by Jannel Thomas, LCMFT

October 30th, 2025

As the Fall season approaches, I encourage couples to “fall” deeper in love. Date nights are a great way to foster love, passion, and romance within the relationship. However, many couples find it hard to commit to regular date nights. Whether it is due to finances, obligations, or unexpected life events, it can be really easy to let date nights fall behind on the priority list. However, regular date nights are important for couples as they have been shown to rekindle romance, strengthen emotional connection, improve communication, increase quality time, reduce stress, and increase overall relationship satisfaction. Here are a few tips to help prioritize date nights:

  1. Schedule Date Nights – Life can and will get busy. By scheduling date nights in advance, it ensures that there will be a dedicated time for the date to happen. Protect that time and treat it as you would a doctor’s appointment, a work meeting, or an important life event. Your motto should be that date nights are mandatory. This shows that you are prioritizing the relationship and all the positive benefits that date nights have to offer. Additionally, it gives the couple something positive to look forward to.
  2. Switch It Up – Try something new with your partner! Try a different activity. Explore somewhere you’ve never been. Be open to new ideas and activities. When’s the last time you did something new with your partner? Be open to spontaneity. This can help create excitement in the couple relationship by doing something that is outside of the usual routine.
  3. Make A Plan – Try your best to optimize the success of your date night. Consider what obstacles might come up and have a plan in place to overcome them. If the babysitter gets sick and cancels, who will be the backup? If it rains, what’s the indoor date going to be? Sometimes the backup plan can lead to more fun than what was originally planned. The goal is to simply create positive memories together, have fun, and experience joy.
  4. Take Turns – Take turns planning date nights. This gives both partners a chance to be creative and make an effort in contributing to regular date nights. Your partner might have some cool ideas that surprise you. Also, it proves that both partners have the desire to nurture the relationship and thus can strengthen the partner bond

At the end of the day, no matter what the date is, what’s important is both partners being able to be present in the moment and focus on each other without distractions. Your relationship deserves the effort and benefits that come from regular date nights. Plus, think of all the new positive memories and shared experiences that are out there for you and your partner. Happy Fall-ing more in love, y’all.