CRUSHES

Dating is a wonderful, exciting and totally enjoyable endeavor at its best and an expensive, awkward and terrifying one at its worst—not to mention that these negativities are amplified when you’re relatively young and inexperienced, and made even scarier when you’re about to go on a first date with someone.

Entering the dating pool can be tricky, especially when you and your potential suitor are both at a loss as for what to do. What’s fun and cheap and won’t leave you with uncomfortably long pauses in conversation? It’s a fact of life that some dates will be unavoidably bad, especially when you’re first starting out—but still, there are some rain-or-shine, tried-and-true first date activities that can happen on a budget of $10 and that, with any luck, will reduce the risk of conversational lulls.

Picnic in the park...

On a sunny, not-too-sweltering day, offer to meet up in the local park for lunch: pack a blanket, paper plates and utensils and offer to bring a few sandwiches if he can provide the sodas and snacks. If you’re afraid you won’t know what to say in between bites of ham-and-cheese, a busy park is the perfect place to people watch. Play I Spy or make up the life story of whoever walks by—all you need is a little imagination!

...or find a free concert

Not only are there ample people-watching opportunities, but many parks also offer free concerts during the summer. Even if the band playing isn’t your favorite (or is solely made up of your dad and his friends), music and crowds provide an atmosphere that probably won’t feel awkward at all.

Try to catch ‘em all

Even if you’ve never been a huge Pokemon fan, the popular new Pokemon Go app is a seriously fun way to venture around your neighborhood and collect cute Pokemon with your (hopefully) super-cute date. Ask him if he’s game to explore all the landmark Pokestops in your town together. Just look out for cars and head home when it gets dark!

Adventure in the alley

The bowling alley, that is. This date might cost a few more bucks than the others, but is still relatively cheap if you skip out on the snack bar. The bowling alley is first date foolproof: uncomfortably long silences don’t exist when you’re both constantly getting up to bowl, and when you’re up at the lane, you can think of something clever to say. Also, it’s the perfect setting for a group date if you’d feel more comfortable with your bestie by your side.

Laze around the coffee shop

If summer showers ruined your outdoor plans, skip the Starbucks and find a local coffee shop to spend a few hours in. Try a new drink and bring a deck of cards or even a board game—coffee shops are often WiFi hotspots, but they’re also totally appropriate environments for a game of Scrabble while you’re seated on their soft pleather couches. Just make sure you spend a few dollars on coffee or pastries before you set up shop and keep it relatively quiet no matter how heated your game gets—you don’t want to get kicked out.

What are some of your low-budget first date ideas? How do you avoid the awkwardness?

by Kristin Helf | 7/16/2016