But I’m not artistic, you say? Hold on, don’t get on edge yet.  Your ability has nothing to do with how well this idea will turn out. It is unique and entertaining, and you will learn more about each other, what your styles are and how you have fun.

If you are not the artistic type, go to the store and get the supplies for whichever one you choose to do; draw, paint, or sculpt. Find an easel or sculpting stand, and paint and brushes, pencils and paper, or clay (you can cheat and try to find something that will give you the basic shape, like a foam ball glued to a cylinder of wood, and you won’t have to use as much clay). Either go to a park or just do it at home, it doesn’t matter.

While doing this activity, don’t worry about how good it will look. It’s about having fun, not the quality of the finished work. Take turns modeling for each other and don’t show your date the result until you both have finished. That will add some excitement without being pressured to make your drawing as good as his.

Another twist, that doesn’t require any artistic ability, is to draw each other, but you can’t ever look down at the paper. Just always look at your subject, and never, under any circumstances, look at what you have already drawn.

Sometimes you may do well, but more often you will likely have an ear where their chin should be, and that eyebrow will be looking more like a mustache. Take turns. The results can be really funny!

This would be a nice late spring or early summer activity to have in the park or a lazy winter afternoon activity with hot chocolate, tea, or coffee and a lovely, blazing fire. On a beautiful sunny day pick a shady place to set up your little montage of artistic supplies. If it’s raining or wintertime, you may want to stay indoors. To make it more romantic, sit in front of a big window so you have a view of the rainy city or snow covered mountains.

If you plan to go to the zoo, make it a whole day with a picnic or lunch at a restaurant on the patio. Spend as much time as she wants with all the different animals. Don’t be in a hurry because that will ruin it.

If she loves to go boating, rent a boat and go cruising on the lake. Take lots of snacks, and if you want it to be really romantic go out at night and bring wine and candles. If she loves water skiing or wake boarding do that too. And if you have never done it, try it. Even if you aren’t any good at it, she will appreciate that you are trying to learn the things she loves.

Maybe it would be hiking. Fill her pack for her, don’t complain when you get tired, and take an interest in your surroundings. There is nothing better than a husband who takes an interest in his wife’s hobbies.

Was going to the tea shop something your wife has been begging you to do? Do it! She will love you to death. It is not unmanly to go have tea with your wife. It shows you care. When you are there don’t scoff at the other ladies and their dress or the lacy decorations or the dainty proportions of food. Take your experience seriously and at the end tell her what a great time you had (if it’s true, of course).

Remember, it is all about her. Do whatever she wants and be happy about it. After many years of marriage you may get into a habit of just thinking of each other as just people and not the one you are in love with. Use these ideas to bring that romance back into your lives.

Being tactful in choosing a restaurant for your first date may be a little difficult. In considering your options think about a few aspects of your scenario. Is this is a woman you just met or is she was a good friend before asking her out? How did you meet her? Was it through your best friend, in a bar, at work, or by accident in a park? Think about how much you know about her already. Did you talk for five minutes, five days, or not at all? Is she a shy woman? Is she loud and rowdy? Is she classy and rich? These are all things to consider when picking a restaurant and other activities.

First, think about your previous encounters. If you have known her for a long time then it will be easier to plan this date. You don’t have to be as particular in where you go or what you do. If you have met her recently or don’t know very much about her, it will be more difficult.

You also need to think about how to act around your date. Whether you should talk a lot, be classy, or don’t worry about impressing her.

You then need to think about what you do know about her. Is she quiet, outspoken, sophisticated, earthy, mature, childlike, sweet, or sassy?

Quiet: If she is quiet take her to a place that will draw her out. Pick a place that is friendly with good music, a comfortable easy atmosphere, and not too expensive. Remember, it needs to be easy for her to be drawn out. Go to places like Olive Garden, Johnny Carino’s, or good steakhouse. Be careful about what you do on this date. She needs to know that you are caring and gentle. Before talking about yourself ask her questions to get her talking. Listen and observe to know what to say.

Outspoken: If she is very verbose go to a restaurant that is fast-paced and with lots to look at. It should have fast service and friendly people. Try to keep the price down on this one. Go to places like Chili’s, Applebee’s, or a Mexican restaurant. On this date just be yourself. If she talks that much she can handle almost anything you say. Make sure you do some talking too! Don’t be afraid to tell her any crazy stories.

Sophisticated: If she is sophisticated go to a more expensive restaurant with high-class food and wine. Dress up for this date. Choose restaurants like Cottonwood Grill, The Melting Pot, or Macaroni Grill. Make sure to act like yourself but with a classy flair. Be a gentleman and get the door and her chair for he. Ask her about herself and then talk about yourself. But don’t talk too much.

Earthy: Is she down to earth and relaxed? Pick a place that is comfortable and has easy food. Old Chicago, Red Robin, or Baja Fresh are good choices. They are laid back, low priced, and encourage lots of chatting. On this one don’t worry about impressing her. She is most likely to forgive almost anything.

Mature: A mature woman is usually easy to please and expects more respect than other women. Choose a place that shows her your respect like Macaroni Grill, a high-class steakhouse, or The Cheesecake Factory. She is usually a combination of sophisticated and down to earth. She knows a lot but is still casual. Be real with this woman. Don’t be so intimate to frighten her, but add a little more of your heart to this date.

Childlike: If your date is childlike there are more options open. She will like any restaurant you go to, but might be frightened or intimidated by fancy, expensive ones. Pick a place like Chili’s, Red Robin, or a good Mexican restaurant. She may be also quiet or loud. Be alert and notice other things about her. She will probably want to be known and liked. Learn a lot about her interests, her family, and her dreams.

Sweet: This girl is easy to please, but don’t take advantage of her (emotionally or physically) and don’t take her for granted. Take her to a nice place like Cottonwood Grill, Olive Garden, or the Cheesecake Factory. Get to know her as much as possible on this date. Ask about her likes and dislikes, her dreams and aspirations, her family and friends. She will probably be a people-person and want to know about you too. Be honest and strong. She will like a man who can stand up for her and do anything for her.

Sassy: This girl knows what she wants. She may be a little tricky in capturing, and once you have her, hard to hold. Take her to exotic restaurants, ones with bars, and anything to keep her busy and interested. Be sure she doesn’t trample on you in conversation and emotions. Try to be stronger than her also in conversation and emotions. Be attractive and engaging. Tell her something interesting about yourself and ask about hers. She will probably have lots to say.

After all these considerations still be yourself, be aware of your girl and what she likes, make pleasant conversation, ask her about herself, and be there only to get to know her. Don’t be occupied with yourself or friends you may see. Have continual respect and interest in your date.

You can even celebrate Valentine’s Day very cheaply, say $10-$20 total. Think of some way to get him/her out of the house. Have already prepared some of these ideas: Get a bunch of roses (the more expensive approach) and lay them out all over the room. Light a bunch of candles leading up to the place where you will have your note telling your love where to go. Make a path of colored paper hearts, all with notes or phrases written on them. Put Hershey’s kisses everywhere the bedroom and claim that they have been “Kiss Attacked.” Write a note telling him/her where to go to find you. You can write your whereabouts plainly in the note or you can make it a riddle, have it be the first clue of a scavenger hunt, or make the phrase a scramble or puzzle. Some ideas for places to go are the park, the library to check out books on love and kissing, a coffee shop, or even another room in the house. Be sure to be at your location by the time your love gets home.

You could go a bit more expensive and buy little gifts for each other or go out to eat. Be sure that this isn’t the only thing you do. The goal is to make this a unique day.

If you aren’t married yet, consider proposing on Valentine’s Day. Have your own home restaurant. Cook a fancy meal, have candles and wine, decorate the table with candy hearts, rose petals, and scrawly love notes. Use your best dishes, cloth napkins, and dress up. Put on nice, soft music and be the server as well as a guest. Find out some things to do in your area. Go on a Valentine’s sleigh ride, riverboat ride, hot air balloon ride, horse ride, airplane ride. Whatever kind of ride you can find that will be fun.

Make hearts out of anything you can find and leave them for your mate to find. Make hearts out of colored paper, books into a big heart on the floor, really curvy bananas, by arranging picture frames on the wall, spaghetti noodles, napkins on the table, dishes in the sink, candies on the counter, or make a heart grahm cracker house with pink, red, and white candies. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out food items such as bread, cookies, cheese, apples, squash, cucumbers, and anything else relatively flat. Shower the one you love with hearts everywhere (s)he looks.

In it were letters for each of the days he was gone. In every letter he put something extra , like gift cards or little gifts. In one of the letters he put a Starbucks gift card and told her to go have coffee on him. And in another was two movie tickets, one for her and one for her best friend. In a third one was a gift card to his favorite store, telling her to go get him a gift.

This is a great way to be in your loves life even when you are away. Expand this idea to add more to your gift. Have something in every one of the letters. Ift it’s not a gift card, have it be a dried flower, a chocolate, or a little something that says “I Love You.” Have one of the letters include a poem or song you wrote about your mate. Put pictures of the two of you on a letter as well.

Maybe plan a night together when you get back. Give him/her things that will hint to it. Take a picture of the restaurant you will go to. Give her a gift card to Macy’s and tell her to buy a dress with it, or one to get her nails done or a tan. Give him money to buy a new dress shirt or a new pair of shoes. Make a cd of your favorite dance songs if you are going dancing.

You can make this as cheap or as expensive as you want to. You can make or write little things to put in the letters. Or you can do all gift cards and gifts. Be creative.

Does he have a favorite hiking or biking trail? Cook his favorite meal and make it a romantic candlelight dinner. Is there a movie he has been wanting to see? Maybe he likes to paint, but you have never been good at it. Does he enjoy music? Go listen to a street band. Make an effort to learn something that he loves and surprise him with your knowledge.

Your man may love the outdoors. And you may not enjoy it so much. Have a day of just outdoor fun. Find out his favorite hiking trail and have a hike. Swim in the river. Play his favorite sport at the park. Pack a picnic. You must be sure to have some lunch in the midst of all this exercise.

For a great date at home make his favorite meal. Maybe find out how the restaurant does it. Add a table cloth, candles, wine, and flowers to make it a romantic meal.

Think of the movie he has mentioned a lot. It may be the latest shoot-’em-up action movie or it may be a romantic drama. Either way, do it for him. If it’s at the theatre have dinner beforehand, and drinks or a peaceful walk afterwards. If it’s a rental have some snacks and drinks.

If his thing is painting or drawing or sculpting, go to the library and get some books on it. Practice for a few days before you have your drawing date. Go over to his house and bring your artwork for him to see. Set up a little station where you both can work. Draw or paint or sculpt each other. Be vulnerable with your new talent and let him critique you.

Find a street band to go listen to. They tend to be very good and if he has a passion for music this will turn out to be the perfect date. Grab some food at an outdoor stand and enjoy the music.

Whatever it is that he loves, learn it, do it, and have fun.

Be sure to think the whole thing through. It should be during the summer for it not to be cold outside. If it is a little chilly make sure she has a sweater, and if she didn’t bring one, be sure to wear one yourself to give her if she needs it.

The easiest building to get to the top of is a parking garage. If there is one with a more romantic setting near you, awesome. After sunset take a drive and tell her you had this great idea, to hang out at the top of a building. Make it sound nonchalant.

When you get to the top, get out of the car and go to the side of the building. Enjoy the lights for a while. Don’t take too long so that she wonders why you are up there. Make conversation. Talk about your life together. Talk about your dreams, or your plans. Set the mood. Once you feel the time is right, draw her close to you and pull out the ring. With her in your arms, present it to her and ask that fateful question.

Pay for her coffee! She may feel like she should pay for her own because it is a casual atmosphere and you didn’t drive to her house and pick her up. Pay anyway. It is the right thing to do and she will think highly of you.

Also, serve her. If the coffee shop is one that calls out your name and doesn’t serve their guests, be sure to do that for your date. She will appreciate your gentlemanly behavior. Don’t be lazy and get up to take her coffee to her.

Pick a nice coffee shop that has art displayed or live music playing, not your local pick-up-a-cup-and-go. It shows you are comfortable with the slowness and comfort. It will give a good impression.

Lead the way to a place to sit. Find a table with two chairs by a window or at the edge of the room. You don’t want to be right where everyone enters and or is ordering.

If a couple of your friends walk in, don’t stop and chat with them. It’s likely that they will come over and want to talk to you. Just say hello, introduce your date, thank your friends for saying hello, and get back to you previous conversation.

Dress nicely but casually. No raggedy tee-shirts or paint-splattered shorts. Have on a nice polo or button-up shirt. If it is fall or winter add a sweater. And wear a nice pair of jeans.

Engage her in conversation. Ask her questions about her work, her family, and her interests. Don’t start off the date with you prattling on about yourself. Wait until she asks you questions in return.

For some reason eating is romantic. Bring along a snack of some kind. One of my favorites, and it’s not messy so it’s easy to eat in the car, is bread, cheese, and grapes. The best breads are French or Italian. Pick some kind of nice cheese. Gouda, Parmesan, or an imported Swiss is really good. Red grapes are the best.

Consider having a wine. It will add to the romance. If you have red grapes, get a white wine, and if you have green grapes go with a red wine. I would say the red grapes and white wine combination is best.

If you are looking for non-alcoholic beverages have a sparkling apple or grape juice. That is the next best thing. Cranberry, grape, and white grape juices are good, too. If it is a chilly night, consider a hot beverage as well after you eat. Hot chocolate is classic. Or you may want to go with a hot tea, coffee, or hot apple cider.

Make sure to dress for the occasion. Be sure to wear comfortable clothes for the long time in the car. If it is in the evening, have a few blankets or sweaters to put on. Autumn drives are the best. It is beautiful with the colorful leaves and a bit chilly, so it makes a great excuse to cuddle. Drive with the windows down, even if it is wintertime. Just have plenty of blankets and turn the heater on.

Go to an old neighborhoods with lots of big trees (this one is best in the fall during the day). Go a short distance up into the hills and find a turnoff where you can see the city lights, preferably secluded. Drive to a big city park and find a little corner facing a pond or a pretty bridge or a grove of trees. Do this one in the fall or winter.

Set up a play list of some soft romantic music. That will add so much more to the romantic atmosphere you are trying to create.

Romantic songs:

By Andrea Bocelli-

• Besame Mucho
• L’Appuntamento

By Michael Buble-

• Me and Mrs. Jones
• Lost
• Wonderful Tonight
• Always On My Mind
• You and I
• Try a Little Tenderness
• Kissing A Fool
• You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine
• Put Your Head On My Shoulder
• The Way You Look Tonight

By Josh Groban-

• Gira Con Me
• Cinema Paradiso
• Vincent
• Mi Morena

By Chris Botti-

• Embraceable You
• What’s New
• To Love Again

By Alison Krauss-

• Maybe
• But You Know I Love You
• When You Say Nothing At All
• New Favorite

You can use holidays to have an excuse to give her a present. Valentine’s Day, her birthday, the anniversary of your meeting, first date, first kiss, or anything else. Christmas is a great one. Find any reason to give a gift.

You could combine two ideas. Propose on Valentine’s Day inside a gazebo, hopefully it will be snowing (if it’s not snowing it is alright). On an anniversary, climb to the top of a hill and stare at the stars. What is also good for an anniversary is a fancy restaurant. For her birthday have a day of doing all kinds of fun things and make the last one a little boating trip.

If you choose the birthday boat idea you may want a few more activities. This is mainly a summer proposal so do things outside. Go to the zoo. Buy ice cream from a street vendor. Feed the ducks in the park. Swing on the swings. Swim in the river. Go to a street or park fair.

It may be a little tricky to propose on Christmas Day. It depends on your traditions. Ideally, go to her house Christmas night, hers to yours is ok, too. Go into the living room with the tree. Have the lights down, light candles, maybe put a fire in the hearth, and have her favorite holiday drink. Sit on the couch or floor together and talk for a little while. Talk about each other, about your life together thus far. Watch the fire dance and enjoy the stillness and beauty. After a little bit, give the gift. As she opens it watch the diamond sparkle and her face light up. And right then, take her hand and propose.

The gazebo proposal is one of my favorites, whether it is on Valentine’s Day or not. The snow falling is an important factor for this scenario. Bundle up, go for a drive, and “end up” at a park that has a gazebo. Get out, stand in the cold for a minute or so and kiss, then run for cover under the gazebo. Pretend it is raining and you don’t want to get wet. She may be a little flustered and confused, but that’s perfect. Pull out your gift and give it to her. Watch her stunned face as she unwraps it. Only one thing is left. Propose.

Note: Any of these ideas are great without the ring wrapped.