By Dr. Don Dunlap
Pastoral Counselor
Have you run out of fresh ideas for planning fun, wholesome, God-honoring dates? Take heart!
Family Counseling Ministries -
Family Counseling Ministries
Many young people and their parents today complain that teen-agers have nowhere to go on dates, and nothing fun and wholesome to do. If you are caught up in the “boredom” trap, read on! In the 6th and final article in a six-part series on dating, Dr. Don Dunlap offers a list of fun, exciting and interesting things to do on a date. You are limited only by your willingness to be creative.
If you’ve run out of fun and exciting ideas for enjoyable, wholesome, God-honoring dates, read on for some great suggestions.
1. Enjoy a covered dish meal together. Include two, three or more couples and invite each couple to bring a special dish for the meal.
2. Play table games: Risk, Jeopardy, Monopoly, Scrabble.
3. Play action games: Pictionary, Charades, Scattergories.
4. Challenge each other to card games: Uno, Rook, Rummy, Spades, Hearts.
5. Work on crafts together: make candles, Do dough art, or make Christmas gifts for family members and friends.
6. Play Putt-Putt Golf or visit a golf driving range.
7. Attend plays at local community colleges or universities.
8. Visit local museums.
9. Go bowling, or play a game of tennis or racquetball together.
10. Go fishing or shrimping.
11. Try your hand at skeet shooting.
12. Exercise together, either on a trail in a park, or at a local gym.
13. Take a bike ride together and stop to have a picnic.
14. Work a jigsaw puzzle together.
15. Take a trip to an ice-cream shop or a TCBY for frozen yogurt.
16. Do service projects for family members, friends or widows, such as washing windows or cars, mowing lawns, landscaping, painting, cleaning houses or cleaning out sheds.
17. Make homemade pizza and invite some friends over to join you.
18. Go to the beach, go snorkeling or scuba diving.
19. Bake cookies together for someone who is discouraged or ill, or for a special event.
20. Go to a children’s park and enjoy sliding, seesawing and swinging.
21. Talk a walk together.
22. Plant flowers or vegetables together in a garden.
23. Have a cook-out.
24. Throw a pool party.
25. Fly kites.
26. Check out free comedy movies from the public library and pop some popcorn.
27. Visit a theme park together, such as Six Flags, Busch Gardens, Sea World or Disney World.
28. Get a football, basketball or softball game together.
29. Have a Bible Study/Prayer Meeting with a small group. Sing songs together.
30. Pack your backpack and take a day hike.
31. Visit garage sales.
32. Look at Christmas lights together, and finish the evening with steaming mugs of hot chocolate.
33. Go sailing.
34. Have a Frisbee contest.
35. Read a book aloud to each other.
36. Listen to audiocassette tapes together and discuss them.
37. Visit people in the hospital and pray for them before you leave.
38. Volunteer to help with school or city beautification projects.
39. Volunteer to help a child improve his or her reading skills.
Go to church activities together and get involved in ministry-outreach.
Dr. Don Dunlap, a pioneer in the placement of Pastoral Counselors in the offices of Christian physicians, has conducted over twenty thousand appointments during his ministerial career. His counseling practice includes adults, children and families in crisis. Dr. Dunlap is committed to facilitating a network of telephone counselors. His goal is to provide help for the many people unable to meet face to face with a competent Bible-based counselor. For a complete library of Dr. Dunlap’s articles, indexed by topic, go to Family Counseling Ministries. You may also make an appointment for personal telephone counseling by clicking on Family Counseling Ministries. Family Counseling Ministries is a Christianity.com ministry Partner.
