Being in a relationship that exclusively involves having sex and watching television has sadly become the new normal (thanks, COVID). But changing things up can be simpler than you may think. In fact, a new Reddit thread asks internet-goers about the non-sexual, entertaining activities that they engage in around the house with their partners, and the answers are perhaps shockingly refreshing. Here are some of our favorites (sic, obviously, throughout):
Cook
“Learn a new recipe together,” Utlegjarl suggests. “My partner and I just got a new pasta maker, and we’re going to learn how to make pasta, lasagna and noodles from scratch. Play a little music in the background, and voilà: You learn a new skill together, and you get to eat.”
Hide Stuff
“When my partner and I moved houses, we found a small Yoda figurine while we were unpacking,” Circus_Phreak explains. “Neither of us had ever seen it before. It’s now the ‘Surprise Yoda,’ and we take turns hiding it around the house for the other to find. When it’s located, the person who found it shouts, ‘Yoooodddaaaaa!!!’ Then they laugh and hide it again. I love Surprise Yoda.”
Do A Puzzle
“If your significant other is willing, puzzles are really entertaining,” Smashlee91 writes. “Also, they’re doubly fun when you throw a little alcohol into the mix.”
oh-my shares this sentiment: “We bought a 1,000 piece puzzle, and it took us 13 hours to assemble. It was so addictive that we had to cancel our plans for the next day, because we went to bed around 5 a.m. Then, the next day, my significant other ordered two new puzzles on Amazon — one 2,000-piece and another 4,000-piece. Both were like paintings. We assembled the 2,000-piece puzzle over the next 10 days (which was a pain because it took up the better part of our dining table, so we had to take turns eating). We also managed to assemble the frame for the 4,000-piece puzzle — it took us hours, and after that, we gave up. It’s still in the box, waiting for one of us to get sick so we can finally get around to doing it. My estimate is that it will take us a month or so.”
Ask Questions
“Do the 36-ish questions that make you fall in love,” whatsupdock96 suggests. “I think you can find the list on the New York Times.”
beerandbikes55 (kinda) supports this idea: “True story: I was on my fourth date with a girl, and I asked her all of these questions — we laughed about how silly this thing was. Now, four years later, we have a baby together and are still going strong… correlation or causation?”
Paint
“Have a Bob Ross painting party,” appropriately-named UseUrHands writes. “Buy two canvases and follow Bob’s tutorials.” Bob Ross is conveniently on Netflix, and commenter lana-deltron-rey recommends pairing the episodes with a Bob Ross painting set. “I bought my significant other a Bob Ross painting set, and we painted together — it was fun, and I loved how our paintings turned out. It does take a long time, though: The videos might only be 30 minutes, but one painting easily took us more than two hours (since we kept pausing and rewinding to follow along).”
Take Turns Leading Activities
“My wife and I occasionally do this thing we call Fun Space: We take 10 minutes to plan what we want to do — then, we each lead a 25-minute period of activities (usually, without technology involved),” Bukue111 explains. “The activities can be anything from painting, yoga, playing catch, Marco Polo on dry ground, hardcore versions of the floor is lava, massages and so on. It can included a bunch of activities in the 25-minute period or just one. The main rule is that the person who isn’t leading MUST be very enthusiastic and positive about what the other person chooses — it’s amazing how much choosing a good attitude makes things fun.”
Play Nerdy Games (and Clean the House)
“My boyfriend taught me how to play Magic: The Gathering, so we play that a lot,” bad_habitss writes. “We also recently got a Nintendo Switch, so we play Super Smash together, or we take turns playing Legend of Zelda and help each other along the way.”
“Honestly, cleaning out the house,” bad_habitss continues. “Last time we cleaned, we found things that neither of us knew we had. Plus, I got to see the neat things that he’s held onto for various reasons.”
Read Scary Stories
“We go on r/nosleep and read each other scary stories late at night while trying to narrate them to the best of our ability,” I_Am_The_Worst__ writes. “Put on eerie music to set the mood.”
Invent New Cocktails
“We come up with new cocktail recipes,” mimimaybe explains. “I recently invented the Dead Island (none of this is measured): One splash of SoHo lychee liqueur, one splash of pineapple Ciroc, one splash of Malibu coconut rum and then fill the rest with Coca-Cola.”
Role Play
“This is going to sound ridiculous, and I don’t mean it sexually, but role-playing is definitely super fun — my girlfriend and I do it all the time,” UnitFourGaming writes. “Think Dungeons & Dragons or ‘Playing house’ when you were a kid. It doesn’t even have to be elaborate: Just be like, ‘All right, today I have a British accent. I’m in a biker gang and my dad disowned me for wanting to win American Idol.’ Then, have your significant other choose a role and stick with it. Go about your day trying to be like secret agents and have someone (you or your significant other) hide clues for top secret missions. I don’t know — have an imagination.”
On second thought, maybe Netflix and sex all the time isn’t the worst thing, after all.
Ian Lecklitner
Ian Lecklitner is a staff writer at MEL Magazine. He mostly writes about everyone's favorite things: Sex, drugs and food.
