Long Distance Relationships
By: Couples Counseling Staff
Long distance relationships can be a bond-strengthening adventure and a heart-wrenching experience for a couple. Having a partner who lives far away can be isolating, upsetting, and difficult. But the upshot is that it also gives you the chance to explore new ways of communicating.
When you think about it, this is an aspect of a relationship that often get left by the wayside in favor of nights in front of the television and physical contact.
Anyone in a long distance relationship is familiar with video chatting over Skype or FaceTime, and sometimes you really miss those in-person date nights. Luckily, there are fun date night ideas you can try over Skype to keep your long distance relationship alive!
1) Movie Night
Everyone loves to share a movie or television show with their partner but it can be tricky over Skype, where it’s hard to sync up videos or hear the audio. The Google Chrome extension Netflix Party allows you to sync up online videos so that you can watch them together without ruining the surprise when you see the horror movie slasher appear five seconds before your beloved!
2) Book Club
Reading books together is a wonderful way to bond with your partner and the experience of reading a book at the same time will give you a feeling of closeness even when you aren’t chatting. Take it in turns to choose the book you’ll read, and set a night every month when you’ll “meet up” on Skype to discuss them.
3) Make A Photo Album
Many online programmes like Vista Print or even Flickr will let you create an online photo album. Create a mutual log in and you can put together a digital photo album together to remind yourselves of times when you were together in person or update one another on what you’ve been doing in your own time. You can even print a hard copy to share on some websites!
4) Order In
Who says you have to be in the same house to have a lazy night in? Get into your comfiest pyjamas, light some candles, and order in your favourite takeout foods (you won’t even have to argue about what to order! They want pizza and you’re craving sushi? No problem!). You don’t even have to offer them a bite of your meal but you can describe everything you’re tasting instead.
5)Truth or Dare
A cheeky game of Truth or Dare can be just what you need to find out sweet or scandalous details that you might not know about your partner, or have a giggle watching them perform ridiculous dares. Plenty of websites even have lists of Truth or Dare suggestions for boyfriends, girlfriends, and couples that you can use for inspiration.
6) Coffee Date
Most modern coffee shops offer free WiFi these days, so scope out a café each where you can plug in your laptop in a quiet corner and have a dose of caffeine and a pastry while you chat to one another. Remember to pack your headphones and choose a quieter time of day. If you’re in opposite time zones then one of you can go out for coffee while the other prepares their own, and vice versa, on different days.
7) Make A Playlist
Use websites like Spotify or YouTube to create a mutual playlist of music that remind you of one another and your time together. This is a fun way to spend a few hours if you like music, and it’s a lovely way to discover songs that your partner loves and tracks that you can download to remind you of one another while you’re apart.
8) Plan Your Next Visit
It’s best not to constantly dwell on how long you’ll be apart, so sometimes it’s best to set aside a certain date night for getting excited and planning your next visit – where you’ll go, activities you might do, things you’d like to see, and all the rest. If you don’t know when you’ll get to see one another next then you can use this time to plan your dream vacation – it’ll be even easier with two separate computers searching the details!
Long distance can be challenging but it’s also a wonderful time for getting to know your partner better and valuing your emotional connection. These fun Skype date ideas can help you to enjoy the time you spend talking to one another in between actual visits so that you never feel limited by the distance.
