| One of the things that works to keep relationships | | | | 33. Go on a picnic. |
| alive is spending quality time with each other. In this | | | | 34. Watch a fireworks display. |
| day of the information age, it is becoming increasingly | | | | 35. Be creative and engage in sexual role plays. Be |
| difficult to carve out the necessary time to nurture | | | | anyone you'd like to be for the night who is also |
| our relationships. What with long work hours, helping | | | | exciting for your partner. |
| kids with their homework, transporting them around | | | | 36. Sit by the water somewhere. |
| to their extracurricular activities, getting dinner, | | | | 37. Do a prolonged strip tease for each other. |
| cleaning up and going through the bedtime routine, | | | | 38. Have a water balloon fight. |
| what time is left? | | | | 39. Sit outside and read poetry to each other. |
| Unless you orchestrate the time for your relationship, | | | | FALL |
| other less important things will crowd in and take | | | | 40. Go for a drive together. |
| what precious little time you do have. Pick a night | | | | 41. Go window shopping. |
| that will be "date night" with your partner and make | | | | 42. Incorporate food into your love |
| a game out of being as creative as you can be. Try | | | | making---chocolate syrup, whipped cream, fondue, |
| to see how many things you can do without | | | | strawberries---anything you and your partner enjoy. |
| spending money. | | | | 43. Call or write to someone you haven't had contact |
| To get you started, I've come up with some | | | | with in a while. |
| suggestions to help you for the next year. What | | | | 44. Cook something together. |
| follows are 52 ideas for how to spend creative time | | | | 45. Spend an evening just talking with each other. |
| together without spending money. Feel free to add | | | | Talk about the things you have done, plans you have |
| or modify any of the items on the list to suit your | | | | for the future, important people in your lives or |
| particular relationship and circumstances. | | | | current events. |
| WINTER | | | | 46. Take a bubble bath together. |
| 1. Take a drive to look at the Christmas decorations. | | | | 47. Go to a free movie or museum. |
| 2. Play cards---perhaps strip poker. | | | | 48. Take a drive and find the potential in old houses |
| 3. Watch a movie together. | | | | and their properties. |
| 4. Go outside and have a snowball fight. | | | | 49. Create an imaginary story together---either orally |
| 5. Get some finger paints and create your own body | | | | or in written form. |
| art with each other as your canvass. | | | | 50. Take turns being each other's genie in a bottle by |
| 6. Go sleigh riding. | | | | fulfilling your partner's every wish and fantasy. |
| 7. Go ice skating. | | | | 51. Play in the fallen leaves. |
| 8. Work out or exercise together. | | | | 52. Create an exciting scavenger hunt that ends in |
| 9. Stage your own improvisation show. | | | | your bed. |
| 10. Sing to each other. | | | | Now you have 52 suggestions for things to do with |
| 11. Review or create a photo album or scrapbook of | | | | your partner for every week of the year divided by |
| your memories together. | | | | season. Certainly you don't have to follow my |
| 12. Play a board game---perhaps chess, Scrabble or | | | | suggestions. Feel free to add your own or to repeat |
| Twister. | | | | your favorites as often as you'd like. |
| 13. Go to a book store, get coffee and read for | | | | The main point is not to see how kinky you can get. |
| hours. | | | | The idea is to keep your relationship alive by making |
| SPRING | | | | time together a priority. It is important that you find |
| 14. Work on a remodeling project together. | | | | things to do as a couple that you can both enjoy. If |
| 15. Plan and complete a yard work project together. | | | | you have vastly different interests then you can |
| 16. Do the spring cleaning together---room by room. | | | | enter this with the spirit of taking turns and each |
| When done, reward yourself by making love in the | | | | agree to happily participate in the activity chosen by |
| room you've cleaned. | | | | the one whose turn it is that week. |
| 17. Put on old clothes and mud wrestle after some | | | | As long as you make a habit of making your |
| drenching rain. | | | | relationship a priority and allocating time each week |
| 18. Give each other a massage. | | | | for rejuvenation of the feelings that attracted you in |
| 19. Play catch---football, baseball, softball or Frisbee. | | | | the first place, then you stand a good chance of |
| 20. Go to a car dealer and test drive the car of your | | | | staying together for the long haul. |
| dreams. | | | | Please don't let insidious boredom enter into your |
| 21. Shoot basketball together. | | | | relationship through the back door. This is what |
| 22. Dance together. | | | | frequently happens when we are busy placing other |
| 23. Take a shower together and wash each | | | | things ahead of our time for each other. You know |
| other---everywhere. | | | | what I mean---the job, the kids, our friend in crisis, |
| 24. Take a free adult education class together. | | | | etc. There will always be a competing interest for the |
| 25. Go to a mall and have a contest to see which | | | | time you've set aside for each other. |
| one of you can get the most free samples. | | | | Other than natural disasters, threat of death or |
| 26. Go rollerblading or bike riding. | | | | major crises, do not allow your time together to be |
| SUMMER | | | | invaded by any outside forces. Make sure to create |
| 27. Build a campfire and roast marshmallows. | | | | opportunities for you to do things together without |
| 28. Go swimming or skinny dipping. | | | | outside influence. With more than 50% of today's |
| 29. Give each other a manicure or pedicure. | | | | marriages ending in divorce, make this small |
| 30. Go somewhere crowded to people watch. | | | | investment in the longevity of your relationship. You |
| 31. Go to a free outdoor event, perhaps a concert. | | | | have nothing to lose and everything to gain. What's |
| 32. Lie on a blanket outside and watch the clouds or | | | | stopping you? Start today. |
| stars. | | | | . |