Date Ideas For The Social Distancing Couple
If you’re one of the millions of couples who are separated by social distancing right now, hang in there. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and thanks to modern technology, you don’t necessarily have to cut back on date nights just because you can’t see your boo IRL. With these virtual date ideas, you can keep the love in the air, surgical mask on and all!
Have a night at the museum
Because of pretty much universal shelter-in-place orders, almost every museum across the world has temporarily shut their doors in attempt to prevent the gathering of large groups of people. For the culture loving couple, this might be a traumatic plague on your regularly scheduled museum dates.
But don’t worry – a great number of big-name museums worldwide, including the Louvre and the MET, have posted virtual tours of their galleries online! That means you and bae can call each other up while “walking through” some exquisite collections and exhibitions while still maintaining social distancing. And the best part? Well, you don’t even have to get dressed. Talk about a deal!
“Attend” a concert
Since venues and bars are also shut down from coast to coast, lots of musicians and entertainers are taking to the world wide web and hosting live streams in the place of concerts. That stadium show you and your S.O. were looking forward to can now be viewed in the comfort of your own living rooms! Until things return to normal, we can pat our favorite bands on the back for bringing us some (temporary) joy.
For a more personal experience, though, you can send each other playlists throughout the day and reconvene at night to talk about all the feels. Think of it as a book club for the musically inclined!
Send each other delivery grub
You know what they say: the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!
Surprise each other with a dinner date! Long distance couples have taken to Skype or FaceTime dinner dates for years, but a fun way to spice up your nightly meals while social distancing is by ordering food for your S.O. rather than yourself. See how well you know each other by choosing an option you know they’ll go bonkers over, and then compare your reactions over video chat. And if you’re feeling especially generous, treat them to dessert, too!
With apps like Uber Eats and Postmates, the options are endless. Plus, your willingness to pay the delivery fee is just a test as to how much you truly love someone.
Whip out the icebreakers
You might be running out of ways to get deep over video chat. But just think about social distancing dating like you would a slumber party: it’s only going to be as much fun as you decide to make it. And with the barrier of a webcam, chances are it’ll stay pretty G-rated…unless you’ve got some moxy.
Games like “Coke or Pepsi” and “21 Questions” are fun and require nothing but creativity. But they also give you the option to take things to a whole new level. If you and your boo feel like amping it up, turn these games into drinking games or ask some dirtier, flirtier questions than normal! Ice breakers are timeless and never get old, whether you’ve been seeing someone as recently as a few weeks or for decades.
Get fit
If you and your S.O. are “that” gym couple, take to online workouts for a sweaty virtual date night! Hop on a video call as per usual and agree on either the same workout live stream or some YouTube fitness videos. You can motivate each other through your computer’s audio, but make sure you leave the camera on so you can see each other and push one another the whole time – no cheating!
Throw a PowerPoint party
Don’t knock it ’till you try it! PowerPoint parties have become randomly popular on the video chat platform Zoom, where “screen sharing” is made easy, and are actually tons of fun. You and bae simply assign each other a topic to present on and a time limit, and when it’s finally time to log on, share the screen and surprise each other with hilarious presentations!
Although this themed get together is usually designed for a large group of people, assigning each other a topic that’s centered around an inside joke will make you laugh and bring you closer than ever…even if you’re separated by the entire internet.
Host a bake off
Prop up your computer’s web cam and set a timer, because we’re getting competitive in this social distancing kitchen. Shows like Chopped or The Great British Bake Off are set up in a format that’s easy to recreate, so it’s time to channel your inner competitor and get baking!
Plus, watching each other try to prepare a dish is fun on its own, so adding a layer of competition is a sure way to lift your spirits. Although you can’t really make a fair judgement on the other person’s dish, you can based on its appearance. And when you’re finished, you’ll have a delicious treat to enjoy (and you don’t have to share). The only thing more fun than this is the day when you can finally bake something together IRL!
Netflix Party
Netflix and chill with this much needed invention! For anyone unfamiliar with Netflix Party, it’s a Chrome extension that allows you to have movie night with all your people remotely by syncing up video playbacks, so you’re all looking at the same screen at the same time. Plus, it has a group chat feature so you don’t have to miss out on each other’s comments. In other words, this app is basically a social distancing date ESSENTIAL.
If you’re not sure what to watch, agree on a genre and narrow it down together. And to keep things as normal as humanly possible, do everything as you would if your boo was right there with you! Have matching PJs? Wear ’em. Have a favorite date night snack? Eat it! With Netflix Party in your bag of tricks, your weekend movie nights don’t even need to be reinvented.
