30 Perfect First Dates

The world of first dates is full of potential for disaster. Apart from the fact that if you get it wrong you could lose a potential dream relationship there are the other worries too. Will you even like him or her? What if you run out things to say? Will you make a fool of yourself? What if you're really boring? What if she/he has bad breath? Or worse still what if you have bad breath?!

One way to take the pressure off slightly is to pick an environment for your first date where you would both feel comfortable and occupied. Not all first dates are simply a meal and a movie. However it might be an idea to check and see if your prospective date would cope with the chosen environment. For example choose a summer picnic and find she suffers chronically from hayfever, go to an all you can eat barbeque under the stars only to find they're vegetarian, she suffers from vertigo and you're taking her rock climbing...)

Bear in mind you're meeting your date to get to know them a little better. You're gonna need to talk at some point. Headbanging music, manic activity etc might not be terribly helpful. Furthermore if you are meeting a stranger for your first date your options must be limited to what's safe and sensible and ALWAYS tell someone where you are going and who with and what time you hope to be back.

Great first date ideas When you're more comfortable in the crowd Group events will show how your date interacts with others. A perfect first date in a crowd might be:

A day at the races - horse racing, dog racing, or car racing. Fun to watch and can be even better if your date is passionate about horses/cars etc

Casino - all bets are off! Spend the evening in a casino and a great way to observe how your potential date copes with pressure. And winning or losing!

Zoo - A lovely place for animal lovers to spend a first date and there's always something to talk about. From the animals themselves to environmental issues to travel

Aquarium - For the more ocean orientated this can be a lot of fun and again there can be much to talk about.

Art Gallery or Museum - If you're both into history or the arts what a great way of learning each others tastes and interests.

Amusement park - Thrill seekers. If she copes with the scariest ride in the park does that mean you're a pair?

Tourist bus trip - We all live in places where we walk past things everyday and have no idea of their origin or significance. Take a tourist bus trip around your home town - possibly open topped - and learn things together.

Boat trip - the same applies for a boat trip along the local river/lake. Bet you're lived there all your life and never done the trip. Make the most of the opportunity.

Cinema - This doesn't leave a lot of scope for talking but it can be a good way to break the ice

Theatre - The same applies to the above but it can be an enjoyable evening in a more formal way and the intervals can be a good time to chat and learn each other

Concert - noisy possibly but if you're both into a certain band/group it can be an excellent ice breaker

Comedy act - What better way to start a relationship than full of laughter?

If you're more comfortable being active on a date. Action dates are great for interaction between you which helps to create a bond with your date. Activities together will give the impression that you have spent more time with your date than you actually have and make you feel as if you know them more.

Mini golf - a step back into childhood possibly. And you can see how he copes with not winning;-)

Bowling - Your own lane, own table, you can talk to each other and you don't have to stare at each other the whole time.

Ice skating - Fun to do and it gives you both a perfect excuse to hold on to each other.

Paintball - Pull that trigger, sweat it all out and enjoy. Forget the paint and the mud all over you. Forget the poise and see the best and the most unwanted in each other.

Lasertag - Similar to the above but without so much adrenaline. Or muck.

Kite flying - A seriously romantic way to spend a first date and bound to win you some great brownie points - Years later people will ask about your first date and she'll say, 'He took me kite flying.' and everyone will go 'Ahhh, how romantic!'.

Sand karting - Unusual and fun.

Go-karting - Check the driving skills and see whether your date is a potential speed freak maniac or a back seat driver who tells you how to drive.

Billiards/Pool - Apart from being active and fun you can place a bet along the lines of loser cooks dinner for the winner. A great set up for the next date.

Dancing - Take her to a learn Salsa/Line dancing etc. (Check and see if she's keen first! She might be a professional dancer or have two left feet and the thought of showing off her lack of grace might be a big no no.)

Food based first dates

Go on a picnic - Picnics rank high; they're casual. If the date gets tricky you can go kick a soccer ball together or throw a frisbee.

Drink in a bar - A nice time limiting way to get to know each other. If you like each other you can go on to a restaurant afterwards.

Coffee shop - First dates aren't limited to evenings - sometimes enjoying a great coffee in a small cafe can be a perfect start

Go to a themed restaurant - Japanese where the chef cooks in front of you, or eat in the dark (Dans le Noir) Greek where you throw your crockery after you've finished eating. The options are many and can be a great focal point when conversation gets sticky.

Adrenaline junkies? Or just want to do something truly spectacular for your first date?

Bungee jump - Take a leap of faith. Your relationship and the jump!

Giant swing - See the fall at Oribi Gorge - if she or he is still keen on the idea of dating you then it's well worth exploring the idea.

Hot air balloon - A very romantic way of enjoying a first date, not only is it an awesome experience, you both get to know each other in a unique environment.

Abseiling and rock climbing - There are many indoor and outdoor climbing facilities and what better way to learn about the ups and downs before you than by climbing!

Please remember always tell someone where you are going and if you're meeting a stranger always meet in public.

If you're looking for fun activities and ideas for things to do go to find-fun. They currently have over a 1000 great ideas, and growing, to meet all budgets, ages and weather!

Written by Jen Errico - reluctant housewife, happy mum, author and web designer.
Love-writing.co.uk - on writing and the meaning of life ;-)

3 Keys to Creating a Profile That Attracts the Dates You Really Want

I'll admit it. There was a time not so long ago where I thought the whole online dating thing was a waste of time. But I discovered a secret that took me from sitting in my house watching movies alone to being the Dating Site Maven with 4 dates a week!

This is the story of how that happened and how you, too can skip the painful experimentation stage and move on to the more fun stage - getting offline and out dating.

At the age of 50, I went from being engaged to be married (no easy task at any age) to being suddenly single. I soon discovered that chance meetings in book stores and coffee shops were a thing of the past. After enduring several unsuitable dates arranged by well meaning friends, I mustered up the courage to try online dating.

I admittedly entered this genre screaming and kicking; subconsciously sabotaging my efforts at every turn with disastrous results. I did all the usual "dating prep work": stylish hair cut, nice clothes, updated make-up, brightening teeth etc, but because I truly did not want to travel down this road at this point in my life, my attempt was half hearted - and that never works.

A depressed friend shot the first round of photos, while discouraging me about my chances for success. (ouch) In retrospect, the pictures were sad, uninviting and desolate, like the ones taken in a pinch with a cell phone camera. My first vague attempt at a profile wasn't much better. It was just plain boring. I was clear about what I didn't want, yet did little to invite prospective dates in to my world.

For the next year or so my profile netted nothing more than a couple of coffee dates. And so like so many others, I declared "it just doesn't work" and "it's nothing more than a waste of time." I had entered the "being stuck in cyberspace dating doldrums" phase.

So I "gave up for good" and vowed never to revisit this path - until I met several upbeat 50+ women, with online dating success stories. Hmmm. What were they doing that I wasn't? And so I entered phase two with a serious attitude adjustment.

I decided to use my background in marketing and business to give my profile page a "makeover." How would I market me? I made a one to two year commitment to the business of "finding love." I would create my own "brand" and "marketing campaign."

First and foremost I needed new pictures - new professional photographs.

Tip no. One - get great professional photos that look like you do NOW. You may think that this is expensive. Maybe, but there are some strategies you can use to help manage the cost. Look around and you may find plenty of creative types willing to trade services for great pictures. Perhaps you could trade marketing or advertising expertise for photos. Think outside the box and make your needs known, as I did. The photographer you select needs to be highly creative with the ability to capture your different moods; some playful, serious, sexy, contemplative, spunky and confident. Think of the some of the great photographs you've admired which transfixed not only the image, but displayed the essence of the personality and spirit. That needs to be your goal for the photo shoot, so don't be shy and don't settle for less.

Then I got a new wardrobe and had the photographer focus just on me.

Tip no. 2 Keep it Simple. I used only two sets of clothes; one dressy and another nice casual, which worked out fine. Here's the most important part to remember: on-line dating pictures are only about you and no one else. I know, you want people to think that you are dating online "by accident," so maybe your photo page is filled with pictures of your children/grandkids/pets/art etc. Mistake! And trust me, people looking at your profile don't' care about your trip to the Grand Canyon, Hawaii, India or Tibet. Why? They don't know you - yet. Frankly it is too much information for strangers in cyberspace.

I used my marketing background to describe myself, without pretending to be someone I am not.

Tip no. 3: Be truthful, consistent and avoid being too general. Spend some time thinking about your subject line for your online profile. It should be a bit catchy but not too provocative. The same is true for the narrative within your profile. You wouldn't just throw together the first thing that comes to your mind in a business proposal, so use the same strategy for your profile.

Don't change your profile too many times or people may wonder what you're up to - or even if you're the same person - which can be a little weird.

Be specific about what you are looking for and what you have to offer. Nearly everyone likes sunsets and beaches, so use descriptive words and specific destinations that might pique some interest. And PLEASE be honest about your age. This is one of the most common complaints about on line dating.

Finally don't rush the process. If you are recently out of a long term committed relationship or widowed, it make take a long time - and that's OK. Remember the process is about you, so put your best foot forward and take the leap. You may be surprised to find there are others in the same position who also seek a meaningful connection.

Today, I enjoy as many as 4 dates per week, all because I looked at myself and my profile differently. If your dating site profile is attracting "all the wrong people" consider getting someone to play neutral third party, like I do for my clients every day. Soon you'll attract the dates you're really looking for and maybe someday soon, you'll find "the one."

To your online dating success,

Christine

Christine Jager helps men in their 50's and better create dating sites that attract their ideal date. Known as the Dating Site Maven, she also publishes a newsletter filled with tips and information to get you offline and out dating. Visit http://christine-jager.blogspot.com to learn more.

Meeting Women: Surefire Spots To Get Dates

The first thing I want to do immediately is to give you a

CONCRETE, STEP BY STEP PLAN that you can immediately use to go out right now and start meeting more women.

Now, most guys have it all wrong when it comes to meeting women.. Let me clear up the confusion with 2 "Wisdom Nuggets":

WISDOM NUGGET #1: Most normal guys UNDER-ESTIMATE

how many women they need to SEE and MEET in order

to develop their approach skills. And it doesn't

matter if your goal is to find that one perfect

woman. In order to meet her when you finally

have a chance, you need good approach skills.

WISDOM NUGGET #2: If you're not SEEING women (if

they don't come into your field of vision), then

you're not MEETING women. So this is a critical

first step. The more women you see, the more

opportunities you'll have to develop and refine

your approach skills, get dates, etc.

The first step to seeing and meeting more women is

going where there are plenty of them. Duh.

So I'm going to give you 3 of my favorite places

to meet women:

1) SHOPPING MALLS

Ah, shopping malls. Such a terrible place to meet

women. I mean, look around, there's only like 9

or 10 women for every 1 man walking around the

place. Lol ...

Yes, there are tons of hot women working AND

shopping there.

Women flock to shopping malls like plastic

surgeons flock to Michael Jackson's mansion.

2) RESTAURANTS

The idea with restaurants is that if you're going

to eat out you might as well do it in a "Target

Rich Environment" (a place with lots of women).

You can turn just your average lunch into an

opportunity to walk home with several numbers of

interesting females.

And if you look around you will start to find many

restaurants in your area that consistently have

quite a few women eating (and working) there.

Larger restaurants obviously have more people and

so more women than smaller ones, so eat there.

And when you're being seated by the hostess, see

if she can seat you in a place where you can have

a good view of the female traffic going in and

out, so when a woman that interests you enters

you'll have easy access to do your approach.

So far nothing new, right? Pretty common sense.

Well here's something I bet you don't normally do:

Find a restaurant where there's a lot of walking

traffic RIGHT OUTSIDE. Grab a table where you

can see all these people walking by. If there's a

patio, that's perfect.

When you see a hottie walk by, leave your food and

approach her.

This is quite a ROMANTIC move, because you can

HONESTLY say,

"Excuse me. Hi. I don't know exactly how to say

this, but I was right in the middle of my lunch,

and I saw you walking and had to tell you you are

absolutely ... beautiful."

What this does is it puts you in a position where

1) you are being 100% HONEST when you say this

(so it's not a "line") and

2) it's a NATURALLY ROMANTIC move to make.

(By the way, if you combine these first 2 places

to meet women what you get is: restaurants in

shopping malls where you can see the foot traffic

walk by. Excellent.)

3) CONCERTS, FAIRS, AND OTHER COMMUNITY EVENTS

These are all great places to meet women because

every woman there is out to have a good time.

They're not in a rush to get to work or some

other place, so it's not like you're approach is

interrupting them from anything important.

This makes it just that much easier for them to

be open to having a random conversation with a

guy who has his act together.

(Oh, by the way, that guy is YOU in case you

haven't figured it out yet).

***TIMING IS CRITICAL***

You visit your favorite restaurant on Tuesday at

lunch. But because it's not crowded at that time,

there's not even a single hottie. The same

restaurant on Friday evenings at 7 pm is full of

pretty women.

You go to the mall at 6 pm on a Tuesday and it's a

desert. That same mall at 2 pm on a Saturday is an

oasis full of hot women.

So if you visit a Target Rich Environment but

there's not many beautiful women there, ask

yourself if your timing is off.

Here's a secret: Ask people who would know when

the most crowded time is. At a shopping mall,

restaurant, or grocery store you could ask any of

the employees. They would know. Just ask them,

"When is this place the busiest, anyways?"

Or to save even more time, you can always CALL

AHEAD to a new place you want to check out, and

ask someone over the phone when's the busiest

time. You'll be surprised how much info some

people will give you.

Now, some of you are thinking, "Man, I already

know this stuff."

Maybe you do.

But are you DOING it?

Here's an easy way to tell:

Have you approached 5 or more women in the last 7

days?

Seriously. Think about it.

Have you?

If not, then although you "know" this stuff,

you're not DOING it.

That's the trap that most "normal" guys fall into.

They sit back and criticize, but if you look at

what they're DOING it's clear they're not taking

enough ACTION to ever get their skills to a level

where they'll have the success with women they're

looking for.

A success that some of you right now believe is

impossible ...

Well, it's not impossible ... IF YOU DO THE WORK.

So, here's your HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:

Go out in the next 48 hours and visit at least 2

Target Rich Environments. Could be a mall. Could

be a restaurant. Could be another place you

thought of on your own where there's likely to be

ladies present.

And all I want you to do is 1 thing:

1) COUNT how many pretty women you see in the next

48 hours. This includes those you see at the

Target Rich Environments AND any other women you

see anywhere, like on the street, in stores,

supermarkets, wherever.

So 48 hours from now, if you're Bill from Illinois,

Gary from Australia, or whoever from wherever,

you'll be able to say, "Kev, I was able to see 17

hot women in the last 48 hours" or whatever number

it may be.

It'll be a little competition ... WHO CAN SEE THE

MOST HOT WOMEN IN THE NEXT 48 HOURS ...

So do yourself a favor and do your homework.

It's basically checking out pretty women ... how

much better can a homework assignment get???!!!

Your Dating Coach,

Kevin B.

Oh, and by the way, if you want the FULL SCOOP of where you can meet pretty women (there are over 15 more locations I left out of this email, as well as great strategies for meeting women online and at speed dating events), then you should check out my Breakthrough Dating Audio CD Program.

In it you'll also find specifically what to say to women (and how to say it) when you visit these places so you come across as a mature guy who has his act together, rather than a nervous wuss or a creep or a guy who's just trying too hard.

Plus, it's fully guaranteed to help you or your money back, and if you have a credit card you can even try it for 30 days for just a buck.

Check it out here: http://www.anywomananywhere.com/offerlist.htm

And if you're one of the few who STILL haven't downloaded my eBook "Any Woman, Anywhere" you need to go to do that right now.

It's a great introduction to the principles I teach...you can be reading it in just 3 minutes from right now.

Check it out here: http://www.anywomananywhere.com/mail/1.htm