What are some things you do for first dates?

Never really had any rituals. I always played it by ear.

Dinner and a movie.

or long walk followed by casual lunch.

I dress casually for a day date, dress up a bit for an evening.

Oh, and I wash and vacuum the car.

Other than the usual, fixing my hair, brushing my teeth… Not really. I eat normal, put on the usual makeup, depending what we’re doing. The only thing I do different is wear new underwear. Not that the guy is gonna see them, they just feel like a new lucky pair. And I try to show a little more in the cleav area, but nothing to sleazy. I try to balance sexy and classy. Damn, I hope I pull it off haha.

This is really unromantic but….I have an exit strategy planned. lol

(Just in case….)

It’s been ages since I had a first date. For the last two normal ones, I arranged to meet the date at the designated location. The first time I met the SO in person, he flew over from England to the US and met my whole family in less than 12 hours. Poor guy.

Everything I do on a first date isn’t different from what I do whenever I go out besides the way I act around actual friends and people I don’t know. I’ll be more reserved and make less jokes around a stranger.

The only thing that jumps out at me was making sure I shaved my legs.

@DarlingRhadamanthus Desmond Llewelyn’s last dialogue as Q comes to mind:

Q: I’ve always tried to teach you two things. First, never let them see you bleed.

James Bond: And the second?

Q: Always have an escape plan.

I don’t really have rules regarding how I act. I’m a huge goofball – it’s hard for me to not be. If they like me enough to go out with me, then I take it as a sign they they’re ok with that, and then I just be myself.

As for things I do: I won’t eat pasta (it’s messy); I don’t curse, at least not as much as I usually do; I wear my hair down; I avoid talking about past relationships, politics and other messy stuff, besides I’ll find all that out later anyway, no rush.

Speaking of dates, I just have to share this – The last date I went on was to see The Change-Up. So. Many. Tits. But we both laughed about it and it wasn’t awkward at all…. for me at least. Also, I almost fell out of his truck while trying to get into it. I’m clumsy.

@ANef_is_Enuf ooh, forgot about that one. Definitely shave my legs a couple hours before.

I have always brought a trinket or token of some kind that if the date is going well I gave to them. First dates were always simple and my favorite ever was just a walk on the beach. I remember her and that date like it was only a couple years ago! ;)

Yoga—>Coffee.

How many of these things do you drop for second dates and how many are just standard date preparation?

…. I’ll get pasta on the second date. :)

Brush, floss, shower, shave, dress nicely, wear my good cologne, act polite and gentlemanly, pay for everything, offer sincere compliments, and so on.

I must be doing something right because I don’t think I’ve ever been on a date where the girl hasn’t tried to devour my face by the end of it. Whether I want her to or not. 0_0

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Nnnnnice!

I’d try to wear something comfortable and appropriate for wherever we were going so I wouldn’t be fussing with hair, clothes or shoes. Like you I’d pass up ordering anything messy or complicated that would distract from conversation and/or watching body language.

People often think it’s cliched to go out for dinner but to me that was a big deal because I’d get to watch how my date felt around strangers, how they treated staff, how they presented themselves to be out in public as far as appearance, manners, courtesies. That stuff. If a date rushed me through a meal or was oblivious to my comfort then that gave me an idea of what he would probably be like around friends, family, co workers.

Don’t plan something extravagent, expensive, or overwhelming.
Do something small and fun, and most important: be fun!

Oh, I thought were were talking about what our first dates usually are. Yoga—>coffee is the date I want, not the preparation. I prepare by flirting via phone, nothing else.

I love doing an activity like playing pool

Date? I forgot the meaning of that word. It’s been over 15 years since my last ‘date.’

At that time, most of the time, I didn’t date—I went out to coffeeshops and around DC with friends that slowly evolved into date-able. Some other things I did with date-able friends were rollerblading around DC, going to restaurants, going to museums, hanging around the monuments and going to dance clubs. I was the single mom in my crowd so I never expected anything from guys at that time and it was so much more fun, I think, to hang out without pressure.

Be myself, honestly, you’ll only get caught out later.