• Have an ice cream date
  • • Since it’s your first date, you are going to talk to get to know each other, something that you cannot do while watching a movie or something. On the other hand, it also provide a quick exit strategy without being rude if you notice that the air between you is deader than the Dead Sea.

• Take her to a carnivals or fair.
  • • If there’s a county fair or a traveling carnival comes to town, grab the opportunities to enjoy the fun and be a little romantic. The comfort provided by the crowd will let you lose your nervousness. Have a great time with the rides and enjoy the sights and sounds of the carnival. Be sure to ride the Ferris wheel and the tunnel of love for a little cinematic romance.

• Hit the Beach
  • • If you want to find out right away what she’s all about, or you’re wondering what she looks like in a bikini, take her to the beach and enjoy the sun and the waves. And each other.

Why we flirt?

Flirting is a two-sided coin. When a man or a woman flirts, it is to show their interest. It is a signal that he or she really likes you. On the other end of the spectrum, you “flirt back” to show that the attention is very much welcome. Flirting, therefore, could help you find a date or even initiate a successful relationship.

Flirting signals

More often, flirting involves non-verbal communications. At a party, have you noticed how a newly-acquainted person looked at you or behaved when you’re near each other? You don’t need to be a genius to realize that a person is actually flirting with you when he or she constantly makes eye contact during the whole conversation. Was he, or she, touchy during conversation? Was she always flicking her hair? Was he constantly playing with his tie? These behaviors are sure indicators of flirting and chances are, you have subtly done any of these whenever you meet someone you find interesting.

Be confident to flirt

Don’t be afraid to flirt, even just a little. And while there is no concrete rule on how to flirt, you can never go wrong in being confident. Whether you are aware or not of your flirting behavior, your confidence will inform your actions and the person you are interested in will find you attractive and sexy.

]]> http://www.specialdatingtips.com/dating-tips/to-flirt-or-not-to-flirt/feed/ http://www.specialdatingtips.com/general/it%e2%80%99s-a-lunch-date/ http://www.specialdatingtips.com/general/it%e2%80%99s-a-lunch-date/#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:44:38 +0000 author http://specialdatingtips.com/?p=244

Lunch dating, that new branch of dating that I seem to be hearing about every so often from work colleagues, seem to be catching on. How do I know? My own mother mentioned it to me.

I never really thought of lunch dating other than the times it was mentioned to me. I just thought it was a bit unusual. Does no one go to dinner on dates anymore? But actually, the more you think about it, the more you understand why this lunch dating thing has been catching on.

While dinner may have connotations of formality, lunch does not have that. Lunch is more casual, lighter, and easier. And I have to admit, lunch seems non-threatening. “It’s just for lunch,” or “Let’s do lunch,” doesn’t have quite the same intimidating undertones of “Can I take you to dinner.” I think I see lunch dating’s potential, and dating services have seen it too.

There have been several dating services and websites that somehow run on the platform of lunch dating. They set up their clients who then agree to meet for lunch. That’s kind of genius. I mean it doesn’t as orchestrated as a dinner is, nor does it sound like it takes some valuable time of your day. It’s just lunch. It’s so casual it’s almost nothing. In many ways it’s perfect for the busy individual. By setting them up in the casual, non-threatening environment of lunch it leaves it up to the two parties to determine whether they’d take it somewhere more formal, like a dinner perhaps.

So… have you ever been part of the lunch dating scene? What have you taken from it? Is it any better than other dating scenes? Is it here to stay?

For one thing, a romantic Valentines Day need not be expensive. Case in point: You can celebrate at home. That way you don’t stress about being late for your reservation or being stuck in traffic on the way there. Celebrating at home means you are relaxed and in your element. You and your significant other can dress up just like a real date. Set the table, light the candles, and serve the food you make. Yes, nothing says romance better than actually cooking. You could even eat by the fireplace and have some kind of indoor picnic. Pop the champagne, feed each other chocolate, give her flowers, and pull out all the stops. This is Valentines Day and you are in the comfiest place in the world.

Or let’s try another approach. Being such a big occasion and all, Valentines is bound to be stressful. No one wants to be stressed on such a special day, so why don’t you two head on over to a spa? You can have dinner in restaurants all the time, but it’s best to avoid the V-Day crowds. You and your partner can get a massage and avail yourselves of the pampering the spa offers. You’ll both feel refreshed and alive, and it certainly bodes well for a more romantic time later in the night.

Thinking of more traditional Valentines Day ideas? Does your loved one relish the feeling of being a princess? Surprise her with a carriage ride. Tell her to dress up really special and wait for you to pick her up. You should be in a tux, and lead her to the carriage that will drive you both around the city. You two could drink champagne as you watch the people go about their Valentines Day. This carriage ride could lead to dinner in a private dining room or an outdoor location. It’s truly up to you, but believe us when we say nothing says princess and traditional more than a carriage ride around town.

See? It’s not that difficult. You just need to delve a little deeper into yourself to get the most romantic Valentines Day ideas. Have fun with yours.

Relax, it’s just a date. For many people, however, a lot could be riding on a first date, not that you should be discussing the names of your future children just yet. But it is understandable how stressful these dates are. Have a look at several words of advice from the many who have survived it, a chockfull of first date advice:

Wear Comfy Clothes. This doesn’t mean you wear sweats and go barefoot on your date, but do wear something sensible. Save the corsets and the suit you can’t move in for later. You don’t want to appear too fussy or too stiff for your date. And also pay attention to what you’ll be wearing. You don’t want to send the wrong message to your date now, do you?

Mind Your Manners. Honestly, this should be part and parcel of everyone’s lives, not just on first dates, but I’ve heard of enough first date horror stories regarding rude dates that I felt the need to include it here. Manners don’t grow old. Do open the door for your date. Do say “Please,” and “Thank you.” These little things could make the big difference between a winning date and a failed one.

Keep the Conversation Light. I’m sure you both have valid opinions with regards to world issues, politics, religion and all those topics that matter, but for a first date, stay out of these highly debatable topics. You’re on a date, not a debate society meeting.

Speaking of Conversations, Don’t Dominate. Roughly translated as:Don’t talk too much. Let the other person say something that would keep the conversation going. More often than not, talking too much is one of the reasons a second date is not in order. You two are trying to get to know one another. Let the other person have a say.

Respect Your Date’s Time. This means don’t be late, be ready on time, don’t cancel at the last minute, and worst of all: Don’t stand your date up. Not only is this a sign of disrespect, you scar your own reputation. Your date is a person too with his own schedules and activities and appointments. If something truly sudden comes up, like an emergency, inform your date and ask to reschedule. He may or may not agree to reschedule but at least you weren’t rude and bad-mannered.

A creative date doesn’t mean fireworks and spectacular 6-month planning. It may just be something that’s a little out of the ordinary for both of you, or a twist on something familiar. All it really needs is a little imagination.

Go on a picnic. Seriously, nobody goes on a picnic these days and I don’t understand it. It’s so much fun to sit on the grass and eat lunch or dinner at the park or at the beach. Not creative enough, you say? Then why don’t you:

· Bring a guitar and spontaneously sing songs about each other or the people around.

· Test your culinary skills and bring the food for the picnic. Let’s see what you’ve got.

· At the beach? Why not build the tallest sandcastle you can make. Make it a contest or team up on it.

Have a sense of adventure. This doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it sounds. Go to your city’s historic or touristy area, that place where there are lots of museums, parks, shops, and all that, settle on a starting point (like where you park your car, for example) and then flip a coin. It could be tails = you go right or heads = you go left, it’s up to you. Let the coin lead you and see where it takes you. After every stop you flip a coin to see where your next destination is. It’s a great way to explore the city and quite a novel way of getting to know a person’s likes and dislikes. Try it sometime.

Blast from the past. If you have been together for quite some time, how about reminiscing your first date? Pick her up at the same time, wear the same things (if possible) or something similar, dine at the same restaurant, maybe even order the same food. Talk about everything that happened that night, whether good or bad, and see how far you’ve gone from that day. It’s like retracing your steps. This is sure to bring out tons of memories.

These are just two suggestions, but of course there are more ideas out there. You may want to try these two first, put your twist on them and see where it goes. A creative date doesn’t need to be elaborate. For the most part, the element of surprise is more important and more.Sometimes when you’ve been together with your partner for long enough, things just fall on the wayside. Most times you rack your brains thinking about things to do on a date. Routines are good but sometimes you just want to feel like an effort is being made. When you’ve been together a number of years, the usual dinner and movies just doesn’t cut it. So what to do when your love life needs a creative date push?

A creative date doesn’t mean fireworks and spectacular 6-month planning. It may just be something that’s a little out of the ordinary for both of you, or a twist on something familiar. All it really needs is a little imagination.

Go on a picnic. Seriously, nobody goes on a picnic these days and I don’t understand it. It’s so much fun to sit on the grass and eat lunch or dinner at the park or at the beach. Not creative enough, you say? Then why don’t you:

· Bring a guitar and spontaneously sing songs about each other or the people around.

· Test your culinary skills and bring the food for the picnic. Let’s see what you’ve got.

· At the beach? Why not build the tallest sandcastle you can make. Make it a contest or team up on it.

Have a sense of adventure. This doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it sounds. Go to your city’s historic or touristy area, that place where there are lots of museums, parks, shops, and all that, settle on a starting point (like where you park your car, for example) and then flip a coin. It could be tails = you go right or heads = you go left, it’s up to you. Let the coin lead you and see where it takes you. After every stop you flip a coin to see where your next destination is. It’s a great way to explore the city and quite a novel way of getting to know a person’s likes and dislikes. Try it sometime.

Blast from the past. If you have been together for quite some time, how about reminiscing your first date? Pick her up at the same time, wear the same things (if possible) or something similar, dine at the same restaurant, maybe even order the same food. Talk about everything that happened that night, whether good or bad, and see how far you’ve gone from that day. It’s like retracing your steps. This is sure to bring out tons of memories.

These are just a few suggestions, but of course there are more ideas out there. You may want to try these two first, put your twist on them and see where it goes. A creative date doesn’t need to be elaborate. For the most part, the element of surprise is more important and more.

Fun Date Idea #1: Restaurant Hopping (Jeff, 25)

“I told my girlfriend that we’re gonna put a little twist to our usual dinner date night. I thought if one could go bar hopping, why not restaurant hopping? I searched restaurants in the city the week prior and searched the best of what they had to offer – the best pasta, the best salad, the best steak, the best dessert, the best cocktails, that sort – and printed that out. On date night I had the list of which food belonged to which restaurant and I gave my girlfriend a menu-type thing from which she could choose the food. It was like a little adventure as we moved from place to place. It was also a great way to try restaurants we haven’t been to. We actually found a few gems along the way.”

Fun Date Idea #2: Disneyland (Matt, 31)

“Let me tell you something: Grownups think of going to Disneyland all the time but they always put it off because of work, or that there’s too many people, or whatever reason. But let me tell you, once you’re there, you’re gonna have fun. My Disneyland date was something that I’ll never forget and will likely do again. You go on all the rides and eat as much caramel apples as you want and buy the stuff your parents won’t let you buy when you were there as a kid. You really do what you want and being in such a place with great memories attached to it and then making new ones is pretty special.”

*It doesn’t have to be just Disneyland you know. It can be any amusement park in your area.

Fun Date Idea #3: Think Out of the Box (Henry, 26)

“When I say think outside a box, I mean try something that you haven’t done before but you think might be fun. In my case it was extreme sports. I was lucky my date was game enough to try such things. It was a series of dates, actually, and of course we had lunch or dinner nearby, but the highlight and focus was the activity. We were both office types, but I soon found out that there was that spirit of adventure within us both, just waiting to be addressed to. We tried our hands (and feet and all that) at indoor rock climbing, then on another date we went wakeboarding. I remember on that wakeboarding trip she had a picnic basket prepared and we had lunch on the beach. We also rode dirt bikes on one of those dates. It was seriously fun and such a respite from the jobs and lives we lead.”

Of course we can party and make friends easily, but I have to agree that finding someone to date is not as easy. So, free Irish dating sites eh? What can I lose? As long as it’s free, I’m good. Let’s see what is floating on dear old cyberspace. We’re gonna do a bit of snooping around here.

A quick internet search will actually yield a considerable amount of dating sites dedicated to Irish people. It’s nice to know I have choices. The first site I came across isn’t actually an Irish dating site per se but rather an international one. They have an Irish page where men and women from Ireland put up profiles in the hope of finding true love. It’s free, has an Irish page, so I guess that qualifies for it being a free Irish dating site. It looks a bit dodgy though. Let’s see what’s next.

I hoped to see something that looks better than the first one. This next one’s called Flirtbox, and it looks modern, the layout’s clean. Like many other dating sites you also have to register in order to upload your data and pics and get in the game. However, you can browse through profiles even if you aren’t registered, an experience that I can only describe as interesting. Exploring further, I don’t know what to feel about the forums page where one of the discussions thread proudly displayed “**SEX REQUEST THREAD – DUBLIN**.” Moving on.

Spark! is the last Irish dating site on our tiny list, and one that promotes itself as “Ireland’s quality dating site.” Honestly when I first got to the page I thought it’s one of those placeholder pages. I don’t exactly know why. Must be the rather simple layout, or the orange and blue theme. You also have to register, of course, but you can search and browse even without doing so. A bonus is that they say they scream every profile before it goes live. I guess that’s to filter out the horn dogs and the creeps.

I couldn’t really imagine myself going on any of these, but who knows? Perhaps these free Irish dating sites (free is important to me, obviously) hold the solution to any love and/or dating problems I may have in the future. My friends may find the love of their lives on one of these. It’s all about keeping an open mind and knowing that the luck of the Irish never runs out.

However, the first date shouldn’t be a pressure- and stress-filled event in your life. There are many women who stress about the first date too much as though they are meeting God itself. Relax, won’t you? Not everyone is your soul mate. There will be potential duds along the way, but life goes on. The reason most first dates fail is that the man or woman is so stressed out from trying to make everything perfect that they forget to be themselves.

Again, relax. And seriously, be yourself. The more nervous you are, the more you are prone to make mistakes – talking too much, getting drunk, talking too much because you are drunk, that sort. Believe me, I’ve been on ones where I just wanted to go, “You know what, let’s just sit on the sidewalk and get ice cream and be like normal people because I could sense your nervousness to here.” Relaxing and not stressing out doesn’t mean you won’t put any effort to the date. Just don’t make it into such a big production that you’ll rival a Hollywood action movie. Don’t take on a weird persona just because you think it would impress him or her. Think about this: If your date doesn’t like you the way you are, what are the chances that person will like you at all?

To avoid going crazy in anticipation of the first date, remember that the purpose of a first date is to get to a second date. If you put things to perspective, you may function better. Little steps are better than getting on your date and instantly naming your children.

Also keep in mind that no matter how your date looks, even if he or she looks like she just stepped out of the pages of a magazine, your date is a person. Like you. Two people will always find things to talk about. If not, then move on. It’s not the end of the world.

The main premise of speed dating is having a large number of people go on rotation for the night in an orderly manner, get to know one another and ask questions for 3-8 minutes at a time (depending on the organizer of the speed dating event) and then with a ring of a bell or clink of a glass move on to the next person. They say that it only takes about 3 seconds to form a first impression and determine compatibility with someone. These events also get you to meet more people. Just imagine, in a span of a half hour, you would have met between 3-10 people already. Certainly saves time.

But with that short time span to form opinions and get basic knowledge about another, which of the many questions you want to ask do you actually ask at a speed dating event? Asking the right questions can help you make the most out of this speed dating event. Some speed dating questions we thought you should ask are:

• His job – For a lot of people, their job tells a lot about them. It can give you a peek into what type of person they are and what they’re good at. If they hate their current job, ask them what they would rather be doing. These little snippets of information tell a lot about a person.

• His hobbies – Like a job, hobbies can give you a lot of insight about a person. Hobbies probably could tell you more about the person than his job ever could. These hobbies also bring out their quirks, eccentricities, and interesting bits.

• His current status – As in, “Are you married?” Yes, most of the time the guy will probably say no, but sometimes you’ll get that just got from a relationship or recently divorced guy. From there you can ask in a bit of detail what happened and assess if he’s over that other person (especially if you are interested in this person). You don’t want to be the rebound girl, do you?

• Fun questions – these type of questions would seem mundane but actually reveal something about the person you’re asking them to. Questions such as “What would you spend your money on if you win the lottery?” or “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” or “If you were stranded on a desert island and could take only one thing with you, what would be that thing?” actually reveal more about the person than most questions.