What would you do on a perfect date?

[Alrex]

The reason I ask is because I believe first appearance is a big deal. You fail on a date and she will never go on a second.

This is usually how my date plan goes: We meet near an outdoor covered ice rink central city, we skate until it starts to get dark, then go for hot chocolate. Depending on the weather we head up to the city shoreline where we find a nice grassy hill and we have a nice dinner/picnic while huddled under a nice warm blanket. Finish eating and countinue cuddling and talking.

As the night grows old I take her up to her door, depending on the mood peck her on the cheeks, peck her on the lips, nice long kiss or head up to her place

Topics can range from hobbies, what they like to do for fun, etc
I try to stay away from work, family issues and exs

This whole plan is kept as a surprise an only info I give is dress warmly. Girls like surprises and guys that are in control

Date 2 usually we go to the aquarium or zoo. This usually opens up her spiritual side and she has a chance to see yours too. After that I take her to ice cream or hit up a nice bar with music and dancing. Don't work to impress her, just have fun. Nothing is sexier than a guy having fun. Usually this ends with a nice drunken makeout session or more.

Date 3 is usually something more stereotypical. Movie and a nice dinner. Not a fancy dinner where the tables are seated in interview position, but seated more side to side/90 degrees to each other. Ends same way or complete opposite. By now you should know if you guys are ready to be a couple.

My dates don't always happen like this, but a basic outline of how I think a perfect date is. What's your idea and suggestions?

[Acheron]

You've actually got a pretty good game-plan there. Obviously I'd adjust for what's in my area, my personal tastes, and the fact that I can't ice-skate, but your analysis of why you do the things you do is interesting and I agree with most of it.

Anyway, first date I'd hit a cocktail bar. There's a really nice one within easy walking distance of my place. I think it's probably the perfect first date location. It's reasonably quiet on weeknights, so I can talk to her easily. Cocktails are alcoholic, which is useful for taking the nervous edge off, and they're classy. The seats are comfortable, the music's quiet, and the tables are arranged so you can easily sit next to each other instead of across from each other. You're absolutely right about that being the ideal position. Good body language is the sine qua non of attraction, and sitting side by side promotes good body language in so many ways.

Once again, I agree with your conversation ideas, although I'd expand on them a little. Just talking about hobbies, while it's better than talking about work, still has the risk of coming off like an interview. I'd tease her, maybe tell a story or two. I've heard guys swear by personality tests? Never tried that, but I might at some point.

And as luck would have it, the best icecream in town is right across the street from the best cocktail bar in town. So after we're buzzed and flirtatious, it's time for dessert. Every date should go to more than one place, ideally. And it's a perfect opportunity to dial down the energy a little and try to connect on a deeper level.

Oh, when to kiss. Any first date without kissing is a last date, but I think that kissing at the very end of a date when you say goodbye is a little too expected. I'd aim for about halfway through, although if there's no opportunity and I can't create a good one then there's no point in trying to force the play.

[PlayingPretend]

Your date ideas sound lovely. I don't have much to comment on because I actually don't have much experience. I had a LDR that was a bit quirky, and I loved it because of it, but if I had to sit down and think up some ideas, I wouldn't mind going for some of yours. The only things I'd change (other than minor differences, like what to talk about and such, and maybe difference in activities, but along similar lines) are the bar or, as Acheron mentioned, going out for cocktails. Even if I were of legal age, I don't drink and don't plan to, and if I did, it would not be on a first date; I wouldn't want him drinking, either. Kissing is debateable and would depend on how comfortable I felt and on how long I'd known the person beforehand, as a friend or as someone I'd recently met. But other than those couple things, I think your general plans and analyses of those plans are actually quite interesting and I agree with most of them.

[Composure]

I tend to agree with Elliotte here. Going out for cocktails on the first date may seem classy, and maybe one is enjoyable to the point where you can enjoy each others' company while also relaxing the nerves a little, but drinks on a first date without knowing whether or not she is a drinker is probably a no-fly zone in my eyes. However, I would probably go for a concluding drink if I had found out somewhere in part of conversation that she did enjoy a nice 'Sex on the Beach,' aha.

Anyway, my first date would probably start off fairly comfortable and relaxed - nothing too over the top to scare her off and nothing too bland to keep her interested. I wouldn't start off by driving her anywhere too far (I live probably forty minutes outside the CBD) as eye-contact is almost a necessity on a first date, and you can't drive, watch the road and watch her at the same time. With that being said, I'd have to kind of stick to the areas around me and try to play it off that. There is a nice cafe about ten blocks from my house, overlooking the river (and they make a killer coffee/hot chocolate), so I'd probably find that starting there is a good vantage to the next part. I'd try to keep eye-contact most of the time, either enjoy a nice meal at that cafe or just sit and talk over hot chocolate - I'd possibly tell an anecdote or two, nothing to make myself seem egotistical but keeping them midly funny, and then follow through and ask a few questions, ensuring that the questions aren't too narrow that they require a one or two word answer, but nothing too broad where she has to tell me her life story.

After that, I'd take her down the river-front (well, not at the moment because the river is flooded), walk slowly and talk generally about life and all that jazz. Body language is probably biggest part of the walk - not walking too close, not walking too far away, but sticking together and adapting to things we find along the way. At the end of the path is a large field that they open up on most weekdays and weekends for big moon-light movie screenings on either single or double deckchairs. Depending on the mood, that's where we'd probably end up. Having a few drinks depending on the time/day/mood/whether or not she drinks, (hopefully) watching a comedy or thriller - romantics are too forward on a first date, actions are overly boystrous, horrors seem to be too narrow as per taste, and dramas are something I just can't sit through.

If the date's during the day, though, I'd probably just take her down the river and sit on the edge of the field where benches overlook the river. But I'm not too sure about daylight dates, is all.

[MacGuffin]

My perfect date is to do the following:

A) In the evening, go out and eat a favorite restaurant
B) Pick a direction on the highway and go for a drive while listening to music
C) Stop at a scenic spot that is near a body of water in which you can swim
D) Have a dessert picnic under the moonlight
E) Stargaze and have a long conversation
F) Go swimming in said body of water. Clothes are optional.
G) Drive home
H) Shower together
I) Watch a movie before going to bed. Sex prior to bed is optional.

This is obviously not a first date idea, but it's one I am fond of.

[Acheron]

Thinking about it, I've actually never dated a non-drinker. I guess that's partly because we have a hookup culture rather than a dating culture, partly because the drinking age is lower here, and partly because British university girls are mostly alcoholics. I guess it's something to bear in mind.

[Boobies]

My perfect date would be a nice picnic in the middle of a forest (alone of course, also with a fire ) followed by really good sex... or would that be classed as a fantasy? O.o

[MisplacedDreamer]

I personally prefer a movie or video games at home with pizza and pop. However, I act like I am ten sometimes. Sledding can be fun.