ABC Dates

Whether you’ve reached the roommate phase of your relationship, are bored busybodies (like my partner and I), just going through the motions, or simply want to start having fun again, look no further!

What is an ABC date? An ABC date is a date night (or day) centered around a letter of the alphabet including a meal and activity. It’s also a super fun way to get back into experiencing dating with your partner again! Too many times in relationships we tend to settle into our lives with each other and forget the importance of actually 'dating' your partner.

Let’s talk about the importance of dating your partner. A study conducted by the Wheatley Institute in 2023 says that over 52% of U.S. married couples reported never/rarely going on dates together. Couples that continue to 'date' each other report happier moods, higher commitment levels, healthier sex lives, lower stress levels, better communication, and much more. Many of these things have a direct correlation to our physical and mental health. Word on the street is if you date your partner, you’ll live longer. (I don’t know if this is actually true obviously but I can tell you that your relationship will flourish once you start dating your partner again.)

My partner and I started doing ABC dates our first year dating. It started as a fun way to fill our boring winter weekends but quickly manifested into something everyone was asking us about. ABC dates can look different for everyone. For us, ABC dates are local restaurants and activities that start with a letter of the alphabet. You don’t have to have an activity and a meal, you can just do one. ABC dates are truly whatever works for you! Below you will find a list of ABC dates we’ve done. Feel free to use the same date (especially if you’re local) or change it up a bit to fit you and your partner’s likes. ABC dates are whatever you want them to be with no pressure or time constraint.

A: Axe Throwing & Applebee's

B: Brunch & Bookstore

C: Coffee & Color-Me-Mine

D: Disney Dinner Date (Pick a Disney movie and then make themed food based on the movie!)

E: Edgar Allen Poe Speakeasy Show

F: Food Crawl (Eat at different restaurants for drinks, appetizers, main course, and dessert.)

G: Gambling

H: Hiking

I: Ice Cream Date

J: Jim Thorpe Day

K: Kayaking

L: Lake Day & Lunch

M: Mini Golf

N: Nature Walk

O: Outdoor Festival

P: Pizza Making & Picnic on the Patio

Q: Quiz Night

R: Rent Redbox Movies

S: Swimming & Snacks

T: Theater Date (drama, movie, drive-in; whatever you want!)

U: U-Pick Farm

V: Vintage Shops & Villa Roma

W: Winery Tour

X: eXplore a new city

Y: Yardsale Hopping

Z: Zoo Trip

That concludes our ABC dating list. We plan to continue finding other fun ways to create dating ideas for ourselves so I can share them with you! My partner and I have completed these activities over the course of 3 years but we have plenty of years of dating ahead of us. I hope that you and your partner choose to join us in creating your own ABC dates. I also want to encourage you to focus your ABC dates on your surrounding area by incorporating small businesses. The majority of our dates are local-based and support the many small businesses in our area.

I would love to hear your feedback of dates you want to try, dates you have tried, or your own ideas for ABC dates!

Thank you for reading!