Exchanging gifts, favors, date nights and more are great ways to keep things fresh and exciting in your relationship. Whether you are well into your years of marriage or just starting out, it is always a good idea to introduce new ways of showing each other you care and to develop traditions you can look forward to again and again. Let your creative juices flow and see what fun it is to plan for each other and anticipate the surprises your love has in store for you!
Plan a day of pampering for each other
Set the date and then surprise each other with the sweet plans you’ve made. He might want to give you a full body massage, paint your toes, and offer you chocolate-dipped strawberries for you to enjoy while he reads to you. You could surprise him with a shower for two where you exfoliate his body for him, then give him a foot massage, followed by feast of footlong sandwiches and last, but not least, cuddling on the couch with an action flick. Whatever your ideas of pampering each other are, it will be a wonderful day for sure!
Exchange ornaments
Write little notes with reasons why you love them and Mod Podge them to the outside of a plain ball ornament. Let it dry and wrap it up for a gift he’ll cherish every Christmas for years to come.
Plan a perfect date for each other
For this, make sure you have everything planned well in advance, and make sure you have enough time to set up the entire date. When it’s your turn to plan, choose activities that will sweep your love off their feet. Dinner and a movie is nice, but catering your evening (or morning or afternoon) to your partner’s interests is a special way will show you care. It will be great to find out what your love has planned for your date, too!
Write each other love letters
The cornerstone of many engagement and marriage retreats is exchanging love letters. Some have a particular theme, like what your hopes and dreams for your future together are or the things about the other person that you admire. Not only is it great for couples to read the loving thoughts of your partner, but it really helps the writer to take time choosing their words, looking deep and discovering desires and emotions that hide deep in their heart.
Swap favorite dinner nights
Cook him his favorite meal tonight, and have him make yours tomorrow! They can be fancy and served in courses with dessert, served family style, or set up into his dream buffet – tell your partner exactly what you want, and let them do the same.
Compose poetry for each other
Grab a blanket and find a peaceful place in the shade for the two of you to relax and compose poetry! You don’t have to be a poet. They don’t have to rhyme or fit any particular rhythm either. They can be silly or sweet, long or short. Just get creative and have fun! Bring along a finger foods picnic and a bottle of wine to complete the experience.
Commitment Vows
Whatever level of commitment you are at right now (even if you are already married), you can write vows to each other! You don’t have to include “forever” or “’till death do us part” like in wedding vows. This is a creative way to put your feelings for each other into words. You can vow to kiss each other goodnight every night, to say “I love you” every day, to be kind even in confrontation, to write love notes and give gifts just because, to cherish every moment you spend together, to always be honest with them... you get the idea. Use your own personal style to write your vows. Be silly, rhyme, use metaphors - whatever feels right to you.
Reader Submitted Ideas:
Homemade Teddy Bear Exchange
My boyfriend and I have been dating for almost four years, three of them have been long distance, because I am away at school. Because of this I am also always broke. So, as part of his Christmas gift I found a kit at Wal-Mart to make your own teddy bear. I hand-made him a teddy bear and made a little velvet vest for him and sewed a little heart to his bum. He thought it was really cute! Then for Valentine’s Day he decided to make me a matching one. It was adorable and so incredibly sweet! The funny part is that his is way better than mine!
--submitted by Dana
Love Ornaments
What you do is get clear round ornaments, open the top, and slip pieces of paper inside with reasons you are in love with your partner. Or, write about great memories!
--submitted by StylishJess
A Letter To Remember
Before your wedding, write a letter to your husband to be and have them write one to you. Write about anything, but focus on your relationship with that person. Then put both letters in a safe deposit box. On your 25th anniversary, exchange the letters that you wrote to each other.
--submitted by Stacy Nelson
Art Date Night
I love my boyfriend so much and I love to surprise him with fun dates. One evening when he got off work I told him instead of picking me up to go to his house he should take a shower and meet me at a local coffee shop. When he arrived I had blank canvas frames, paint and brushes laid out on a table in the corner of the cafe. I told him since we didn't have any of our pictures together in frames that we would each decorate a frame for each other and exchange them. It gave us a chance to talk and laugh (lovingly) at each other’s art skills. After that, we went out to dinner and to a movie. The whole night was so special and we both had fun being creative!
--submitted by LaTitia
Dollar Store Date
My boyfriend and I never had a first date, so I decided to take things into my own hands. I didn’t have a lot of money, but I wanted to do something special. I took him to the dollar store and gave each of us six dollars. I told him to go throughout the store and find five things that remind me of him or what not. Then to purchase them and wait for me outside (we avoided each other around the store). I got him things like a light bulb because he lights up my life and candy because he is always so sweet. We then went to dinner and exchanged our gifts and explained them. It was cute and we both still think about it today!
--submitted by Rachel
Texting a Personal Erotic Story!
My husband goes on business trips a lot, and while he's gone, I like to send him sexy stories about the two of us. When I tried to write them, I wasn't too good at it, so I get ideas from your site, the Loverotica section It's so cool. Now we exchange stories, and it keeps us going until he comes home (via texting)
--submitted by Tahnee
Notebooks
When my boyfriend and I first started dating, I was little shy about telling him how I feel. I am better at expressing my feelings in a letter than out loud. I suggested that we both get a notebook and write down our feelings and thoughts about each other every day or every other day or whenever we felt like writing. Then, at the end of the week we exchange notebooks and read what the other has written. It's exciting because of the wait to see what you two said about each other. Before you start, you have to agree not to get mad if one writes something bad about what you did or how you hurt their feelings. It works great, and now our communication between each other is a lot better!
--submitted by Sammy
Romance Every Week
My boyfriend and I have this wonderful thing that we do together. Every Friday, we exchange sweet stuff, as we call it (romantic things like letters, poems, pictures, songs, presents, etc.) It’s a great way to show how much we love each other with little gifts every week. We both look forward to every Friday!
--submitted by BooBoo's Chelle
