What to Do on Your First Date When You’ve Met Online

Meeting online is incredibly common, as are first date nerves before your first in-person meeting. Even if you’ve been chatting for weeks or months, meeting in the flesh can be nerve-wracking. Here are a few tips and suggestions to make the most of your first date and avoid any awkward moments.

The Classic Coffee Shop Date

The great thing about online dating is that, by the time you’ve met, you already know each other. You’ve probably had plenty of conversations and maybe even spoken on the phone, so it’s not a case of not knowing if you will or won’t get on – you just need to find out if that spark still exists in person and if you want to pursue it. Coffee shops are a great place to meet up for the first date – you can meet up somewhere that’s easy to access during the day, to alleviate safety concerns, and it’s low-pressure so you can make it a half-hour date or a four-hour date depending on how it goes.

Choose a Fun Activity Instead

If you’re dreading awkward silences over a cooling cup of cappuccino, you may want to go on a planned activity instead. That way, you have plenty to talk about and do while you get to know each other better. Remember to meet up somewhere that’s safe and comfortable that won’t take up an entire day to do (an exit strategy or window is always a good idea, no matter how positive you feel about your date!).

Here are a few suggestions for things to do on your date:

• Be a tourist in your own town – most Londoners have never been to any of the sights or really spent much time around London beyond where they work and where their friends live. A tour is a great, no-pressure way to break the ice and have a laugh.
• Go to the zoo – most people love animals and the zoo gives you an opportunity to walk around and get to know each other with animal exhibits to fill the odd silence. In a potential long-term relationship, it’s also important to know whether your partner wants to see the lions or tigers first.
• Go to the aquarium – if you want something slightly more low-key, the aquarium is surprisingly overlooked as a great date location. It has the pros of the zoo, but with softer lighting.
• Play mini-golf – if you never know what to do with your hands when you’re nervous, you can do worse than holding a golf club. It’s a great low-stakes game for a fun date that gives you the option for chatting between shots and laughing at how badly you miss.

Categorised in: Date Ideas, London Activities

This post was written by Innermedia Ltd