Couples Activities For A Stronger Relationship
These activities will help you cultivate a loving and supportive relationship
Cultivating a strong, loving, and supportive relationship takes time and effort.
One of the best ways you can get closer with your significant other is to spend quality time with them. My wife and I are very intentional about doing certain activities together, and this gives us the chance to spend time with one another and connect in a real and healthy way.
Try out a few of them and watch how they strengthen your relationship.
Host together
My wife and I both love to host, and it’s an activity that has helped to strengthen our relationship. Hosting requires planning, good communication, and compromise (do I really have to iron these tablecloths?).
On more than one occasion while hosting, someone will compliment us on the food, the decor, or our hospitality. And when that happens, my wife and I both smile and look at each other. It’s always a special moment, because we had to work together to pull it off.
We always learn a little more about each other and get closer to one another after hosting.
Hosting often requires activities like cooking together, shopping for items, and cleaning together. All of which increase the time you’re doing shared activities towards a common goal.
Be active together
My wife and I love doing activities together that require us to move our bodies. Two of our favorite activities are going to the gym and hiking at sunrise. Building a strong relationship requires supporting one another — working out and being active together allow you to build up endorphins, accomplish something, and have fun together.
Just make sure the activities you’re doing together don’t turn into a competition — at least not all the time. A little competition now and then is good. But the physical activity you’re doing together should leave you both feeling uplifted. And it most likely will, because moving your body and sweating together releases mood boosting endorphins.
My wife and I like to go on sunrise hikes together, because hiking together builds trust, and we’re able to share something special together at the end.
When we’re hiking in the dark with our headlamps, we’re relying on each other to stay on the trail and stay safe. At the top, we’re able to share the accomplishment of waking up early, hiking, and then watching a magical sunrise together.
Find the activity that works best for you and your partner. It could be playing tennis, going for a walk, or biking or yoga. Find something that’s enjoyable for the two of you and then commit to doing it once a week or once every two weeks.
Work on a New Year’s intention together
As you think about your 2020 intentions, pick one that you and your partner can do together. Not only will you be able to support and encourage one other, but you’ll each other for accountability. Maybe you both want to eat more vegetables. Or you want to eat out less. Or you want to bike and walk more to work instead of driving.
When you write your intentions, find one that you can do together. Watch how doing it together and keeping each other accountable helps strengthen your relationship.
Learn something new together
This is such a great way to get in quality time with one another and to support each other and have fun. My wife and I have both started learning Spanish because we want to take a trip to Spain next year. By studying together, not only do we keep each other accountable, but we get to spend time together doing something that’s challenging and rewarding.
What’s something new you and your partner can learn together? Maybe it’s a musical instrument, or a language, or a new sport. Find something that you both want to learn and then do it together.
Whatever you do together, make a commitment to it. And add some variety! Building a strong, loving, and lasting relationships requires time and hard work.
Doing activities together can be a great way to learn about your partner, support them, and develop a stronger relationship. Try a few and see how they work out for you!
Andrew lives and works in San Francisco. He’s a husband, a big brother with seven siblings, and an uncle to two amazing nieces. He writes about mental health, relationships, and finances.
