Lifestyle
Beat the January Blues with Date Night
Jan
So, Christmas is well and truly behind us, the New Year cork has well and truly been popped and our post festive wallet is looking depressingly bare. January can feel long, cold and tough. It’s times like this when you need to try that little bit harder if you are on the lookout for love or put in the time to make sure your relationship doesn’t feel the winter woes, if you have a significant other.
Why does January have to be so bleak, there’s still time to grab onto some of that winter wonder left over from December and have a date to remember.
‘The love hunt’ – For couples to start off a date night-in!
Buy some little cards and get creative. Write a clue on each card related to happy or funny moments in your relationship.
e.g. ”Look in the place we first christened this flat” or “Hidden under the place where I always moan at your for picking your feet”
The answer to clue number 1 is where you hide the second clue.
At each following clue you place another tool for the perfect date night in: bottle of wine…maybe something in leather!
The final clue should obviously lead you to the climax, a beautiful dressed dinner table or maybe you’ll skip that and go straight for another type of climax in the boudoir!
Take a dance class – good for couples or adventurous first daters
Trust me, whether you can both dance like Ashley Banjo (in which case there is nothing hotter and it will be likely that you won’t get through the full hour) or you dance more like a dad at a wedding… this is the perfect date to get the endorphins going and to have a damn good laugh together.
The art of love – generally for couples or later daters (warning: the theme of this exhibition might scream bunny boiler on a first date)
It is a simple one, but there is always something so romantic about taking your man to an art exhibition. The Barbican has the perfect choice right now in a suitably love themed “Modern Couples; Art, intimacy and the Avant Garde”. Explore Modern art and modern love; this major exhibition reveals how relationships can become a playground for creativity. You will need to be quick as this exhibition closes on the 27thJanuary 2019.
The top tip for this date is (as always) all in the delivery; place a postcard/flyer/or print of a screen shot of the exhibition and leave it with a little message inviting them on your date. If you are feeling truly romantic you might try something artistic and profound. If you’re not that way inclined just stick to a simple invitation to come and be arty with you!
Winter wonders at the southbank
I should have put this first as its my go to for pretty much everything, it’s the amazing Southbank near Waterloo. There is a buzz that is there all year round, but there’s something super romantic about a stroll on the river front at this time of year and it sets the scene for a perfect winter date.
Eat, drink and be merry beside the River Thames with the return of the enchanting Winter Market and pop-ups, offering the very best in global street food, craft beers, cocktails, artisan gifts and more.
Check out the Southbank Centre for a plethora of free entertainment including anything from live Jazz to poetry and architecture.
Head to the Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX.
Outdoor ice skating with your Christopher Torvil
What’s more fun or romantic than a spin on the ice with your hot date or your other half this winter. It’s not too late as some of these rinks are still going in January and will be a lot less crowded. What better excuse to fall straight into the arms of your man…just make sure he is ready to catch you!
Natural History Museum Ice Rink Winter Sports & Ice Skating until 20 January 2019
Skylight Rooftop at Tobacco Dock Christmas until 27 January 2019
A 3 (reason why I love you) course meal (obviously not for first dates)
An old classic with a twist. Cook a damn good 3 course meal (I didn’t say this was an easy option!) and name each dish after something you love about your Mr. Right. If you’re not quite there yet, take the pressure off and name each course after something you find sexy about him…you decide how to pitch it, just remember to write the title cards for each dish and have some fun with it.
Active daters – cycling along the Thames
For those of you who like a little more adventure on your dates, jump on your bikes and get your endorphins pumping. One of my favourite routes is along the river in Putney, finished off by a pub lunch in front of the open fire in ‘The Coach and Badge’.
Just make sure you wrap up warm in these bracing temperatures.
For alternative routes go to www.cycle-route.com
Coach and Badge, 8 Lacy Road, SW15 1WL
Dating with your head in the clouds – Sky Garden, 20 Fenchurch Street
For those of you who are less welcoming to the cold snap, then you can enjoy the amazing views of the city from the comfort and cover of the Sky Garden. You will need to go online as much in advance as possible to book your one-hour slot. Then afterwards there is an array of restaurants and bars. Why not grab a cocktail in the Sky Pod Bar…just make sure it doesn’t go straight to your head as this height!
Monument is the closest tube, and it is close to London Bridge, Fenchurch Street and Canon Street train stations.
Sky Garden, 20 Fenchurch Street
Love potions at The Alchemist – a classic date with a theatrical twist
There are venues all over the country and two in London with one opening in April 2019. Check out the website for venue details.
You might be thinking that a visit to the bar is a little uncreative for this list, but you would be wrong. This bar has something special about it that will bring a little bit of magic to any date. If your man has a taste for the theatrical, or loves things with a serving of fun then this is the place to come. The food is reasonable and tasty, but the real winner is the cocktails. The lighting, décor and atmosphere all feel like you have fallen in to some slightly dark but magical story book.
The cocktails that blow your mind in terms of creativity all help to add that little bit of wonder. The theatre comes in the smoke, magic, colour changing, popping, cracking wonders that made me feel like I was in Willy Wonka’s factory. My top tip is to ask for 2 drinks to take home, and if you check with the waiter there are a few that come with a beautiful little tin flask for you to keep. Time for a night cap?
Home truths!
Just create a sofa duo package with all the things he loves. Lay out his favourite drinks, sweets, and treats. Sort out the lighting and have his favourite movie on pause on the TV. All it needs now is you. Slide yourself under the blanket (or pull out the duvet if you are going for all out comfort) and lie and wait (maybe even with a cheeky pair of addicted briefs if you aren’t bothered about finishing the movie).