How to Have Fun with Your Girlfriend

Co-authored by Joshua Pompey

Last Updated: February 18, 2023 References

Spending time together may always be a pleasure, but getting into a rut can lead to complacency and even boredom. Instead of Netflix and chill, try taking her on a creative date, trying something new at home, or planning an elaborate surprise.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Taking Her on Fun Dates

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Pack a picnic. Picnics are romantic, scenic, and a great change of pace. They can be simple—try sharing sandwiches on a park bench during her lunch break. They can also be elaborate. Pack a proper basket with a large, sturdy blanket you can both lie down on. Bring a full meal as well as water and white wine. Drive somewhere with running water, and chill the wine in the water while you set up your picnic.
- Pack food you can eat with your hands and share.
- Great picnic foods include: pan-bagnat, a fresh baguette with ham and butter or fancy cheese, hummus and carrots, grapes, peaches, and chocolate.^{[1]
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Visit a farmers market, flea market, or a U-Pick. Shopping is boring, but hunting and gathering is fun. Stock up on flowers, produce, and artisanal delicacies at your local farmer's market. If your town doesn't have one, find one nearby and drive or take a bus. Farmer's markets are a great way to start a day together: go for breakfast, buy coffee, fruit, and pastry, and sit outside to enjoy the hustle bustle.
- Find silly junk for one another at a flea market or a yard sale. You might find useful things, but the goal should be to enjoy the scenery.
- During harvest seasons, visit a U-Pick. Spend the day wandering the orchard or fields together, and pick only what you actually want.
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Go on an adventure. If you have the time, the money, and the guts, do something unusual from your shared bucket lists. Go bungee jumping, sky-diving, or snorkeling. Climb the nearest highest peak, or rent equipment and learn how to surf, ride dirt bikes, or skateboard.
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Take advantage of city living. If you live in or near a city, take advantage of the cultural offerings. Check out famous monuments you've never visited, or haven't visited since you were a child. Visit the zoo and the local museums. See if your city has a “First Friday” and end the week by walking around looking at art. Cap it off with glass of wine or a nice dinner.^{[2]
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Method 2

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Having Fun at Home

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Play games. Playing games together can be a relaxing way to hang out while keeping things moving. Play cards, board games, or games that don't require any supplies. Go for board games you both enjoy, or try out a new one neither of you knows. Figuring out the rules of a new game together is part of the fun.
- If you're playing a competitive game, come up with flirty penalties and prizes. The winner should win something thrilling.
- Freak each other out with occult practices. Play with a Ouija board, or look up an ancient spell and try to cast it.^{[3]
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- Play getting-to-know-you games. Even if you've been dating forever, there is always more to learn about a partner. Try two truths and a lie—you each take a turn saying two true things and one made-up thing, then try to guess one another's lie.
- Answer questions and fall in love again. Take turns answering questions designed by psychologist Arthur Aron to get you both to open up.^{[4]
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- Put a spell on her. Take turns tracing short messages on each other's skin. Try to guess what is being spelled.^{[5]
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- Play interactive video games, like Guitar Hero, Just Dance, and Wii Resort.^{[6]
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Cook together. If you don't already cook together, figuring out how to do so can be fun and rewarding. If you cook together all the time, take a novel approach to it. Make up a new recipe collaboratively based on random ingredients you have at home, or challenge one another to make something delicious based on ingredients the other partner picks out. Have a competition for who can make the best meal with the ingredients on hand, and blindfold each other for the taste test (even though you'll recognize your own dish, it'll be cute).^{[7]
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- Try to recreate dishes you enjoyed together at a restaurant.
- If you bicker when you try to cook together, plan an elaborate meal collaboratively but split up the cooking. One of you can make the main and a salad, while the other can provide dessert, drinks, and a side.
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Indulge in nostalgia. Hunt down your favorite childhood cartoons online. Try to remember the weirdest favorites you had. Take turns picking a favorite cartoon to watch. You can be nostalgic while you have fun.
- Expand this. Listen to music you thought was awesome when you were 7. Watch a music video that scandalized you when you were 9.
- Eat a childhood favorite food that you don't eat anymore while you watch.
- Try to figure out what overlap you had as kids. If you have an age difference, grew up in different places or in very different households, it may take some hunting before you find a commonality. The challenge will make it fun.
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Share a project. If you live together, think of something you'd both like to change about your home. Maybe it needs a fresh coat of paint, or some new shelves. Maybe your photos need framing, or maybe you've been meaning to start a garden or plant a window box. Chores that might be boring when done separately can be fun together. Put on music you both like and beautify your life.
- If you live separately, you can still enjoy helping one another improve areas you both share.
- Sharing a cooking project that you can split up can be fun. Try canning fruits from your u-pick and splitting up the results. Pickle a bunch of pickles and can those.
- Learn how to brew beer together, and name your beer something silly. Go through the whole process together, even if it can only be stashed at one of your house's. Design labels and print them. When it's ready, do your first tasting together as a date, and your second as a small party with your best mutual friends.

Method 3

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Planning Special Surprises for Your Girlfriend

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Plan a scavenger hunt for your girlfriend. Place clues around town that lead the way to a final surprise or date. She will be appreciative of the effort and thoughtfulness of the game.
- Scavenger hunt together by entering the world of geocaching. You follow coordinates to find hidden treasure in cities, parks or forests.
- Personalize the clues and make them fun for her.
- To make it into a surprise, tell her to meet you in a public café to "help you shop." Instead of being there, give an employee a photo of her and a tip, and have them hand her a note with instructions for finding the next clue.
- Make sure you have your phone in case she doesn’t get the first clue or doesn't want to do the hunt alone.
- The final surprise can be something like tickets to see her favorite musician, or a gorgeous meal you've already prepared and laid out for her.
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Throw her a surprise party. It may not be her birthday, but planning an impromptu party for her might make her day. Surprises are more fun than planned activities, if they're timed right. Invite over a bunch of people she loves, buy food and drinks, and give everyone balloons to release and streamers to throw when she comes in so that the house is instantly "decorated."
- To ensure the surprise is welcome, ask her to do you a favor and attend an evening with your coworkers at your house. Tell her how much they want to meet her, and that you'll make it up to her later. That way, she'll come on time and be overjoyed that her boring obligation has turned into an elaborate present.
- Make sure the party is personalized to her tastes. Ask her friends to bring music or games that she enjoys.
- Have the guests dress in a style she enjoys or in honor of her favorite book or tv show. When she's been surprised, hand her a costume or accessory she can wear. She'll feel like a queen.
- Ask her best friend for costume/style advice if you feel like you can't be quite that smooth.
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Design the perfect day. Treats don't have to be a surprise. If your girlfriend has been overworked, stressed, or down on life, promise her a day where she doesn't have to lift a finger. Plan every detail, morning to night. Make sure some of the activities are freeform, some are organized, and that there is plenty of time to relax as well as enjoy.
- If she's someone who likes being involved in plans, plan a perfect day together. Even planning is fun when you do it with someone you love.

Expert Q&A

Question

How do I treat my girlfriend right?

Joshua Pompey
Relationship Expert
Joshua Pompey is a Relationship Expert with over 10 years of helping people navigate the online dating world. Joshua has run his own relationship consulting business since 2009 at a success rate of over 99%. His work has been featured in CNBC, Good Morning America, Wired, and Refinery29 and he has been referred to as the best online dater in the world.

Joshua Pompey

Relationship Expert

Expert Answer

It's important to put the effort in. Relationships require attention, care, and effort. Plan dates yourself to show her that you're interested in building the relationship and care about her. Even small romantic gestures, like surprise gifts, can go a long way to show that you care.