Marriage can be full of life and bonding, but it can also be easy to get stuck in a rut. As a relationship matures and grows, a couple may not feel as passionate as they once were, but that’s okay because other experiences can be just as fulfilling and enjoyable, if not more so.
Still, years into a marriage, it can become quite difficult to think of new things to do together, which is exactly what this list can help with. The 17 new experiences you should have with your spouse on this list range from deep spiritual connections to relationships experiences you can effortlessly incorporate into your daily life.
Take a Trip
There’s a reason newlyweds take a trip as a honeymoon. It’s fun, exciting, and leads to shared experiences in relationships. Getting away from your normal routines can put a dose of passion into your marriage and allow you to destress, rejuvenate, and create memories to last a lifetime.
Plus, research shows that taking a vacation can be a great way to boost happiness, reduce the risk of disease, and exterminate stress! This idea on the list sits at the top because it allows you to experience many other new connections simultaneously. Taking a vacation can make you forget about and eliminate any bad relationship experiences and habits you may have developed recently.
While it can be hard to get away, you can try taking a short trip until you can plan a longer one. Take a weekend in a nearby city or state to share a nice dinner, get away from responsibilities, and partake in mutual interests.
Binge Watch a Show
Since the first idea on this list was something you can’t do with your spouse at home, it’s important to include something easier for home. It gives you something fun to do, and, in my past relationship experience, a good show can double as a great conversation starter.
Whether you set a certain time to watch an episode or two every evening or spend a whole weekend watching as many shows as possible, it can be a great way to build memories and relax together as a couple. You may also enjoy picking one show and allowing your spouse to pick another one, then binge-watching both!
You can try classic sitcoms like Friends, dramas like Breaking Bad, or, one personal recommendation, the tear-jerker This is Us. If you prefer movies, you can choose a series of movies, an actor or a director, and have a marathon. Just make sure that it is something both you and your spouse will enjoy.
Try Cliche Romance
It can be fun to try cliche romantic gestures and events and can spark laughter and joy. Things like sharing a spaghetti noodle, kissing on top of a Ferris wheel, trying a new pet name, or even making each other a playlist or mixtape, as we used to call it, are all fun activities to do together. These things may sound corny, but they can be fun and rekindle nostalgic connections in married couples.
You may even find it fun to take a whole weekend to act like new lovers. Pick each other up for dates, try new things in bed, or just act like you are getting to know each other for the first time. These experiences in close relationships can break up the monotony of mundane daily living.
Do Yoga
The mental health benefits of yoga are well-known, but it can be an exceptional experience for a relationship. Married couples often find that it makes them feel happier and fosters a deeper emotional connection. You will develop even stronger bonding experiences with your husband or wife as you learn more about yoga.
It is also easier to start than many people believe, and there are plenty of online explanations and video instructions for practicing yoga for the first time. Yoga allows you to be entirely in the moment with your thoughts and your partner, which can form a meditative force unlike anything else.
Plus, you can participate in yoga anywhere and at any time, so once you are more comfortable with the practice, you and your wife can start or end each day with a little yoga. The result could be a profound improvement in well-being and relationship satisfaction as much as couples therapy experiences can offer.
See a Play
If you are the type of couple that enjoys movies, have you ever tried live performances, plays, and musicals? It can be fun and an incredible experience for married couples. Even if you do not live in a city with professional theater productions, an amateur group can be just as fun, entertaining, and, in many cases, talented.
You may enjoy seeing a play or musical so much that you want to make it a regular date experience. I know I enjoy musicals so much that the songs stick with me for years and that I remember the times more than going to a movie theater (not that you should stop doing that, too!).
Eat Breakfast in Bed
This is something every married couple should do at some point. It’s a fun experience that is as relaxing as it is delicious. Plus, it allows you to wake up slowly and converse with your spouse the entire day ahead of you. What a great way to start the day with positivity and love!
There are a couple of ways to do this. The first is to cook breakfast yourself and bring it to your wife or husband in bed. The second is to have something already prepared to grab or that may already be next to the bed so you can share it with little effort. Either way can be enjoyable and comfy.
Get a Pet
If you don’t already have a pet, it may be time to get one with your spouse. Why do you ask? Because couples with dogs or cats have closer relationships and are more satisfied with marriages than couples who don’t have a pet. They also respond better to stress.
Getting a pet can also promote many new experiences with your spouse, especially if neither of you has ever had a pet before. Sure, it can be a lot of responsibility, but it can also be rewarding. If you are a dog person and your spouse loves cats, just make sure to decide on the best option.
Dogs and cats are cute, cuddly, and fun for most people, and spouse ownership can promote mutual love for another creature and shared caring that allows you to learn more about your spouse’s motherly or fatherly instincts. That is why many couples will try having a pet before committing to having children.
Go Camping
Camping is a great choice as a new experience for married partners. It allows you to get back to nature and away from electronics, the internet, and other distractions. This means more focus on the relationship and shared adventures. Camping can also encourage teamwork by putting up a tent, cooking dinner, staying warm or cool, and with other situations that can arise.
Camping offers many smaller experiences like hiking, fishing, grilling, and sleeping on the ground. If that doesn’t sound enjoyable to you, you may enjoy glamping more. Glamping is more of a comfort-led relationship experience, at least when compared to regular camping, because it focuses on comfort or glamor and combines it with traditional camping repertoire.
While camping can be very affordable, the first time may involve a lot of new purchases like a tent, cooking equipment, sleeping bags, and other materials you may need. Still, it can be a great way to enjoy new natural locations with your lover.
Make Love Somewhere New
New passionate experiences are just as important as other new experiences, and sometimes it can be hard to think of new things to incorporate into the bedroom that both people enjoy. So, instead, you can try making love in a new location that brings passion and excitement into your intimacy.
This could be by joining the mile-high club, playing outside, or being intimate in the kitchen. As long as it is something new, it may bring an innovative spark into your interactions that may inspire even more bedroom creativity in the future. Some couples just like the sneaking around aspects of public passion, but there is something new for everyone as long as you get creative.
Switch Roles
As married partners grow into their routines, they often get so used to their roles in the relationship. That’s okay, but you could try switching things up for something new. For example, if your spouse usually makes dinner and wakes up early, then that is what you should do for the next week.
This allows you to individually try new things that the other person experiences daily, which can promote empathy and influence conversations about how your relationship works. It may also help you understand some things that could be improved upon in the relationship.
Going along with number 9 on the list, you can also switch roles in the bedroom. If you normally initiate, try to encourage your partner to do so. This can bring fun into the bedroom and beyond.
Read a Book Together
Reading books is generally a solitary activity, but it doesn’t have to be. Try reading a book with your spouse. This could mean that you read it aloud or listen to an audiobook, but it could also mean that you read the book individually and then discuss it after each chapter or section. This can be a great way to grow mental connections, learn about your partner, and develop shared interests that you may not have thought of otherwise.
You can even start a long-term marriage book club where you and your partner alternate with the book choice. Then you read it, discuss, enjoy, and repeat. If you both are people that enjoy reading but never really read the same types of books, then this can be a great way to bond over a mutual love for literature.
Volunteer Together
Volunteering together can be a great new experience that allows you to feel generous and supportive of your community. Doing so can inspire and grow meaning and purpose in your lives and, as research shows, can even make you happier.
When married couples volunteer together, they create meaningful experiences for themselves and with each other. It can help you gain a new perspective that you can take away to use in your relationship for improvement and satisfaction.
It doesn’t have to be something that takes away all your free time either. Many charities and nonprofit organizations need all the help they can get, and just donating a couple of hours now and then can be meaningful for you, them, and your marriage.
Bathe Together
Taking a bath or shower as a couple may not be something you have thought about, but it can be very cleansing for your relationship and your body. It allows you to spend time together in a compact, intimate setting that can make it easy to open, honest, and vulnerable. It can also be relaxing and help you relax together, even if there is not much conversation.
In addition, you can take a bath with your partner and a bottle of wine for a new type of date. Light some candles and let the romance commence, and as the water cools down, your passion will heat up, and you may get dirty again.
Talk About Your Dreams
Communication is important for any marriage, but couples often find that they don’t talk about their dreams even in the most communicative marriages. It is okay for couples to discuss their plans together, but it can also be beneficial to discuss individual hopes, dreams, fears, and worries.
Sharing deepest thoughts may be more of a new experience than you realize and can build a stronger, more empathetic connection between you and your spouse. This is one of the experiences in close relationships that should be a regular occasion, but if you find it hard to create the time, just try it at least once, and soon!
Play a Game
As a couple, you probably enjoy playing together, but you may not be organized enough to spend a lot of playtime with each other. You can create a cheap and fun date night just by getting a board or card game and spending the evening enjoying it. There are plenty of conversational-based games targeted toward married couples that can be exciting and new.
If board games make you feel bored, then video games are also an option. You may enjoy a competitive game or even take turns playing a story-based video game. It may even encourage a child-like atmosphere that keeps the experience fun and nostalgic.
Finally, games also include sports, so grab a basketball or tennis racket and head to the park to play. Even if you don’t want to have intense competition, just lightly playing or trying games like P.I.G. on the basketball court can be fun that you may have been missing out on.
Start a Garden
Gardening can boost well-being and life satisfaction. It can also reduce stress, improve social interactions, foster a sense of community, and positively influence physical health. Plus, it’s a lot of fun! There are plenty of things you can grow to grow your relationship, whether you prefer vegetables or flowers.
It can be fun to get your hands dirty together and give you a sense of purpose together performing acts that you both care about. Watching your efforts come to fruition as the plants sprout and grow can give a new perspective on how your relationship grows and develops.
Learn to Dance
Dancing is about as romantic as it gets, but many couples never learn. It can help you connect and be a great way to exercise that never really feels much like exercise. There are also many types of dances to choose from, like tango, waltz, two-step, ballroom, and more. Plus, you get to show off at the next wedding or event around your friends and family!
Dancing can make you feel more flexible, youthful, balanced, and elegant while spending time with your beloved. It can also help you balance your mental strength with physical and emotional wellness because dancing requires the entire body, mind, and soul to cooperate.
Why You Should Have New Experienced with Your Spouse
You may feel like you are plenty happy in your marriage, but there are several reasons why it is important to have new experiences in marriage. Let’s look at some of the reasons marriage counseling experiences address when it comes to new adventures in marriages.
Learn About Your Relationship
New experiences open up the mind and allow you to learn new things. This can be true of any new experience, regardless of how small or insignificant it may seem. However, with new experiences with a spouse, you can learn about yourself and about your spouse and your relationship. This can help you build upon the positives and address the negatives to grow a stronger, lasting bond.
Reduce Boredom
Having adventures, trying new things, and sharing new experiences in close relationships are critical for avoiding the dreaded boredom in a marriage. Being bored in a relationship is certainly fixable and trying new things together is one of the easiest ways to rejuvenate passion and love. Marriage should never be boring, even after decades together, so grab a thinking cap and think of something to do that you have never done together before.
Boost Happiness
Brain science shows us that new experiences trigger dopamine and norepinephrine, which are the same chemicals that make us feel exhilarated during early romantic love. While a decline in those feelings is inevitable and healthy, trying new things to trigger these motivating neurotransmitters can keep us in love, passionate, and happy with our marriage.
Create Memories
Who doesn’t like positive memories? Looking back on your journey as a couple can be rewarding and satisfying as your relationship and marriage grow and mature. Nobody wants to have only memories of work and responsibilities, so go out and create memories that you can cherish when you’re old. You can also build on your memories to determine a future of even newer experiences.
Increase Lifespan
Studies show that meaningful, lasting relationships and marriages can reduce the risk of early death, heart disease, and other ailments and increase lifespan. In fact, evidence suggests that it may be just as important, if not more so, as exercise and healthy eating. Part of this is because fulfilling marriages promote happiness that is good for the body and soul, but the support of a partner probably plays a role as well. So, the next time the spouse bugs you repeatedly to visit the doctor, you know that it could be extending your life.
Final Thoughts on New Experiences for Married Couples
Don’t become complacent in your marriage. Instead, ensure a lasting bond by experiencing new things together often. It can be as easy as playing a new game or watching new shows together or as adventurous as camping or getting a pet.
These relationship experiences can be incredibly beneficial both as individuals and as a couple and allow you to feel closer than before. So try one of these 17 new experiences you should have with your spouse soon!
If you have some other new ideas or experiences for married people that you would like to share, we would love to hear about them, so please comment below!
