Coming up with fun, creative date ideas just got easier. Here's how to use alphabet dating to give your relationship a boost.
187 Alphabet Date Ideas for Unusual and Fun Romantic Outings
Published on Oct. 30, 2024
Having regular dates with your partner helps you stay connected and keeps those loving feelings flowing. But doing the same old dinner date week after week can get boring—plus, sticking to a routine when it comes to romance really isn’t ideal for your bond. In fact, according to research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, having novel experiences with your significant other can boost closeness and generally improve your relationship.
Coming up with interesting date ideas, however, can be a challenge. That’s where alphabet dating, or A-Z dating, can come in handy.
What is alphabet dating?
Here’s how alphabet dating works: You and your partner brainstorm ideas for dates starting with each letter of the alphabet. Then, when it’s time to decide what to do on a date, you can refer to your list for a fresh activity.
You can tackle your finished list any way you want: You can do all of your A ideas first, then all of your B ideas, and keep making your way through the list in alphabetical order. Or, you can pick one idea from each letter randomly and go back through from A to Z again and again. Or pick a letter from a hat and let it inspire you. No matter how you use your alphabet dating list, you’re sure to have plenty of creative, romantic ideas to keep things fun and exciting in your relationship.
Alphabet date ideas
To get you started on A-Z dating, here are 187 ideas to kick off your list:
Alphabet date ideas: A
- Aerial yoga
- Antiquing
- Aquarium
- Art gallery
- ATV ride
- Ax throwing
Alphabet date ideas: B
- Bar trivia night
- Beach walk
- Bike ride
- Birdwatching
- Book store visit
- Botanic garden
- Bouldering
- Bowling
- Bread making class
- Brain teaser challenge
Alphabet date ideas: C
- Camping
- Candlelit dinner
- Chinese food
- Cold plunge/cryotherapy
- Collage making
- Comedy club
- Cooking class
- Craft night
- Cuban food
- Cycling class
Alphabet date ideas: D
- Dance class
- Dinner in the dark
- Dinner theater
- Disney (land, world or movie night)
- DIY project
- Dog park
- Double date
- Drag show
- Drive-in movie
- Dueling piano bar
- Dumpling tasting
Alphabet date ideas: E
- Escape room
- Evening walk around the neighborhood
- Exercise class
- Explore the next town over
Alphabet date ideas: F
- Farmers’ market
- Fireworks show
- Fishing
- Fondue
- Food tour
- French restaurant
- Frozen yogurt
- Fusion cuisine restaurant
Alphabet date ideas: G
- Gardening
- Glamping
- Glassblowing
- Ghost tour
- Goat yoga
- Go-karting
- Golfing
Alphabet date ideas: H
- Happy hour
- Harry Potter movie marathon
- Hiking
- History museum
- Hop on, hop off city tour
- Hot air balloon
- Hot tub
Alphabet date ideas: I
- Ice cream
- Ice skating
- Improv show (or class!)
- Indian food
- Indoor cycling
- Indoor rock climbing
- Infrared sauna
- Italian food
Alphabet date ideas: J
- Japanese food
- Jazz club
- Jeep tour
- Jet ski
- Jewelry shop
- Jogging
- Juice bar
- Jump in puddles
Alphabet date ideas: K
- Karaoke
- Kayaking
- Kite flying
- Knife throwing
- Korean barbeque
Alphabet date ideas: L
- Lake visit
- Laser tag
- Las Vegas getaway
- LEGO building challenge
- Local hotel overnight
- Library visit
- Live music
Alphabet date ideas: M
- Magic show
- Manicures
- Massages
- Mexican food
- Mini-golf
- Monopoly
- Movie day or night
- Musical theater
Alphabet date ideas: N
- Nap together
- National park visit
- Nature walk
- Netflix and chill
Alphabet date ideas: O
- Observatory visit
- Oceanfront getaway
- Off-road adventure
- Opera
- Origami
- Outdoor market
Alphabet date ideas: P
- Paddleboard
- Paintball
- Paint each others’ portraits
- Park picnic
- Pasta making
- Photography date (take a class or just capture cute pics of each other)
- Pickleball
- Pilates class
- Pizza (make yourselves at home or go to your favorite local spot)
- PJ day
- Planetarium
- Play pool
- Poetry writing challenge
- Pottery class
- Puzzle night
Alphabet date ideas: Q
- Quadruple date with friends
- Quiche cook-off
- Quiddler, Go Fish and Gin Rummy card games
- Quiz night (ask each other questions from online or magazine quizzes)
Alphabet date ideas: R
- Road trip
- Roller skating
- Romantic movie binge-watch
- Rooftop restaurant or bar
Alphabet date ideas: S
- Sailing
- Snow sports: Skiing, snowboarding, sledding
- Sound bath
- Spa day
- Street festival
- Sushi bar
- Swing or salsa dancing
Alphabet date ideas: T
- Take the train somewhere
- Tapas
- Tarot card reading
- Tasting date (food, wine, chocolate)
- Tea time
- Tennis
- Thai food
- Theme park
- Tie-dyeing
- Tiki bar
- Trampoline park
Alphabet date ideas: U
- Underground bar
- Underwater adventure (snorkeling, scuba diving)
- University sports game
- Unplugged day (no phones or email)
- Upscale dinner
Alphabet date ideas: V
- Vegan restaurant
- Video game arcade
- Vineyard trip
- Vintage shopping
- Virtual reality experience
- Vision board making
- Visit an animal shelter
- Volunteer for a cause you believe in
Alphabet date ideas: W
- Walking tour
- Walk the dog together
- Watercolor class
- Water park
- Watch the stars come out
- Weekend getaway
- Whale watching
- Whiskey distillery
- White water rafting
- Wild animal park
- Wine bar
- Write each other love letters
Alphabet date ideas: X
- Xbox gaming night
- X-country skiing
- X-Men movie marathon
Alphabet date ideas: Y
- Yard sale
- Yes day
- Yoga class
- Yurt stay
Alphabet date ideas: Z
- Ziplining
- Zoo
- Zen meditation class
- Zodiac reading
- Zombie movie or TV show marathon
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For over 100 years, Reader’s Digest has explored the nuances of relationships, working with such luminaries as Dr. Ruth Westheimer, John Gottman, PhD, and Leo Buscaglia (“Dr. Love”). We ran a decade-long relationships column and have published a compendium of features, Love and Marriage: The Reader’s Digest Guide to Intimate Relationships. We support this information with credentialed experts and primary sources such as government and professional organizations, peer-reviewed journals and our writers’ personal experiences where it enhances the topic. We verify all facts and data and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Journal of Experimental Social Psychology: “Our adventures make me feel secure: Novel activities boost relationship satisfaction through felt security”
