Chronicle Books - 52 Cheap Dates at Home

52 Cheap Dates at Home.

Copyright 2021 by Chronicle Books LLC.

Based on 52 Great Cheap Dates by Lynn Gordon, originally published in 1996 by Chronicle Books LLC.

Illustrations by Cat Grishaver.

All rights reserved. No part of this deck may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-7972-1233-3 (epub, mobi)
ISBN 978-1-7972-1232-6 (deck)

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

Re-create a scene from the movie 91/2 Weeks, and give your partner a blindfolded taste test (sitting in front of the refrigerator is optional). Get a combination of foods ready in bitesize pieces. Think different temperatures and textures: sweet, sour, and savory; icy and warm; combos of different foods at the same time. Oh, and dont let your date feed themselvesyou place the food in their mouth so they dont have a chance to identify it by touch.

Take turns playing hairstylist. Comb, brush, tease, and style each others hairthe crazier the better. If you happen to have spiky gel or temporary hair color, put them to good use. Then decide on a tattoo for each of you, and use a soft gel or ballpoint pen to ink on some crazy designs.

Perhaps its been a while since you walked around joyfully naked. Open the windows (and shut the blinds), strip off those tight-fitting garments, and experience the simple pleasure of fresh air on your skin. Put on some music and dance; or just do your household chores in the buff! (But no cooking, please!)

Join the intelligentsia and attend a virtual live cultural event youve never been to before: a ballet or modern dance presentation, an opera, performance art, a classical or jazz concert, live theaterthese are now all available online. If you want to buy tickets and truly attend live, go for it, but the recorded live events have immediacy and excitement as well. Either way, dress up as though youre going out, and applaud along with the audience!

Choose a cuisine youve never cooked before, and create a theme-night dinner. Shop in advance for any ingredients youll need, and make the meal together, learning as you go. Decorate your table with colors or objects that reflect the culture or region that cuisine originates from. After dinner, choose a subtitled movie in that regions language to continue with your theme. (Subtitles allow you to hear the beauty and inflection of the native tongue!)

Armed with all your favorite board games, plan an afternoon or evening marathon of game playing. Place bets and play for money (hey, you can always use pennies or play money). You can even spice it up by trying out strip versions. (Strip Monopoly? Scrabble? It Boggles the mind!)

Just about everyone has gone on a date to watch the sun set. Turn the idea on its head and make a date to watch the sun rise. Think about the best location to catch the view eastward (even your front porch), and set an alarm to ring before the sun comes up. Take an insulated coffee carafe and a couple of mugs outside, and snuggle in your pjs as you watch the sky turn from dark to light. Listen for the birds too.

Buy a special notebook and pen with which to compose erotica together. For literary inspiration, you may want to read some of Anas Nins work aloud (or perhaps you have some other favorites to share). Compose together, or take turns writing paragraphs and then folding over what youve written except for the last sentence, which the other person then continues. Read the whole thing aloud, taking turns to read the others work.

Be an artist for a day. Each of you look out a different window and paint, draw, or sketch what you see. Or, you can each choose a different corner of the house to draw an interior or still life.

On your balcony or in your backyard, have a brunch date complete with bagels, coffee, and the Sunday paper. Try to gather everything you need beforehand so you dont have to interrupt the mood once you settle in. Relax and read the funnies, do the crossword, or look at the travel section and imagine where you can go. Mimosas optional!

Both of you write down 20 personal questions on separate scraps of paper. Fold up your questions and drop them into different bowls, then take turns pulling a question out of your dates bowl and answering it. Each of you can exercise the option not to answer one question.

During the course of a particular day (or weekend), gather artifacts that are small but representative of how you spent the time together. Place them all in a can or jar with your names, the occasion (e.g., A perfect summer weekend), and the date, and bury it somewhere outside. What would you like people in the year 2525 to know about dating or relationships in the present day?