With Valentine’s Day approaching fast, it is sometimes difficult to come up with an original date idea. While dinner and a movie is a classic, try to woo your date off her, or yes, his, feet with a new, creative idea.
Some sort of social activity or something competitive is better than watching a movie. If you intend to get to know your date, going to the movies is not always the best call. “I feel like the movies are awkward ‘cause you just sit there, silently, awkwardly,” Alaina Hergenroeder, a first-year student at Elizabethtown College, said.
Sometimes an attempt to end the awkward silence makes it even worse. “One time a girl insisted on going to see a movie that just came out, but the entire time she wouldn’t shut up,” sophomore Luis Devia said. “People started getting annoyed at us. It was terrible.”
How about a date outdoors? The weather has been nice enough that, while wearing a couple of layers, you could bring your date to enjoy a nice picnic at the park. Pack sandwiches, chips and something to drink, and you are set. Pass around a Frisbee, go for a walk or kick around a soccer ball.
Once you have your picnic ready, find the perfect destination. Try going to Long’s Park in Lancaster. There are picnic tables and a beautiful lake surrounded by acres of trails.
If you are going on an evening date, check out the Pagoda. At dusk, the Pagoda is lit up and you can see the entire town of Reading below. The skyline is beautiful and it is the perfect spot to sweep your date off his or her feet.
Want something a little more active? Show your girl or guy your moves behind the wheel as you race him or her around the go-kart track, or show how well you can use a club in mini-golf. High Sports Family Fun Center in Lititz, Pa. is a place to try out both, as well as batting cages and the driving range.
“I love running around and playing games. I’m an athlete, so I always need to be moving. I don’t like to sit around. I would rather do something active or hands on,” sophomore Rachel Fuehrer said. If you want to keep warm and stay indoors, there are still options for being competitive. You can have an amazing time and a workout all in one. At the Laserdome in Manheim, Pa., just about fifteen minutes from Etown, you can challenge your date to an intense game of laser tag.
You can test out your valentine’s abilities on wheels when you take him or her roller skating. Castle Roller Skating in Lancaster is a fun and cheap place to take that special someone. If you want to stick with the winter feel, try ice skating.
“Ice skating is always a good winter date. Granted, if you don’t know how to skate it may seem silly, but it’s always fun to try new things … And afterwards, you can snuggle on the couch with hot cocoa and a movie,” junior Eric Storey said.
If dinner is in your plans, you can travel a half hour or so to check out the Hibachi Grill in Harrisburg or go somewhere neither of you have gone before. Something new is always more interesting than the norm.
While all of these off-campus date ideas are great, we do not want to overlook the power of simplicity. Sometimes avoiding the caf, putting together a dinner of your own and enjoying each other’s company in the dorms is more than enough to make a good date. “Get take-out from E-Yuan,” senior Evan DeArmitt suggested. “Set it all up. And when they come over, you have a nice dinner ready. Maybe watch a movie afterwards. You have food, you have a good time. You can talk and cuddle for hours. That’s another favorite one.”
