For Guys: Top 10 Date Nights

Wife not happy with the level of romance in your relationship? Try these 10 easy date nights.

Bringing back the spark

How many times have your wife or girlfriend complained of not enough time together, or that the romance is gone? Anyone in a long-term relationship has probably heard that at one time or another. The reality is that if a very small investment of time can result in great benefits.

Time Commitment and Frequency

So what kind of time are we talking about? The planning itself is not particularly time consuming, and can be as simple as picking up a local newspaper while walking into the supermarket. Picking a reviewed restaurant from the pages of a local newspaper is an easy start. Date nights can probably be once every two weeks, and it is easiest to set them aside in advance. An arrangement with a babysitter can insure that you will follow through with the plan. Conversely, if you have activities that you want to ensure do not conflict, pick different recurring day. Like video games? Date nights on Fridays, Game night on Thursday is a great way to break up the week.

Top ten
The Traditional Dinner at a restaurant
1. Movie
2. Local Band
3. Dinner at home
4. Bowling
5. Trivia: Bar or Xbox
6. The Light Meal: Appetizers / Tapas and Drinks
7. The Bar Hop: Appetizers here, Dinner there, Dessert at the other place
8. Coffee and Dessert
9. Night at the Park
10. Baseball Game

Do's:

*Pick something that you are interested in as well. A lack of interest will make the event difficult for all. Be honest about the experience.
*Share - don't monopolize the trivia controller or all of the shrimp appetizer
*Cell phone on silent - check it at the end of the date or at reasonable intervals
*Pay attention / Focus - remember that this is likely 4-6 hrs of the month where you have to be "present". Not having your head in the game for this short time will make the experience worthless.

Don'ts

* Drive under the influence
* Check your watch - probably best just to leave it at home. Have her track the time.

Making it work

Key to making this work is to invest the time on a regular basis, and look forward to the date. Being positive will yield much better results. The alternative will just be a waste of everyone's time.