, was to make it a surprise. The reason I didn’t wan her to know what we were going to be doing was because it forced her to trust me. This was difficult at first, but after awhile, I learned that the phrase “You’ll see” became my favorite, and her least favorite phrase. She will undoubtedly try many things to get you to tell her what you are planning and say she doesn’t like being in the dark (and she may not like being in the dark), but it will take the burden of planning and being in control from her and she will love that (even if she won’t admit it). By making her trust you to plan everything, she will have the opportunity to see you support and care for her without her guidance. This will give her comfort in the fact that her boyfriend/husband does know how to take care of her.
Obviously with secrecy comes the problem of making decisions based on her tastes. This is probably the most difficult part of making a romantic date, and one of the only things you can’t throw together last minute. When selecting dinner/location/entertainment, you must keep in mind what she has said she likes and dislikes. Nothing can be as terrible as cooking a beautifully romantic pasta dinner only to find that she hates the speghetti sauce you spent an hour cooking. So be sure you always pay attention to what she likes, loves, and hates.
Location, location, location. That’s always the big question, “where can we eat?”. I spent weeks pondering this question and coming up with backups in the chance my first choice became unavailable. Now my girlfriend and I are in college and don’t have much money to go out, so I decided it would be nice to eat outside somewhere on campus. Now, when you look for a location, you want to find somewhere that she will love, not you. Remember that she has no idea where you are going for dinner, so she is trusting you to do it right. I found a nice petrified wood table under a few pine trees, this was perfect for us because she is outdoorsy. If your beloved doesn’t like sitting outside, or doesn’t like trees, then this would not be a good idea for you. Pick something she would love.
Other things to consider when choosing a romantic location is it’s availability. When I chose the table under the trees, I knew that there was a good chance someone would already be there; however, I really didn’t have much of an option in the way of keeping it open, so I had a back up place in mind that was near by. When you are selecting a location, if possible, have a friend keep hold of it for you, or reserve it (depending on where it is).
The next thing you need to think about is food. This may have been decided on with location; however, I have found that most women prefer to know that their man is willing to cook for them if it means taking care of them. When deciding food you want to make sure you pick something she likes the most, not necessarily something you’ll love (though you don’t want something that you don’t like). Again, this requires careful attention long before you decide you want to do this (which you should be doing anyways ). Another thing to keep in mind is how far away you are from an oven/heating device. In my case, I had no way of heating the food before the date so I had to choose something that we could eat cold. I ended up choosing wraps, so I went to walmart and bought all the accessories for a wrap and every possibility of what she might want on it. Be sure to get stuff she will want, if you aren’t sure, get different flavors .
The next step is the hard one, setup for dinner. If you are wise, you will get someone to setup dinner for you. I unfortunately didn’t explore this option and setup myself, after the date started (since we had to walk to the location first). She still loved the fact that I setup dinner and made everything for her, but it would have been an even better surprise if we just walked up to a setup table. Now, it’s up to you to decide, but I had her keep her eyes closed until everything was made so she was still surprised, but again, depends on the woman.
Don’t forget the candles! If at all possible, you will want to light a few candles and eat in the twighlight, this is cliche, but still very romantic and my girlfriend ate it up as we ate under the trees with 6 candles, sparkling cyder, wraps, and an after
Dessert: You want something that she will love, but not something that’s a whole other course. I chose to put girl scout thin mints on the edge of the plate for a finishing touch. The reason this worked was mainly because our entertainment provided dessert later that night, you will probably want to have a better dessert than that. (as a note, she still thought it was cute how the thin mints were placed ever-so-slightly on the edge of the plate, so keep in mind that placement of everything is important too).
Entertainment: Just about every girl likes to dance (unless your my high school prom date), so if your beloved likes to dance, find a ball or something to go to. Now, when I say ball, I don’t mean dance club unless she is into the bumping, grinding, and drunkenness that goes on there. If you can, you want to find a formal ball where she will get the chance to dress up and look pretty for you. Obviously if you are doing something where she will need to dress up, you should tell her she needs to dress up. It’s up to you how much detail you go into telling her why she needs to dress up, but you shouldn’t let her come in her everyday clothes, she won’t be happy with that .
If your beloved doesn’t enjoy dancing then I’m sure you have been paying attention to her enough to figure out what she would find very fun and romantic doing for entertainment that night (no, I don’t mean what you would find fun ).
So these are some tips for you men out there looking to please your loved ones. These tips can be applied to any price tag. I managed my night for under $75 ( price inflated due to forgetting dance tickets in the car, yea, don’t do that) and it could have definitely been cheaper. I got candles for less than 8 bucks at walmart and all my food from there for under 20. I got a corsage for her at a $22 price mark and of course the $18 in tickets for the dance.
As for a synopsis of the tips:
*do things she will love, not what you want to do
*make it an occasion for her to look her best for you
*don’t let her know what you guys will do for the night: it makes her have to trust you
I hope you find this helpful, and good luck out there
First off, the first thing I decided on, was to make it a surprise. The reason I didn’t wan her to know what we were going to be doing was because it forced her to trust me. This was difficult at first, but after awhile, I learned that the phrase “You’ll see” became my favorite, and her least favorite phrase. She will undoubtedly try many things to get you to tell her what you are planning and say she doesn’t like being in the dark (and she may not like being in the dark), but it will take the burden of planning and being in control from her and she will love that (even if she won’t admit it). By making her trust you to plan everything, she will have the opportunity to see you support and care for her without her guidance. This will give her comfort in the fact that her boyfriend/husband does know how to take care of her.
Obviously with secrecy comes the problem of making decisions based on her tastes. This is probably the most difficult part of making a romantic date, and one of the only things you can’t throw together last minute. When selecting dinner/location/entertainment, you must keep in mind what she has said she likes and dislikes. Nothing can be as terrible as cooking a beautifully romantic pasta dinner only to find that she hates the speghetti sauce you spent an hour cooking. So be sure you always pay attention to what she likes, loves, and hates.
Location, location, location. That’s always the big question, “where can we eat?”. I spent weeks pondering this question and coming up with backups in the chance my first choice became unavailable. Now my girlfriend and I are in college and don’t have much money to go out, so I decided it would be nice to eat outside somewhere on campus. Now, when you look for a location, you want to find somewhere that she will love, not you. Remember that she has no idea where you are going for dinner, so she is trusting you to do it right. I found a nice petrified wood table under a few pine trees, this was perfect for us because she is outdoorsy. If your beloved doesn’t like sitting outside, or doesn’t like trees, then this would not be a good idea for you. Pick something she would love.
Other things to consider when choosing a romantic location is it’s availability. When I chose the table under the trees, I knew that there was a good chance someone would already be there; however, I really didn’t have much of an option in the way of keeping it open, so I had a back up place in mind that was near by. When you are selecting a location, if possible, have a friend keep hold of it for you, or reserve it (depending on where it is).
The next thing you need to think about is food. This may have been decided on with location; however, I have found that most women prefer to know that their man is willing to cook for them if it means taking care of them. When deciding food you want to make sure you pick something she likes the most, not necessarily something you’ll love (though you don’t want something that you don’t like). Again, this requires careful attention long before you decide you want to do this (which you should be doing anyways ). Another thing to keep in mind is how far away you are from an oven/heating device. In my case, I had no way of heating the food before the date so I had to choose something that we could eat cold. I ended up choosing wraps, so I went to walmart and bought all the accessories for a wrap and every possibility of what she might want on it. Be sure to get stuff she will want, if you aren’t sure, get different flavors .
The next step is the hard one, setup for dinner. If you are wise, you will get someone to setup dinner for you. I unfortunately didn’t explore this option and setup myself, after the date started (since we had to walk to the location first). She still loved the fact that I setup dinner and made everything for her, but it would have been an even better surprise if we just walked up to a setup table. Now, it’s up to you to decide, but I had her keep her eyes closed until everything was made so she was still surprised, but again, depends on the woman.
Don’t forget the candles! If at all possible, you will want to light a few candles and eat in the twighlight, this is cliche, but still very romantic and my girlfriend ate it up as we ate under the trees with 6 candles, sparkling cyder, wraps, and an after
Dessert: You want something that she will love, but not something that’s a whole other course. I chose to put girl scout thin mints on the edge of the plate for a finishing touch. The reason this worked was mainly because our entertainment provided dessert later that night, you will probably want to have a better dessert than that. (as a note, she still thought it was cute how the thin mints were placed ever-so-slightly on the edge of the plate, so keep in mind that placement of everything is important too).
Entertainment: Just about every girl likes to dance (unless your my high school prom date), so if your beloved likes to dance, find a ball or something to go to. Now, when I say ball, I don’t mean dance club unless she is into the bumping, grinding, and drunkenness that goes on there. If you can, you want to find a formal ball where she will get the chance to dress up and look pretty for you. Obviously if you are doing something where she will need to dress up, you should tell her she needs to dress up. It’s up to you how much detail you go into telling her why she needs to dress up, but you shouldn’t let her come in her everyday clothes, she won’t be happy with that .
If your beloved doesn’t enjoy dancing then I’m sure you have been paying attention to her enough to figure out what she would find very fun and romantic doing for entertainment that night (no, I don’t mean what you would find fun ).
So these are some tips for you men out there looking to please your loved ones. These tips can be applied to any price tag. I managed my night for under $75 ( price inflated due to forgetting dance tickets in the car, yea, don’t do that) and it could have definitely been cheaper. I got candles for less than 8 bucks at walmart and all my food from there for under 20. I got a corsage for her at a $22 price mark and of course the $18 in tickets for the dance.
As for a synopsis of the tips:
*do things she will love, not what you want to do
*make it an occasion for her to look her best for you
*don’t let her know what you guys will do for the night: it makes her have to trust you
I hope you find this helpful, and good luck out there
