Anything You Want
My boyfriend and I are both college students and are broke the majority of the time. For our anniversary we took a trip to Wal-Mart. we split up, and picked out cards, flowers, and a variety of other gifts for each other. At a certain time and place we met up in the store, and presented our gifts to each other. Then we put them all back. It was a night I will always remember, filled with laughter and love! Total cost: $0.00!
–submitted by Jayme
Ashtray Dates
When my husband and I were newly married and trying to save for a house, we would save all of our change from other store purchases in the ashtray of our car. As we needed some time together, we’d count how much was in the ashtray and go where we could on the money. There were times we only had enough money to buy Frostys at Wendy’s, and other times we went to the dollar-movie. But, it was fun never knowing before we got in the car what we were going to do next!
–submitted by Pescado B.
At Home Getaway
My boyfriend and I love to travel. We talk about places we want to go and see. Unfortunately, because of his job and me finishing school, traveling gets put on hold. To make the most of it, I set up destination theme nights. We choose a place we would like to visit, such as Italy. Then make Italian food, listen to Italian music, decorate the dining room to look like a cozy Italian restaurant, and drink wine. Every time we get in the mood to travel and are unable to we have one of these theme nights. It’s fun, romantic, and inexpensive. Plus you don’t have to pack!
–submitted by Sabrina
Back To Basics
My boyfriend and I have been dating for almost 2 and 1/2 years! One day, it was the first day of really nice weather and he told me he had a surprise for me and it required me bringing my roller blades. So I brought them and he picked me up and took me to a state park nearby. We did the 8-mile trail around the lake and afterwards he packed us a little snack. We put out a blanket and ate, talked about our past, and really got in touch with nature and each other. We even rewarded ourselves later with a movie and Dairy Queen! We try to go a few times each summer and do the same thing.
–submitted by Annie
Book Lovers Romance
The girl I had asked out on a date is quite a bookworm. Reading is one of her favorite activities and she is especially fond of the classics (Jane Austen, Victor Hugo, etc.). I am not quite as versed in the classics as she is but I also enjoy reading. So, for our first date I surprised her when, after dinner, I took her to Barnes and Noble (any large bookstore will do). Her “assignment” was to go pick out 5-6 of her favorite books. I did the same. Then we met up again, sat down in a quiet corner, and took turns talking about the book we chose (why we enjoyed it, reading some of our favorite parts out loud, etc.). It was a great way to make conversation and to learn about each other, not to mention that reading to each other can be a really great way of getting closer to that special someone.
–submitted by Anonymous
Boxed Date
Last Christmas my boyfriend already knew what I was getting him, so I wanted to make him a surprise gift too. I didn’t have a whole lot of money, so I got a fairly large box and decorated it. Then I filled it with all the things we would need for a date: A good movie, some popcorn, pasta and sauce for dinner, love coupons, etc. You can make it for any sort of date, and it makes it easy for your love to surprise you right back with a spur of the moment date. I gave it to him and he said it was one of the best presents he ever got.
–submitted by Kitty
Cake Decorating Fun
Find out what kind of cake your sweetie likes, and then start baking it before he comes over. When he arrives take him to the kitchen where he should find lots of fun frosting and decorating things. We all know that it is fun to decorated cakes no matter if you’re a guy or a girl. Once you’re done, you can have dinner, and then feed each other cake for dessert, it will be a blast!
–submitted by Anonymous
Campfire In The Park
My boyfriend and I had an early Valentine’s Day date because he had to work on Valentine’s Day. He made a few sandwiches, brought a can of soup and packed a couple sodas. I grabbed a couple disposable spoons, chips and a big bottle of water. We drove to a state park and found a perfect place to have lunch. After building a fire, he placed the can of soup on the hot coals. We ate our lunch and soon our soup too. It was so romantic. I tend not to appreciate the things he does because I am always waiting for something more. As selfish as I am sometimes, I am lucky to be with such a great guy.
–submitted by Kathryn
Camping Out Indoors
My guy and I love to go camping, but the weather hasn’t been too cooperative lately. We had made plans to go camping on particular weekend but the weather was to be cold and raining all weekend. My guy was disappointed to say the least. After he had gone to work for a few hours I decided to surprise him. I have a spare room for guests to stay over and I had a futon in this room. I hung a clothes line across the room and draped a waterproof tarp over the clothes line. I unfolded the futon to lay flat and placed it under the tarp. I attached the ends of the tarp to either side of the futon to make a make-shift tent. I then went outside and got some sticks for firewood. I made a fire using the sticks and orange, yellow and red tissue paper as flames. I set up two folding lawn chairs and a small folding lawn table by the fire. I then bought two of the Tiki lawn candles that are on bamboo posts and filled two buckets with sand and put the candle torches into the buckets and placed them into the room. I placed a small piece of artificial grass rug on the floor around the fire. I finished the room by putting glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling and I plugged in the black light to illuminate them even more. I also put a nature tape into the portable CD player and put it into the room. I then threw burgers and hot dogs on the grill on the back porch shortly before my guy returned home. When he arrived home I handed him his plate with the grilled food on it and asked him to follow me. I led him up to the “camp site” in the spare room and informed him that we were camping out that night regardless of the weather. We sat and ate our food around our “fire” while listening to the tape of birds and waterfalls in the background. I lit the Tiki candle torches and we then laid in our “tent” and snuggled up the rest of the evening looking up at the stars. My guy especially liked his own personal message of “I Love You” that I had written out with the stars on the ceiling. We have left the spare room like this for our next camping trip on another evening!
–submitted by Anonymous
Candlelit “Love Nest”
My fiancé and I love candles. Every once in a while, we put our feather bed on the living room floor and pile all of our comforters and thick blankets on top of it to make it really soft. We will light a bunch of candles all around the room and turn off all the lights in the house. Then we take turns massaging each other while watching a movie, lying in our “Love Nest.”
–submitted by Nichole
