25 Simple Ways to Create Romance at Home
To live a romantic life, first seek to live romantically daily. Romance, like happiness, does not happen to you. You choose it. You create it. You pick it daily.
Though Paris is the city for lovers, romance is not waiting for you at the Eiffle Tower. Nor is it twiddling its thumbs waiting upon your arrival in Italy. (Though romance will happily meet you both these places). Where Romance is really waiting for you is in your own backyard, your own living room, your own kitchen, and of course, your own bedroom…
Here is a list of 25 simple ways to create romance at home (compiled with the help of my husband, see #16-21).
The idea is to have fun, do some sexy things (#20, #21), do some silly things (#3, #11), do things that make you feel like you are already on vacation (#7, #9), do some things that bring you closer as friends and partners in life (#15, #17) and all around spend time together creating happy, romantic memories in your own home.
1. Make Mojitos + Dance Rumba in your backyard.
2. Curl up on the couch and retell the story of when you fell in love. Share details with one another that you haven’t shared before.
3. Memorize and recite famous, romantic movie lines.
“I love that you get cold when it is 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle in your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” – When Harry Met Sally
“I love you. And not, not in a friendly way, although I think we’re great friends. And not in a misplaced affection, puppy-dog way, although I love you. Very, very simple, very truly. You are the epitome of everything I have ever looked for in another human being. And I know that you think of me as just a friend, and crossing that line is the furthest thing from an option you would ever consider. But I had to say it. I just, I can’t take this anymore. I can’t stand next to you without wanting to hold you. I can’t, I can’t look into your eyes without feeling that, that longing you only read about in trashy romance novels. I can’t talk to you without wanting to express my love for everything you are.”
-Chasing Amy
4. Make a dinner together that requires a lot of teamwork and prepping– like raviolis. Turn on music, open a bottle of wine, and take your time. Slow dance in the kitchen while you are waiting.
5. Turn on music, not the T.V., before you go to bed.
6. Make up stories of what you will be doing together at 82.
7. Practice dialoguing in a foreign language.
8. Mail each other hand-written letters.
9. Stay all Saturday in bed and have a movie marathon of romantic comedies or romantic foreign films.
10. Build a fire pit in your backyard and stay up late under the stars talking by the fire.
11. Do 20 min of Yoga together.
12. Plan for champagne breakfast in bed.
13. Read out loud to each other (I love it when my husband reads to me).
14. Skip dinner and dine on only chocolate and red wine.
15. Team up and write a Life Manifesto together.
And now a few suggestions especially for the man in your life:
16. Tell your husband exactly what you respect and admire about him. Write him a note and place it in his drawer or laptop bag.
We learned in a marriage class that even more than love, a man needs to feel respected. “In truth,” Dr. Eggerich says, “respect is a man’s deepest value.”
17. Do an activity together where no talking is required. Hang out and just share space (a.k.a. Shoulder -to- Shoulder time).
“This is how men communicate, by sharing experiences. Women share experiences by talking about them to each other, examining and infusing the experiences with their impressions and emotions. Men are different. They share experiences by sharing an activity. This is what your husband wants to do with you.” -Dr. Emerson Eggerichs from Love & Respect
18. Bake something wearing little more than a pin-up apron and heels.
19. Bring olive oil to the bedroom. Give & get massages. Take a shower together next (you’ll need it).
20. Send him pictures of you that you would show no one else.
21. Surprise him with your nakedness (and have sex like you did when you were first together).
It’s no mystery. Men like sex, a lot. Romance = Sex. It’s not a complicated equation for them. (For us women it might look more like this: Mind at Rest+ Feeling Beautiful +Kids Taken Care Of + Enough Money in the Bank Account + Sweet Surprise + Romance + Good Timing = Sex). Sex is romantic for your husband. Surprising him with your nakedness and your willingness is like the best thing ever.
Back to Romance the way we women know it:
22. Get a black chandelier for the bedroom
23. Make a Dream Vacation vision board together with back issues of Conde Naste Traveler Magazine.
24. Learn what the other person’s biggest dream is right now and do everything you can to encourage him/her.
25. Play the 4 min in heaven game.
Bonus: Make a list of 100 romantic things you would like to do with each other in this beautiful life you get to share.
Let’s make this list even bigger. What are some suggestions you might add to create romance at home?
