Bucket Lists for Couples

Since the movie, "The Bucket List" came out in 2007, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, many individuals have started making their own bucket lists. A "bucket list" is a list of things people want to do before they die. The main two characters in the movie make bucket lists and help each other accomplish them.

But this article is about bucket lists for couples. If you are wondering why a couple would want to develop a bucket list, think about all the goals and dreams you have for your life together as a couple. What if one of you was to suddenly be diagnosed with incurable cancer, or get killed in a car accident? It will be too late at that point to follow through as a couple on all the plans and dreams you have. And the person left behind may have feelings of regret because they will no longer be able to fulfill those dreams with their partner. So, as the saying goes, "There's no time like the present."

Another nice thing about developing a couple's bucket list is the actual writing down of your goals and dreams for your relationship. It's a lot of fun to sit down with the one you love and write down all the fun things you still want to do together. There have been numerous studies done over the years that have proven that the best way to achieve goals is not only to write down your goals but to be accountable to someone else regarding the progress you are making in reaching those goals. Well, in this endeavor, you have a built-in person to be accountable to the other half of your couple. So, my suggestion is to sit down with your significant other and start writing your list.

Ideas for your Bucket List:

There can be a variety of categories for your bucket list, and the number and type of categories are up to you as a couple to determine. The following are examples of categories and ideas to spark your creativity as a couple. (I have also included some pictures of my husband and I as we experienced some of the items on our own bucket list.) Don't be afraid to write down anything you want to do together. Even if you never make all of them, you will have fun trying. And if you don't write this list down, there's a better chance you'll never do these things together. Developing this list as a couple can bring the two of you closer, and gives a warm feeling of togetherness as you cross things off your bucket list once you have done them.

Travel Goals

* Go on a cruise...or get more specific and list all of the places you would like to cruise to as separate items:

• Take a cruise to Alaska
• Take a cruise to or through Europe
• Take a cruise to Hawaii
• Take a cruise to Canada
• Take a Caribbean cruise
• Take a cruise through the Panama Canal
• Take a river cruise in Europe
• Take a river cruise down the Mississippi River
• Take an Around the World Cruise
• Take a Transatlantic cruise
• Take a Transpacific cruise

Part of the fun of a bucket list is crossing things off that you have already done. My husband found a misplaced travel bucket list we started together seven years ago. It was fun crossing things off, but we are only 1/3rd of the way done. It's also fun to dream about where we still want to go together.

More Materialistic Bucket List Goals:

• Build our dream home together
• Put a built-in pool in the backyard Install a hot tub in the backyard
• Buy a vacation home in...(insert your own destination)
• Purchase a timeshare
• Build a sauna together
• Put a family room addition on the house
• Add a home theater to the house
• Buy a boat
• Buy an RV

Vocational Goals:

• Start a _____________ business together
• Retire by the year _________ and travel
• Write a novel together
• Retire by _________ and move to a tropical island to buy a restaurant, tour guide business, etc.

Adventurous Goals, Other Than Travel:

• Go scuba diving
• Go snorkeling
• Skydive
• Go hang gliding
• Climb Mount __________
• Take a helicopter ride over a volcano
• Take a ride in a hot air balloon
• Take a plane ride over the Grand Canyon
• Go dog sledding
• Have an evening picnic on the beach
• Take a horseback ride on the beach
• Go to an outdoor classical music concert
• Fly a kite
• Run a 5k race together
• Learn to play tennis
• Learn to golf
• Start a collection of ___________
• Go on a missionary trip
• Go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Go to the Museum of Natural History in New York City
• Run the New York City Marathon together
• Visit the Smithsonian

Some of the goals in the above category could be accomplished while you are on vacation, and you would be able to cross two things off your bucket list at the same time. For instance, you could travel to New Mexico in October during the time they have the Annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, and take a ride in a hot air balloon while you're there. Or take a cruise to the Caribbean and book an excursion to scuba dive, snorkel, or horseback ride on the beach.

Bucket Lists Can Grow With You as a Couple

Whatever you write on your bucket list is personal between you and your spouse or significant other. No one else has to know what's on it. And it doesn't have to be a stagnant, one-time list. You can add to it through your years together. That will keep it fresh and fun. Perhaps you two will go snorkeling together and then decide it was so much fun that you want to go to the next level and try scuba diving. Just add it to your bucket list. But make sure to keep the original list so that as your relationship grows, and time goes by, you can look back at all the fun things you did together, and all the things you accomplished as a couple. As you grow and mature in your relationship, your goals and adventurous things you want to do together may continue to evolve, so things you wanted to accomplish as a younger couple may not include items you want to list later on in life such as in your retirement years. Keeping your bucket list fresh and evolving will keep your relationship fresh and evolving as well!

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