This article was reviewed by John Keegan
and by wikiHow staff writer, Sophie Burkholder, BA
. John Keegan is a Dating Coach and motivational speaker based in New York City. With over 10 years of professional experience, he runs The Awakened Lifestyle, where he uses his expertise in dating, attraction, and social dynamics to help people find love. He teaches and holds dating workshops internationally, from Los Angeles to London and from Rio de Janeiro to Prague. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Humans of New York, and Men's Health.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
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Dating can feel complicated enough as is, so why don’t we bring it back to basics—aka, the ABCs! Alphabet dating is a cool new approach to planning date nights—basically, you choose a new letter for each date night and select an activity that starts with that letter. But if you’re fresh out of creative or romantic date ideas, we’ve got you covered with the ultimate list of alphabet date ideas. Keep reading to find your perfect A-Z date night!
Alphabet Dating Challenge: Overview
Pick a letter of the alphabet for each date night (once-a-week, once-a-month, or whenever you and your partner have the time).Then, choose a date idea that appeals to you off of that letter’s list. If your letter is “L,” for example, choose from laser tag, a lobster dinner, a Latin dance class, and more!
Steps
A-G Alphabet Date Ideas
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1“A” Date Ideas
- Amusement park
- Arcade
- Antique shopping
- Ax throwing
- Apple picking
- Archery classes
- Afternoon tea
- Aquarium
- Aura reading
- Asian dining
- Art gallery
- Al fresco dining
-
2“B” Date Ideas
- Basketball game
- Biking
- Brunch date
- Bookstore exchange (visit a bookstore together and buy a book for the other person)
- Black-tie dinner
- Birdwatching
- Bungee jumping
- Boba tea bar
- Ballet performance
- Backyard camping
- Bed-and-breakfast staycation
- Beach day
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3“C” Date Ideas
- Cooking class
- Coffee date
- Caroling
- Canoeing
- Cocktail bar crawl
- CrossFit class
- Candlelit dinner
- Cirque du Soleil show
- Cinema date
- Comedy show
- Craft night
- Casino
-
4“D” Date Ideas
- Drag show
- Dance club
- Distillery tour
- Disc golf
- Doughnut shop crawl
- Dim sum
- Drive-in movie
- Darts tournament
- Dollar store shopping spree
- Dinner theater
- Dog park
- Dinner cruise
-
5“E” Date Ideas
- Escape room
- Easter egg hunt
- Estate sale
- Eighties-themed movie night
- Espresso tasting
- Egg toss competition
- Exercise together
- Elephant sanctuary
- Enchilada night
- Ethiopian cuisine
- Evening picnic
- Ecotour
-
6“F” Date Ideas
- Frisbee
- Flying kites
- Fishing trip
- Football game
- Fro-Yo date
- Fajita night
- Flea market
- Farmer’s market
- Fireworks show
- Festival in your town
- French cuisine
- Fondue dinner
-
7“G” Date Ideas
- Game night
- Glass blowing class
- Go-Karts
- Golfing (mini or otherwise!)
- Ghost tour
- Garage sale crawl
- Glamping
- Goat yoga
- Geocaching
- Gardening
- Gondola ride
- Guitar jam session
H-M Alphabet Dating Ideas
-
1“H” Date Ideas
- Hammock hang-out
- Hot air balloon ride
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Hot yoga
- Hockey game
- Haunted house tour
- High school football game
- Hula lesson
- Happy hour date
- History museum
- Hookah bar
-
2“I” Date Ideas
- Ice cream parlor
- Ice skating
- Indoor camping (did someone say fort-building ?)
- Irish dance lesson
- Improv show (or improv classes!)
- Italian dining
- IHOP breakfast-for-dinner date
- IKEA shopping adventure
- Irish pub
- Indie concert
- Ice bar
- Ink lettering and calligraphy class
-
3“J” Date Ideas
- Jigsaw puzzle
- Juggling lesson
- Juice bar date
- Jewelry-making
- Japanese dining
- Jam- and jelly-making
- Jenga tournament
- Jiu-Jitsu class
- Jazz club
- Junk Food Day
- Jogging
- Jacuzzi
-
4“K” Date Ideas
- Karaoke
- Kayaking
- Kickball
- Knitting date
- Kitchen herb garden set-up
- Korean BBQ
- Kick-boxing class
- Knife throwing
- KFC dinner
- 5 K run
- Kombucha brewing date
- Kitten Cafe
-
5“L” Date Ideas
- Luau at-home
- Lakeside day
- Laser tag
- Latin dance class
- Live music show
- Limo ride to dinner
- Lobster dinner
- Library date
- Love-letter writing
- Lego building
- Lazy day (pajamas only!)
- Line dancing
-
6“M” Date Ideas
- Margarita night
- Murder Mystery game night
- Massages
- Movie marathon
- Magic show
- Musical
- Mani-pedis
- Mural tour
- Monopoly game
- Mud run
- Mexican cuisine
- Mountain biking
N-S Alphabet Date Ideas
-
1“N” Date Ideas
- Nightclub
- Nacho bar
- National Park visit
- Nintendo tournament
- Night swimming
- Nature walk
- Nerf gun war
- Nigerian cuisine
- Night market
- Netflix and chill
- Novelty gift exchange
- ‘Name That Tune’ Game Night
-
2“O” Date Ideas
- Opera performance
- Off-roading
- Open mic night
- Origami class
- Orchestra concert
- Obstacle course
- Omelette bar brunch date
- Observatory
- Oyster bar
- Open air cinema
- Old Western movie marathon
- Oxygen bar
-
3“P” Date Ideas
- Public art tour
- Pub crawl
- Paint and Sip
- Paddleboarding
- Pickleball
- Pizza parlor
- Picnic
- Professional photoshoot
- Piano bar
- Poetry slam
- Paintball
- Pottery class
-
4“Q” Date Ideas
- Quiz/Trivia night
- Quilting class
- Quesadilla bar
- Questions to Fall in Love
- Quarters tournament
- Queen/King for a Day (treat your partner like royalty for a day!)
- Quadruple date (with three other couples!)
- Quote-Off (challenge your partner to name the origin of a list of quotes!)
- Quill-writing lesson
- “Q”-Themed movie marathon (A Quiet Place, Quantum of Solace, Quest for Camelot, etc.)
- Queso dip bar
- Quirky hat date
-
5“R” Date Ideas
- Rock climbing
- Roller skating
- Rodeo
- Reading to each other
- Racquetball
- Rom-com movie marathon
- Ramen dinner
- Renaissance Faire
- Rooftop bar
- Red velvet cake baking date
- Roller derby bout
- Re-enact your first date
-
6“S” Date Ideas
- Sushi-making night
- Skydiving
- Spa day
- Stargazing
- Snowboarding
- Spin class
- Speakeasy
- Salsa dancing class
- Shakespeare in the Park
- Sledding
- Snowshoeing
- Swing dancing
T-Z Alphabet Date Ideas
-
1“T” Date Ideas
- Thrift store shopping spree
- Trampoline gym
- Taco night
- Trapeze class
- Tiki bar
- Tubing on the water
- Tennis match
- Train ride through nearby scenery
- Tap dancing lesson
- Tandem bike-riding
- Tie-dyeing
- Tarot card reading
-
2“U” Date Ideas
- Unicycling class
- Ukulele lesson
- Unicorn cupcake -making
- Underground city tour
- U.S. monument visit
- Upcycling craft night ( furniture , clothing , or whatever you have on hand!)
- Ultimate frisbee
- Urban exploration (tour a nearby city!)
- University sports game
- Upscale restaurant date
- UNO tournament
- “U”-Themed movie marathon (Up, Uptown Girls, Under the Tuscan Sun, etc.)
-
3“V” Date Ideas
- Vineyard tour
- Volunteering
- Virtual Reality arcade
- Video game tournament
- Vegan dining
- Vegetable pickling
- Volleyball game
- Variety show
- Vintage car show
- Vinyl record shopping
- Visit with family or friends
- Vase-painting craft night
-
4“W” Date Ideas
- Whitewater rafting
- Walking food tour
- Waterpark
- Walk in the woods
- Watercoloring
- Waterfall hike
- Wakeboarding
- Weekend getaway
- Woodworking class
- Wax museum
- Waltz lesson
- Watch the sunrise or sunset
-
5“X” Date Ideas
- Xylophone lesson
- ‘X-Marks-the-Spot’ Challenge (plan a scavenger hunt for your partner!)
- X-Men movie marathon
- E x po for whatever convention is in your area
- X (Cross)-Country skiing
- The X-Files binge watch
- Xbox tournament
- X-mas (Christmas)-themed date
- Si x Flags
- “X”-Themed movie marathon (Xanadu, XOXO, The Xposé)
- Xtreme Sports Day
- E x otic animal show
-
6“Y” Date Ideas
- Yoga
- Yahtzee tournament
- Yard sale crawl
- Yurt trip
- “ Yes Day! ” (say yes to everything for 24 hours!)
- Yard games tournament
- Yarn crafting night
- Yo-Yo tricks workshop
- Yacht cruise
- “Yellow” date (wear yellow, eat yellow food, watch Old Yeller or Yellowjackets)
- “Y”-Themed movie marathon (You Again, Year One, Yours Mine & Ours)
- Yodeling lesson
-
7“Z” Date Ideas
- Zip lining
- Zoo date
- Zumba class
- Zombie movie marathon
- Zero-proof mixology class
- Zodiac reading
- Zero gravity flight simulator
- “Z”-Themed movie marathon (Zoolander, Zootopia, Zombieland)
- Zucchini bread baking date
- Zine-making workshop
- Zentangle-making
- Zorbing
How to Do Alphabet Dating
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Plan a date night by randomly selecting a letter and choosing a date idea. There are a few different ways to organize your alphabet dating challenge—depending on you and your partner’s preferences and schedule. One way to play is to label twenty-six slips of paper with letters A-Z. Put all of the letters into a bowl or jar and set the container aside. When you and your partner want to go on a date, select a random letter from the bowl and pick a date from that letter’s list. [1] X Research source
- If you and your partner want to be a bit more regimented and purposeful with your dates, set a goal to complete one “alphabet date night” every week or every month. You can set yourself a timeframe (i.e., complete all letters within six months or one year), or not! [2] X Research source
- Alternatively, plan ahead of time by designating each letter to a week and going in order. Planning ahead may be especially useful if some of your favorite alphabet date ideas are seasonal—like ice skating or a Renaissance Faire.
- Instead of using paper slips, you can also use a virtual roulette wheel or other online tool to randomly select your letter.
- Make sure to personalize your alphabet date ideas to you and your partner. Choose options that speak to your personality and interests, but be open to try new things too! Aim for a balance of extravagant vs. simple, seasonal vs. year-round, and new-to-you vs. comfortable.
What is alphabet dating?
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In alphabet dating, each activity matches a new letter of the alphabet. If you’ve ever struggled to come up with new date night ideas for you and a partner, the alphabet dating challenge seeks to provide a solution! Instead of trying to come up with a fun and unique date idea from scratch, simply choose a letter of the alphabet and plan a date that starts with that letter. [3] X Research source
- For example, let’s say your letter for date night that week is C. You could go c ycling, take a c ooking class, or watch a c omedy show!
Expert Q&A
Tips
- If you and your partner love to travel, include places you want to visit on your list—if you realistically think you can achieve them as part of your alphabet dating challenge. For example, “R” could stand for “Redwood National Park” or “G” could stand for “Geneva.”Thanks
- Leave the different alphabet date ideas up to your interpretation. For example, “spa day” could mean you have a DIY spa day at home or visit a local spa for a couples’ massage and pampering sesh!Thanks