Top Ten Get To Know You Date Ideas

Go to your local library and grab a non-relationship, non-fiction book for your date. Hopefully, you can find something in his/her interests such as a chemistry book, a baseball stats reference book, a gardening book, or so forth.

Take words or phrases directly out them (save the places) and create your own fiction romance mini novel or poem based out off of them. Try not to be too cheesy or sexually overt but some can be fun. For example, "My hypothesis...O + Mg. Test subject...generates a lot of heat!" or "No...Anthony Thomas...'You're'...dependable...compared to Walter Payton". These are basic examples and I believe you can expound upon them in longer, deeper, and more personal ways to get to know what your partner thinks about you.

Go to the doggy beach (or dog park, or just a park where people have dogs) with your dog or a friend's dog and play frisbee and other fun games. You'll learn how the other person plays.

If you don't have a dog at the doggy beach, I recommend the following:

Find some chick who is sunbathing, but still holding the dog on a lead. Have the guy stand back a little ways next to some other dog that is resting (with their owner a short distance away).

She will have her sunglasses on and generally be out of it, so have the girl come up and say, "Oh cute dog!" and make small-talk. Then, she will ask the sun-bather, "Can your dog play with my dog over there?" Here, the guy will wave and smile. The sun-bather will probably say yes and go back to zoning out. You can then play and have fun with the dog, and return the dog to the sunbathing master who will be only concerned with getting a tan.

Play "Which music did I not pick?"

Have you and your date pick several guilty pleasure or secret musical artists they like, and then mix them into other bands they would not listen to. For example, you might pick a multiple choice list of Buddy Holly, Weezer, Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath), and Katy Perry, and you can't stand...Weezer. Or perhaps you can't stand three of those groups but Weezer. If you have been a couple for a while, and have defined interests in music, this could be a fun game to bet on! I'm betting that you won't guess correctly on each other though!

Coach competing little-league teams.

Through church, school, or some way, find some kids who are playing against each in soccer/baseball/Calvinball or whatever the sport is and agree to each coach one team. If you notice the kids on the other team are tackling a little too hard, too often, throwing at your players' heads with the "brushback ball", or otherwise coming up with dirty tricks to win at any cost, you will know what that means for your relationship! Similarly, on a close play that scores a run/goal, if your partner comes out screaming or kicking dirt at you, you will know their temper-ament pretty well! "Are you blind!! That was in!!!!" might turn into an argument about who will get the Roy Rodgers wagon wheel coffee table two years from now.

Help a friend move.

Shared experiences are a great bonding with people, and afterwards, you get to eat pizza and talk it over with a cold drink. It's like a movie with dinner, but the girl gets to see and respect the man more for taking charge and throwing furniture around rather than just sitting there watching Jennifer Lopez in another romcom or Fast & Furious part 8. It's fun for the guy to be active, the girl can make girl talk with the (hopefully other) girls in the bedroom or kitchen and clean up, and you can both see each other in action helping someone else.

Note: don't help each other move until FAR into the relationship because both of you will be rolling your eyes, "My date owns this? They have how many what? I'll move that...to the trash..."

Play punk-rock karaoke

Normal karaoke at an American bar isn't so much fun for me because you have your really sappy couple singing, "Near, far, wherever you are...I will always love you", you have your drunk girl singing some depressing lost-love country song, you have your party girls singing some Backstreet Boys song they grew up on, and you have your frat guy(s) singing some cliché AC/DC song. Afterwards, everyone claps and the person says, "Was I on key? Can I sing? Should I try out for American Idol?"

No.

If you have friends interested in the idea, or just coming over, play some Rancid, Ramones, MXPX, Suicide Machines, or similar gutteral music and do some karaoke. You will learn much more about your partner and how they honestly respond to things than if you just started dating last week but are doing karaoke to "Your body is a wonderland" or similar pop song that is not truthful for this stage in your love. Plus, it's fun(ny) and there's no pressure to quit your day job to "make it".

Prep day.

Find a book of old social etiquette, or look it up online. Learn many of its rules from the 1800's or whenever the advice is from. On Saturday afternoon, the guy should call up the girl and you both can pursue "normal" activities such as going to the bank, going grocery shopping, strutting the boardwalk, and dinner in your finest attire.

Use lingo from the time period. For example, "I'm stepping out with this exquisite bird tonight. She shall be sampling the Salmon Tartare, while I would be enjoying the finest double-cheeseburger your chef prepares. Please grant us a dining experience worthy of the South of France. Thank you my dear fellow. Good egg!"

You may learn things about your true selves through how you can act and take on these different personalities (or reject them?)

Do your income taxes together!

Dream and build a treehouse together

Pretend that you are going to live together in a treehouse somewhere. Plan how it will look, what you will bring into its limited space, how you will decorate it, what you will eat, and things of that nature. Make and eat banana bread and drink coconut water while you are doing it. If one of you is artistic, draw sketches of how you will look together in fashionable leaves and furs.

It could happen to you

Plan a day of charity events, but also fast the whole day until the end. For example, walk and talk through a charity 5k (get other people to sponsor you). Then, find some beggar asking for spare change and take him/her out for a meal (don't buy anything for yourself, however). Go buy each other which coffee the other person likes and buy the person behind you their drink as well. Repeat this type of activity for a while, then go out to eat and talk about your day.

The next day totally abstain from the other person and be selfish. For example, watch UFC for hours or straighten up your github branches or something.

The next day meet and compare your days!