If you and your man have new couple friends, you'll obviously want to make cool plans with them. Sure, not everyone can cruise Lake Como like George Clooney, Channing Tatum, and their women recently did, but these inexpensive expert double-date ideas are pretty damn awesome, too.
1. Go on a Food Crawl
Pick a spot in your neighborhood or someplace nearby that has a ton of restaurants (little, less trendy ones are the best). Start at one end of the area and work your way to the other, splitting appetizers, entrees, and desserts along the way.
2. Take Them Tubing
Hit up your local body of water for lazy river tubing. Most places will rent you a tube per person for a small fee, plus a cooler that you can pack with beer and food, and drop you at the top of a river. You and your couple friends can slowly float downstream while enjoying cold ones in a gorgeous setting. Google "lazy river tubing" and your town's name for companies.
3. Hit Up an Amusement Park
Letting loose and breaking out of your normal routine are great ways to bond with another couple. Amusement parks are perfect for this because you have plenty to talk about (how can you not rehash a scary roller coaster ride?)—plus, you can act like kids again.
4. Go Groupon
Keep an eye out for a cool, discounted class to take together, like contra dancing or sushi-making. Having an activity takes the pressure off making conversation the whole time, and you can whip out your new skills later for another double-date.
5. DIY Tournament
On a strict budget? Hit up your local pool hall and challenge each other to a mini-tournament. You can do couple vs. couple, or girls vs. boys—the losing team buys the next round.
6. Host a Wine Tasting
Going to a wine tasting can get pricey, so recreate it at your place for a fraction of the price. Ask each person to bring a bottle of their fave wine and take turns sampling each one. You can chat about which you love best while nibbling on cheese and crackers.
7. Do a Different Kind of Dinner Party
Hosting a dinner party is cool, but it can be a little exhausting and sometimes feels too formal. To keep it causal, ask the other couple to bring ingredients for their favorite dish, and have them whip it up in your kitchen as you make yours. Sip drinks while you work—it'll set a fun tone for the night.
8. Go to an Outdoor Concert
Lots of towns have free concerts when the weather is nice. Find the best one near you, pack a picnic basket with delish food and drinks, and camp out under the stars while listening to great music with your new BFFs.
