A regular routine of fun couples activities is a key to marital happiness. At least that’s what our 2021 Happy Marriage Survey shows. We asked hundreds of couples, “How do you know you are happily married?” and received over 150 replies. Here’s what we discovered. 23 percent of couples say they are happily married because they enjoy spending time together. This group didn’t cite specific couple activities. Instead, they emphasized time enjoying one another’s presence as mattering most. An even large group—30 percent—included one or more particular fun couple activities in their response. We consolidated these answers into the 28 unique couple activity ideas below. Then, we added 5 happy marriage tips to help you and your loved one get the most out of this list.
You can use this post to plan your next date night. Or participate in our Couple’s Activity Challenge (We’re in the process of creating this marriage resource now). Then, see how many fun couple activity ideas you and your loved one can engage in over the next year.
Fun Couple Activities
- Sing or karaoke together. Bonus points for couples who break out in spontaneous song.
- Dace together. You might take a dance class. Visit a favorite club. Or challenge each other to a dance-off in games like Just Dance or Dance Dance Revolution.
- Binge-watch a favorite television show.
- Pray together.
- Plan a trip.
- Cook a favorite meal or dessert. We recommend Pinch Of Yum for tasty recipe ideas.
- Go on a nature walk.
- Take communion together.
- Go on a motorcycle ride.
- Attend a church activity.
- Share a meal—literally. Go out for dinner, eat half the plate, then swap.
- Talk about everything. One way to do this is by going through our book of conversation starters.
- Fish. This might involve lake fishing, fly fishing, deep sea fishing, or ice fishing. If you’re new to the experience, keep it simple. If you’re experienced, try something new.
- Take care of animals. Volunteer at your local animal shelter, family zoo, or family farm.
- Attend a marriage conference.
- Serve in a global or local ministry together. A few ideas include getting involved in Project Angle Tree, Operation Christmas Child, or sponsoring a child through Compassion International.
- Walk a dog. If you don’t own a dog, borrow a friend’s pet for the day.
- Hold hands and walk–even if it’s just around the block.
- Attend church. Afterward, share something that was meaningful to you.
. - Write a couple’s gratitude list. Take this to the next level with the Our Gratitude Adventures Journal.
- Take photos together. Better yet, join a photography class.
- Take a road trip—one that’s all about the journey and not the destination.
- Volunteer in a non-profit organization.
- Listen to each other’s stories. This might mean swapping stories of a favorite childhood adventure, sharing work stories, or recounting adventures during a favorite activity.
- Go out for Sushi and try something new.
- Read a book or listen to an audiobook.
- Attend a workshop, seminar, or online class. Grow together.
- For double the fun, invite friends on a double date.
Fun Couple Activities Insights
The best part about our couples survey is what it revealed about how happy couples interact. We learned it’s not the activities but the attitude behind the activities that matter most. Here are five of the biggest takeaways from our Happy Marriage Survey.
Happy Marriage Tip #1: Love is Also Spelled T-I-M-E
Fun couple activities take time. Couples emphasized both the quality and the quantity of the time spent together. The two are inseparable. Happy couples are intentional about carving out time for togetherness. They do this by scheduling regular date nights or by setting routine connection times at home. They also reported going out of their way to make sure these couple activities are distraction-free.
Happy Marriage Tip #2: Laugh Often
It may sound obvious, but the point is worth emphasizing. The purpose of fun couple activities is to have fun. 11 percent of couples responding to our Happy Marriage Survey reported they are in love because they laugh together often. In fact, the simple phrase “We laugh together” was a common survey response. So remember to choose to be happy by keeping things light. Be on the lookout for opportunities to laugh and lean into small moments of joy.
Happy Marriage Tip #3: Don’t Just Communicate, Connecticate
The word conneticate comes from our friends Gil and Brenda Stuart. It’s a combination of the words connection and communication. In our Happy Marriage Survey, nearly 20 percent of couples identified good communication as a key to knowing they are in love. And this makes sense. Psychology Today reports that communication-based difficulties are the number one reason couples seek therapy. All of this to say, poor communication drags a relationship down, and good communication builds a marriage up.
Happy couples say, “We love to talk about everything.” Some couples report they felt so connected it was almost like they could read each other’s minds. Fun couple activities involve a healthy dose of connectication. Couples who connecticate are not simply engaging in an activity for the sake of the activity. They are seeking to know one another on a deeper level. Your spouse isn’t the same as he or she was yesterday. So ask thought-provoking questions. Listen deeply. And as you do, share what you’ve been learning. Good communication goes both ways. It is a process of giving and receiving new information and sharing glimpses into each other’s inner world.
Happy Marriage Tip #4: Get Spiritual
You may have noticed that many of the 28 couple activity ideas contain a spiritual element. Jen and I are Christians. And so is a large part of our audience. But you don’t have to be in order to benefit from this site. We want everyone to feel welcome here. If faith isn’t your thing, don’t write off the spiritual activities too fast. Fun couple activities often have a spiritual component. According to the Washington Post, “People who have religious or spiritual beliefs are happier than those who don’t… Religious beliefs give people a sense of meaning. It also gives them a social network. It gives a sense of well-being or comfort.” In short, faith increases happiness. So don’t be shy about diving into the spiritual together.
Happy Marriage Tip #5: Keep Going
Many of the couples in our Happy Marriage Survey mentioned the benefits of having a long-term commitment. This wasn’t only a reference to their dedication to staying married. It also referred to their devotion to making time to connect. When we asked couples, “What are your most significant barriers to happiness?” the number one answer was, “We are busy.” The painful reality is life keeps getting busier. Happy couples are intentional about creating time for fun couple activities—not only at the start of their marriage but throughout their lifetime.
Fun Couple Activities in Every Stage of Life
The things that bring a couple together keep a couple together. This is why it’s so important to keep fun couple activities going in every stage of life. Relationship researcher John Gottman discovered that happy, stable couples have a ratio of 5 positive interactions to every negative interaction during their more difficult seasons of life. And when things are going well, this number increases to 20/1. Jon coined the phrase “Small things often” to remind couples that tiny moments of positive connection matter.
During our Happy Marriage Survey, a theme of the group became “In relationships, the little things are the big things.” Jen and I use this phrase often. It reminds us that happy marriages are not founded on one or two wow-moments. Instead, it’s having an abundance of happy couple moments accumulated over time that move the needle the most. As an action step, choose one idea from this list of fun couples activities and give it a try. If you and your loved one are even slightly happier or a tiny bit more connected after using these couple activity ideas, then consider it a marriage win!
What Next?
Jen and I are thrilled you stopped by our site! This blog is fueled by kind words and coffee. If you enjoyed this post of 28 creative couple activity ideas, please help us keep the great content coming. Leave us a comment letting us know what fun couple activities you enjoyed most. Or use the buy us a coffee button to help fund our next project. Jen and I are passionate about helping couples create happy marriages. Know we truly couldn’t do this without amazing readers—like you—cheering us on!
