Bucket List 🪣
Create a structure for ongoing, whimsical adventures.
Step 1
Step 1
Through this short guide, you’ll prepare a mini bucket list to track all the fun, little things you and your partner want to do together — like “watch that movie everyone keeps recommending” or “try the new taqueria down the street.”
First, you’ll pick a small object to hold all of your bucket list items. Next, you’ll fill it with a few ideas. Finally, you’ll surprise your partner with it.
👉 To start, choose a basket, an envelope, a pouch, or even a small bucket for your bucket list.
Step 2
Step 2
Start the bucket list off with a handful of ideas, that don’t require heavy planning.
Pull ideas from the list of at-home activities and activities out and about.
Then, add any ideas you think your partner would enjoy. For example:
- Food: try the new taqueria down the street, bake chocolate chip cookies from scratch, eat breakfast in bed.
- At home: watch that movie everyone keeps recommending, listen to an album straight through, finally open that new board game.
- Out and about: watch the sunset, play HORSE at the local basketball court, go thrifting and pick out outfits for each other.
👉 Write a few ideas down, each on its own slip of paper. Put them in the basket, envelope, or bucket you’re using.
Step 3
Step 3
Finally, you’ll share the bucket list with your partner and choose your first adventure.
Text your partner or leave a handwritten note inviting them to meet you somewhere in the house at a specific time. For example:
- “Meet me by the couch at 7:32 PM sharp tonight for a top-secret mission.”
- “Report to the kitchen table at 6:45 PM. I’ll be waiting with a surprise.”
When you meet, show them the bucket and introduce the premise:
“Here are some of the small things we’ve been meaning to do. Let’s draw two and commit to doing one of them within the next week. You in?”
You can make this a weekly ritual. On the same day every week, you can gather, draw 2 items, and pick 1. Keep adding ideas so the bucket becomes a well of shared surprises you can look forward to together.
👉 Go ahead text or handwrite an invitation to your partner to meet and choose your first adventure.
Made-up Holiday 🍷
Invent a holiday and design a whimsical celebration for it.
Step 1
Step 1
In this mini guide, you'll design a celebration for a made-up holiday. First, you’ll give your event a name. Pick one of your partner’s favorite foods or drinks to center the event on. Then, choose a charming name that alludes to that item and to a location at home. For example:
- Cookies on the Couch
- Chai and Chill
- Sunday Morning Jam
- Brownie Break for Two
- Prosecco on the Porch
👉 Go ahead and jot down a name.
Step 2
Step 2
Your celebration has a name. Now, you’ll design another facet of it: a playlist.
Think about what kind of mood you want to evoke (e.g. playful, energizing, calming, cozy, etc.). Choose songs that evoke that mood and that are meaningful to you both (e.g. favorite songs, songs from when you were first dating, songs that make you laugh).
👉 Pick 5-10 songs total and create a playlist on your platform of choice.
Step 3
Step 3
So far, you have a name for your holiday and a playlist. Now, you’ll design two light activities.
First, choose an activity to start with. It could be hands-on, like a crossword puzzle or a dance party. Or it could be conversational, like each sharing a rose, bud, and thorn from your week (i.e. a success, a challenge, and something you’re looking forward to).
Next, design an ending. Come up with a small tradition with which to end the gathering. For example:
- “Each Prosecco on the Porch ends with a slow dance to Taylor Swift.”
- “As is custom, Cookies on the Couch ends with a traditional fist bump.”
👉 Choose an activity to start with and a small, quirky tradition to end with.
Step 4
Step 4
🚀 Your celebration is nearly ready to go. Now, it’s time to invite your partner.
Your invitation will give them something exciting but a little bit mysterious to look forward to. For example:
- “You’re invited to a Brownie Break for Two. Meet by the couch on Tuesday at 4:30 PM. Bring your coziest blanket.”
- “This card grants 1 person admission to Chai and Chill — Monday, 7:30 PM, no phones allowed.”
- “Meet me on Saturday at 6:30 PM, for Prosecco on the Porch. The password is ‘more wine.’”
👉 Text or handwrite an invitation, proposing a specific place and time.
Step 5
Step 5
Once your partner confirms and the day of your holiday arrives, let’s get everything set up.
Here’s how to make the space feel special:
- Get any food & drinks
- Display them nicely
- Tidy the space up
- Dim the lights
- Light a candle
- Lay out a blanket
- Queue up the playlist you created
- Make a sign with the event name
- Get flowers
And here are a few pointers for hosting:
- If possible, make it a phone-free space. Tuck your phones in a different room, in a drawer, or in a bag.
- Start with the food and drink, then transition into the activity you planned. Use your intuition to decide when to end the gathering, with the ritual you chose.
- Finally, you can decide if you’d like to hold this gathering again (e.g. on the first Saturday of each month, on March 17th every year, etc.).
👉 Go ahead and work through the checklist above, to get everything set up.
Starter Pack 📦
Make a box of your partner's favorite things.
Step 1
Step 1
Through this short guide, you’ll design a "Starter Pack" for your partner — the box of gear and goodies someone would get if they chose them as a character in a video game.
👉 To start, let’s get a breadth of details to work from. Look back at old photos and texts and jot down:
- Hobbies your partner loves
- Their favorite foods and drinks
- Their superpowers and strengths
- Inside jokes you have
Step 2
Step 2
Next, use the words you jotted down to hone in on 4-10 items you could put inside a box.
- Pick 1-3 items related to a hobby (e.g. tennis balls, a sketchbook, a guitar pick, a spice blend).
- Pick 1-3 consumables (e.g. chocolate peanut butter cups, kombucha, green tea, pita chips).
- Pick 1-3 items inspired by an inside joke (e.g. hand-warmers if their nickname is Ice Queen, a small hour glass if they always run late).
You can also add photos and memories to the box. For example, you could write a short story about a favorite memory or about a time your partner supported or showed up for you.
👉 Pick 4-7 items to put inside the box.
Step 3
Step 3
Once you know what items you’ll use, pick a box. You can use something lying around (like a cardboard box or a backpack). Or you could get a wicker basket or gift box. Gauge how big of a box you’ll need and err on the side of slightly too big.
👉 Go ahead and pick a box.
Step 4
Step 4
In this penultimate step, you'll write a short note to go with the box. Name the occasion and allude to the items inside (without spoiling exactly what they are).
For example:
“In honor of your 30th birthday, I made a you-themed box. I imagined someone picking you as a character in a video game and receiving a box of gear and goodies. May this box serve you well in your tennis matches, chocolate tastings, and ongoing attempts to stay warm."
👉 Go ahead and write a short note.
Step 5
Step 5
Lastly, you'll pull everything together.
Gather all the items inside the box. If there’s empty space, you can fill it with tissue paper, a bag of chips, or a knick knack.
Then, handwrite the note, seal it in an envelope, and attach it to the box. Finally, hand the box to your partner for them to open.
👉 Put the finishing touches on your gift!
Bonus
Bonus
These go beyond the scope of this guide, but here are two things you could add that double down on the “character in a video game” theme:
- Design a small trading card for your partner. Include their name, a photo, and a few signature attributes or strengths.
- Prepare a short challenge or boss battle after they open the box (e.g. blind taste testing jelly beans, rolling tennis balls toward an obstacle).
