Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. To learn more about ’em, click here. When you and your spouse are separated by miles (and miles, and miles), you do have to get a little creative to make a special night together, so to help you out we’ve put together all of our favorite date ideas that are perfect for couples that are part of the military world and have to keep dating long distance. Depending on how much access you have to communicate with your spouse, we’ve got all kinds of ideas to keep you connected:
18 Phone Date Nights 16 Virtual Dates 21 Date Nights in a Box 18 Long Distance Shared Experiences for Date Night 13 Long Distance Couples Challenges 15 Long Distance Date Night Tips
18 Phone Date Nights
Some fun ideas keeping the conversation and laughter going when all you’ve got is each other’s voices.
1. Bucket List – Make plans for all of the fun dates you want to do when you’re back together. After all, anticipation is half the fun! 2. Sexts – Send each other steamy texts with a little help from these ideas! 3. Picture Texts – So much better than just words, these picture messages will put a smile on your spouse’s face in a second! 4. Scattergories – Compete against each other to see who can list words or phrases that describe your relationship. The catch is, everything has to begin with the same letter! 5. Comedy Date – Laughter is the BEST medicine for those tough days of being apart. There are tons of activities that only require your voice to make your spouse reel with laughter. 6. Interview – Ask any or all of these thought-provoking questions to get even more insight into your spouse.
7. Prayer – The power of prayer is definitely not lost over the phone. Pray for each other and with each other to feel spiritually connected. 8. Book Club – Share classic favorite books or new and popular ones and talk all about them! 9. Mad Libs – Get each other laughing by completing love-inspired fill-in-the-blank stories. 10. Speed Dating – An {almost} endless supply of categorized questions to ask each other in a set period of time. 11. Believe It or Not – Incredible, disgusting and amazing facts… and fiction. Test each other out and see who can figure out the truth! 12. Sexy List – Plan for those intimate moments when you’re reunited!
13. Shoe Fits – You’ll have to modify this game a bit and you might feel silly holding up a shoe for no one to see but that’s really where the fun is – learn how your spouse feels about all kinds of moments and ideas with these fun questions! 14. Pillow Talk – Well, you’re not sharing a pillow but you can both rest your heads as you chat and feel just a little more tied together. 15. Truths and Lies – Can you detect your spouse’s lies?? How well do you know them?! 16. Getaway – Plan a romantic getaway together to go on when your spouse returns. Use the checklist to make sure everything is covered! 17. Conversation Starters – Sometimes when all you have is phone conversations, the chatter starts to lull but no longer… these babies will give you endless talking points! 18. Sexy Talk – Turn up the heat with these intimate pillow talk ideas!
16 Virtual Date Nights
If you’ve got a tablet or computer with internet access, you’re all set. It’s always more fun to have date night together via video chatting but many of these ideas will work even if you’re not virtually face to face.
19. Virtual Tours – Take a tour of a few famous landmarks… virtually together! 20. Youtube Night – Laugh, cry (with laughter), and then laugh some more as you search for the most hilarious videos on the internet. 21. Online Shopping – Anything from big household purchases to a cute, new date night outfit. Shopping together and getting each other’s opinions is tons of virtual fun. 22. Pinterest – Keep a shared Pinterest board to show each other your favorite ideas for redecorating the house or recipes to try. 23. Screenshots – While you’re video chatting, get goofy and take screenshots of your conversation. Try to pretend you’re in a photo booth and you’ll never want to stop! 24. Time Capsule – Work together to create a digital time capsule of your memories while you’re apart, set it to open once your spouse returns. 25. Karaoke – Get a little bit crazy and sing your hearts out to each other. There are tons of great websites like SingSnap where you can get the songs and lyrics to fun songs. 26. Mashup Pics – Plan out pictures to take that you can splice together. This couple had so many cute ideas to feel connected!
27. Virtual Museum – Google Streetview lets you check out some of the world’s most popular museums without leaving the comfort of your home. 28. Freeze Selfies – Send a text to your spouse and tell them to “FREEZE” – the second they get it they have to stop and take a picture of themselves so you can see what they’re up to! 29. Charades – Get up and get moving to play charades during your next video chat. 30. Skype & FaceTime – This date idea was meant for the long distance relationships out there, it’s filled with fun video chatting ideas. 31. Shared Shows – Use ribb.it or showstoppers to watch movies simultaneously so you can act surprised and scared together. Plus, you get to hear each other’s commentary, don’t you dare hit the mute button! 32. Online Games – Board games are some of the best date nights and you don’t have to forgo them just because you’re not in the same room, simply play online! 33. Phone Games – Play your latest favorite game together. The best part is that you can do it from anywhere! 34. Couple Apps – Stay connected with the help of our favorite apps for relationships.
21 Date Nights in a Box
Send a few items as a care package to make up for all those missed date nights!
35. Open When – Send your spouse a whole series of boxes to fit any date night mood they might be in! 36. Superheroes – Not your average movie night, send your spouse some of the latest superhero movies along with some fun printable activities you can do together over the phone or on your own. 37. Inner Child – With all the stresses of military life, acting like a kid again can be a huge stress reliever – let your spouse release their inner child! 38. Kisses – One of the best parts of date night is the physical element and while you won’t be able to make up for missing it, sending chocolate kisses just might help ease the ache. 39. Popcorn Bar – Send all the fixings for creating a popcorn bar. Think carefully about sending snacks that will travel well! 40. Flat Spouse – When you can’t be together, create your own flat hubby or flat wifey to go on date night with. It would be so fun to create a flat version of yourself and send it on as a ‘pocket spouse’ too! 41. Long Distance Kit – More ideas for a long distance care package than you’ll even know what to do with!
42. Love Boat – A survival-themed care package is an exciting way to make date night happen and sending a toy love boat invite ahead of time is even more fun! 43. Movie Bingo – Send a scary movie along with a few Bingo cards {and keep a few for yourself}, then see who can fill up more of their board. 44. Harry Potter – A whole marathon of watching the Harry Potter movies, plus sending the fun photo booth props included in this date would be so hilarious! 45. Postcards – Send on some blank postcards and kindly request some romantic love cards in return. No better way to spend date night than each of you writing some sweet notes! 46. Date in a Bag – Easy-peasy, add a date to a bag and that bag to a box and you are all set! 47. Heart Attack – There are lots of cute ways to ‘attack’ your love with hearts. Just imagine them opening a box bursting with literal love! 48. Cheer Up Kit – Being away from each other is rough so cheer your spouse up with bright printables and fun treats.
49. Half Box – Use our 4th of July care package printables (or ANY holiday!) and create a box of halfway complete items for your spouse to finish. Anything from a half finished coloring page, incomplete word search, half a journal entry or even half-eaten snacks! 50. Legos – Everyone loves building and the challenges and ideas included in this date are perfect for packaging up and sending across the seas. 51. Cookies – Homemade chocolate chip (or any variety) cookies are the ultimate gift from home and a fun way to celebrate date night. 52. Series of Dates – Choose any of these date boxes from ‘adventurous’ to ‘romantic’. 53. Staycation – Everyone needs a little holiday now and then, so give it to your spouse in the form of a vacation in a box. 54. Favorite Things – Send these cute surveys in a letter first or chat about them over the phone and then fill a box with as many of your spouse’s favorite things as you can! 55. Birthday Celebration – Let your spouse know that you’re thinking of them on their birthday even from miles away and let them have a night that’s all about them!
18 Long Distance Shared Experiences for Date Night
Date night is all about making memories together but even if you can’t do something side by side, you can still have a common experience. For these dates, simply agree that you’ll both do the activity (you can set a specific time and place OR just agree to complete it before the next time you chat) and then later you’ll have a shared experience to compare, discuss or write about.
56. Movies – Watch the best shows and movies together… ya know… kind of. We’ve got the ultimate list to help you decide what to watch. 57. Sunsets – If you’re in the same time zone, watch it together. If you’re not you can each watch your own sunset (or sunrise) and know that the other watched that same sun not long before or after you. 58. Our Love Story – Write down everything that led you to this moment. You can do it for posterity OR just for yourselves. Remembering those moments is so special. 59. Running – The RunKeeper app is such a cool way to track each other running (or walking!) in ‘real time’ or if you can’t sync up for times, just offer words of encouragement whenever you can. 60. Resolutions – Set goals together and encourage each other to keep them. Motivate your spouse with texts, emails or packages, it’s easy to make them more personalized if you know what they’re working towards. 61. Bookstore – Head to your nearest bookstore and try to complete the activities. Don’t forget to share how it went with your spouse!
62. Dream Home – Share account info and start building your dream home together online. Make a rule that each person can only add one ‘item’ each day and the other has to figure out what it is! 63. Stargazing – While you can’t cuddle under the stars together, you can both see the same sky. If you’ve got a lot of miles between you, the visible stars might be different but the feelings are the same. 64. Couponing – The couple that saves together, stays together! You can both clip some coupons and even see who can find the best ones. 65. Takeout – Order the same thing OR call for each other and let your spouse be surprised! 66. Podcasts – Listening to the same discussions is a fun way to bring up interesting topics and debates while learning all kinds of new things. 67. Articles – Find and share articles about whatever your interests are – anything from politics to celebs! Print them out and write comments in the margins and highlight favorite phrases. Once you’ve both read you can discuss via phone or email or swap articles by sending your annotated print-out in the mail!
68. Journaling – Answer the same journal prompts or decide on a common topic and get to writing. Next time you chat or see each other, you’ll have tons to discuss! 69. Bible Studies – You can start with something as simple as sharing a favorite verse and work your way up to larger sections to study. 70. Playlists – Create your very own couples playlist to listen to whenever you’re feeling alone and you’ll know your spouse has those same, exact songs! 71. Crafts – Find something to create together or for each other. We especially love some of these gift ideas that are perfect for those in long distance relationships. 72. Online Classes – Learn a new language or something fun that can become a new hobby or even teach each other a new skill by hosting your own online classes. 73. Recipes – You can each test out new recipes and flavors that are globally inspired. Just agree to one that looks good and compare dishes later!
13 Long Distance Couples Challenges
Everyone loves a little friendly competition and you can still name a winner in these competitions even if you’re miles and miles (and miles) apart! Challenge your spouse to one of these activities and compete simultaneously or whenever you’ve got time. These ideas work whether you’re in the same time zone or not!
74. 21-Day Habits – Start some great habits right now. Mark your calendars and get to it! 75. Town Hunt – See who can check off the most activities in their town! 76. Garden – Choose a few seeds or even just a single plant, keep half and send the other half on. See who has the greenest thumb! 77. Acts of Kindness – See who can throw around the most kindness. What a lovely competition! 78. Unplug – Drop the devices and play some good, old-fashioned pencil and paper games. Choose a few (like the DIY Maze) to work on and then send to your spouse to complete. 79. Save Up – That exact product is no longer available but we found a similar one, Here. Start a savings fund for the next time your travel plans include a couples getaway. Come up with ideas for saving money and see who can contribute the most money. Plus, check out these 100 Budgeting Resources! 80. Photo Letter Names – Armed with your camera (or phone!), set out on a hunt for the letters of your last name to create this fun display. Who can be the most creative?
81. Funky Town – Challenge your spouse to find the funkiest outfit, send it your way and then you just have to try it on! 82. Dollar Store – The perfect challenge for the cheapskate in all of us. Send a couple dollars to your spouse for this date idea and see who can spend the least. 83. Photo a Day – Send the grossest, funniest, most beautiful pics to your spouse and challenge them to beat you at your own game! 84. Service – Go out and do good for as many people as you can! There are no losers in this competition! 85. Selfies – Go on a selfie scavenger hunt and try to get more selfies checked off the list than your spouse! 86. Sudoku – Get two copies of the same puzzles and time yourselves to see who is the quicker mastermind.
15 Long Distance Date Night Tips
Hints and ideas from the Divas who have been in those long distance and military relationships. These tips will make date night go so much more smoothly!
87. Decorate Boxes – If you’re shipping a date in a box, don’t forget about the box itself. You can’t set the mood of the room your spouse is in, but you can set the tone for the date. We’ve got them for the Fourth of July, Father’s Day, and Mother’s Day. 88. Send Invites – You might need to plan WAY in advance, but just because you’re not inviting them to be right next to you on date night doesn’t mean you can’t get excited about what’s to come and that’s what invitations are all about. Use it to set a time and place to be focused on just the two of you, even if you don’t get to see or hear each other, it’s nice to know that your spouse is doing the same thing at the exact same time. 89. Time Clocks – On your iPhone under your clock, there is a world clock, punch in where your spouse is so you always know what time it is there and what the difference is. You can also buy clocks to hang up and also have their time between your time so they don’t seem so far away. 90. Look Your Best – It might seem odd to spend time getting ready for someone you’re not going to see, but it will make your ‘date night’ feel more special and if you’re using technology for video chatting then that extra time you took to put on your best will mean the world to your spouse. 91. Double Up – When you go shopping buy TWO of everything – okay, not everything – but almost anything can be turned into a ‘date night’ if you buy something for yourself and then send that same item to your spouse. It’s like sharing that treat together, only you get the whole thing! 92. Get a Sitter – Make date night a priority and get a sitter or make a plans for the kids to be in bed- just like you would with a regular date. It’s hard to be able to have deep conversations or feel flirty when you’re wrangling kids or there’s fighting in the background. 93. Set the Mood – Try some romantic and intimate ideas for setting the scene during your virtual dates. You CAN decorate the room. Try some twinkling light or a banner. Dedicate a special space for those conversations!
94. Spray Perfume – It’s old trick, but my husband never complained {and his friends liked it too}, spray your perfume on whatever you are planning to mail him {a letter, a package, etc.}. Hopefully the scent will remain on there and it can take him back! 95. Take Photos – Even though you aren’t together, you’ll still be making memories so don’t forget to document them by snapping a few shots of date night in action! You can even send each other a few pictures of your previous date nights in your latest care package. 96. Virtual Notes – Add fun ideas and sweet little notes to a shared virtual bulletin board. 97. Postal Savings – Whenever possible use flat-rate boxes from the post office to send a Date in a Box. If you’re sending things like books or DVDs, see if using Media Mail is an option – it depends on your spouse’s location – but it’s a much more affordable option. 98. Digital DVDs – Buy DVDs that include a code for a digital copy of the movie, so you’ve got two ‘copies’ of the movie. Send one to your spouse and keep one to make it a fun movie night! 99. Good Questions – Long distance relationships are all about communication and great conversations. So learn to ask GOOD questions. During the week, you can even write down some questions so when you finally get to talk during your date, you’ll be setting yourself up for more meaningful conversations. 100. Flirt – If you plan and schedule a long-distance date with your sweetie well in advance, it’s fun to build up the anticipation throughout the week with flirty texts or messages. “Can’t wait for Friday! I have a surprise for you.” Just because you aren’t together doesn’t mean you can’t flirt and build up the romance for date night. 101. Set a Date – Put a routine date night on your calendar! Set aside a specific time to go on date night even if you’re not actually doing it together and even (and especially) if your military spouse can’t commit to a time (which they often can’t). Knowing that time is set aside for your relationship means that even if the ‘date’ doesn’t go ahead as planned, you can still take that time to strengthen your marriage by planning for the next date night or working on a care package. We can’t get enough of date nights and with so many ideas to choose from we know you’ve found something that’ll get you excited for some special moments with your love, so get out there and get something started!
Maybe your spouse has yet to leave but you know it’s coming… if that’s the case don’t forget to send them off with a LOT of love. We’ve got a slew of fabulous ideas for Saying Goodbye:
If you’re still struggling with the day-to-day of this long distance military life, try some of these ideas for While You’re Apart: Don’t forget to celebrate your spouse’s return with any and all (okay, maybe not all – because there are a ton of ideas) of these fun Coming Home Ideas: AND our Welcome Home Kit is also perfect for celebrating their return:
