12 Creative Ways To Express And Enjoy Your Love

Expressing love to one another is important every and any day of the year, but fancy dinners, flowers, and chocolate-covered strawberries can get old quickly. Novelty, in fact, is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your relationship, as you introduce excitement, experience, and connecting over something new. 

So, this Valentine’s Day… or any day thereafter, we invite you to try these 12 creative ways that you can express and enjoy love and romance with your partner. 

1. Meme Collage

There’s something about poetic words overlaid on a striking photo that can just capture the emotions of love, romance, and even sexiness so much better than just photos or words alone. One of my favorite things to do when I feel stuck in how to express myself is to Google quotes about the emotion and then click on the “Images” tab, so I can see the ways that people have paired powerful words with images. 

The invitation here is to create a collection of memes (or quotes, or images) that capture how you feel about your partner in ways better than you probably could on your own. (Cal says it’s kind of old-school, but I’m still a fan of using Pinterest to collect all of these images!) 

2. Write Your Partner Love Notes

I’m a words of affirmation person, so I really love this one. When I talk about love notes, I don’t just mean sneaking a sweet note into your sweetie’s lunchbox or briefcase before they go to work (but do this too!) We’re going for new and creative here… so how about these ideas… 

• Fill out a box of Valentine’s day cards with your own love messages on each
• Hide sticky notes all over the house with expressions of love, admiration, and appreciation for your hunny to find. 
• Start a journal and write a love note EVERY DAY… even if just a few sentences, to express your love and appreciation. Give it to your Valentine next year, or keep it going throughout your lifetime. 
• Get a whiteboard or chalkboard and write a daily love note to your partner.
• Get a notebook and trade it back and forth when you two are apart; the person with the notebook gets to write the next love note!
  
  

3. Create A Music Playlist

Ok, Ok, so this one maybe isn’t so new and creative. Butand, music is SUCH a great way of expressing love and activating feel-good feelings, that I would be remiss not to mention it here. Besides, when’s the last time you created a new playlist for your beloved? (And hey, if you’re like me and grew up making mixed tapes by listening fervently to the radio and hoping they’ll play that song you really want, then I’m sure you appreciate the great ease of playlist-creation these days!)

4. Do A Couples Photo Shoot

When I was in my early twenties, I started a photography business called “Just For Fun Photography.” The idea was that people who wanted to do a photo shoot could do them for fun, and only pay if they liked the photos. Why? Because photo shoots are a super fun time! 

And these days, you don’t have to hire a photographer and spend any kind of money to do them either. All you need is a tripod or selfie stick (and honestly, you can do a photo shoot without these too), and a smartphone! The idea is to capture the love and essence of who you and your partner are and how your relationship feels and to celebrate the life you’re sharing together! 

The best news is, not only does this activity help CREATE the experience of fun and connection, it ALSO gives you photographic evidence of your love. (And who doesn’t like scrolling back through their photos and being reminded of extra sweet times we’ve spent together?) 

5. Clean The House For Your Partner

Look, I know that cleaning the house may not seem very romantic or loving, AND there are folx out there who would be beside themselves with love and appreciation (and likely an increased desire for intimacy), if their partner/spouse cleaned the house for them. Perhaps your love is one of them? Extra points if you can make it a surprise and pair it with the opportunity for y’all to do something ELSE with your time together, like mini-golf!

6. Have An Adventure Together

When I think of adventure, I think of novelty, which simply means engaging in something new and exciting together. It doesn't have to be a big thing, like travel or vacations (though we recommend sprinkling in at least two of these each year). The little adventures can be just as connecting and romantic too, and much easier to do! But you’ve got to bring an adventurous spirit to the activity. That is, you have to NAME it as an adventure. 

Going to a new grocery store can be an adventure. Exploring a new town, going on a new hike, taking a class or learning a new skill together… hell, we’ve even called our bi-weekly Costco trips an adventure and found more joy and connection from them! (Seriously, if we call it an adventure and a date, it starts to feel like one and we find ways to bring fun and play and newness into the experience!) 

7. Play A New Game

If you’re like most grownups, you probably don’t take enough time for play. But play and fun are critically important to our personal well-being AND our relationships! Games are created with the intent to have fun. So, whether you’re picking up a treasured game from your childhood, going to the game store to pick out the newest adult fun board game, or picking a new video game to play together… make playing together an integral part of your relationship. (And you know there are ALWAYS ways to get creative with rules for added excitement and romance, right?) ;) 

8. Dance!

Remember when getting asked to go to a school dance, getting dressed up, and buying the fancy wearable flowers was basically the epitome of romance? Yeah… me too! But, unless you’re the kind of person who enjoys going out dancing on the regular, you might not find yourself having a romantic or fun dance experience with your partner very often. 

Let’s change that! You don’t need a club, or even fancy dance lessons to dance with your partner. You don’t technically even need music… though it does make the dancing more fun! All you really need, is the intention and decision to do it… to dance together. 

So put on a song, grab your beloved, and move your bodies together. Whether slow and sweet, or fast and fun, dancing is an intimate, enjoyable way of being in connection and raising the love-vibe in your relationship. 

9. Take A Trip To An “Adult” Store

This list would be incomplete without at least one way to directly spice up your sex life. And while some people find it uncomfortable to head into a nearby “Adult” store, I want to strongly encourage you to check it out. Marvel together at all of the different ways that people express and enjoy pleasure and intimacy. Talk about what intrigues you and what repels you. This experience can be an incredible opportunity to talk about sex and learn about one another (something we find most couples don’t do nearly enough of!) 

Consider buying something new for you two to try… a toy, some new lube, something to wear, or even just a book or a new game… the act of intentionally putting down money for the improvement of your sex life is an important statement about your commitment to supporting intimacy, pleasure, and connection in your relationship. 

10. Give Back

Part of what makes for a happily ever after is a shared identity as a couple. (Just make sure you keep your individual identities too!) Who are you two as a couple? What do you stand for? What are you committed to? What matters to you both? When you figure that out, you’re on your way to identifying how you might work together to give back to the world. 

Giving back is a powerful way of increasing the experiences of gratitude, abundance, connection, and purpose. When shared as a couple, these experiences can foster a profound sense of unity and pride in your relationship. Though it doesn’t sound particularly romantic on the outset, I believe that giving back together is one of the most love-enriching gifts we could invest in.

11. Re-Create The Scene From A Favorite Romance

While you’re more likely to hear me complain about the unrealistic Hollywood portrayals of love and romance, on this occasion, I’m all about it. Because, while it IS unlikely that your life and love are going to unfold like your favorite romantic comedy or saucy romance novel, it never hurts to use someone else’s imagination to inspire yours! 

So if you’ve found yourself moved, enamored, or turned on by a particular scene or aspect of a mass-media depiction of relationships, why not recreate it for yourself!? Play the parts, get some props, set the scene… and make it your own! (I mean, how better to ensure that your dream experiences actually happen than to intentionally make them happen with your beloved!?)

12. Go On A First Date (Again)

What was your first date like? Awkward? Exciting? Sexy? What if you met again… for the first time (or at least… pretended to). Yes, I’m talking about another version of roleplay, but this time you just get to be yourselves! (Yourselves who don’t yet know your partner, that is!)

To do this, ask your partner on a first date and treat it as such. Choose the place, get ready separately, take two cars to get there, arrive at slightly different times, and try looking at your partner as if they were a stranger– full of unknowns and possibilities! 

What do you want to know about them? How would you carry yourself in front of them? Allow yourself to experience this newness once again, and enjoy your partner in a way that you probably haven’t done for a very long time.

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If your relationship is in need of more than just some fun and reconnecting expressions of love, we’d love to talk. Our Back From The Brink Intensives help couples who are approaching divorce or break-up to turn things around quickly and permanently so that they can begin to enjoy each other and their relationship again. 

Book a Free 90-minute Relationship Empowerment Call so we can explore how we might be able to help. 

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