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Contents Why a shared list works Most good ideas die in the group chat. “We should totally go there!” – and then everyone keeps scrolling. A shared list rescues them. You can both see what you want to do, and when a free Saturday comes along, you don't have to think twice.
Use these 100 ideas as a starting point, not a to-do list. Cross out what isn't you, add your own and start with something small. Rather begin with a ready-made list? Try these date ideas .
Small everyday adventures 1. Watch the sunrise with a flaskSet the alarm for 5:30, grab a warm jacket and a flask of coffee, and find a spot facing east. 2. Ride the bus to the last stopGet on, stay on, and get off at the end of the line to see what's there. 3. Let a coin plan the dayHeads you turn left, tails you turn right. Café or park, stay or move on – the coin decides. 4. Be tourists in your own townJoin a walking tour, carry a paper map and take the cheesy photo at the landmark you always walk past. 5. Thrift shop challengeA tiny budget each and thirty minutes to find the best secondhand gift for the other. 6. A walk after darkHead out after 10 pm when the streets are quiet. Your neighbourhood sounds completely different at night. 7. Find your breakfast placeA new café every weekend until one of them becomes yours. 8. Lunch-break picnicMeet on a weekday, spread a blanket on the grass and make a Tuesday feel like a holiday for an hour. 9. Pick a film at randomBuy tickets for whatever starts next. No trailers, no reviews. 10. Letters to your future selvesEach of you writes to the two of you five years from now. Seal them, date them, hide them well. 11. A themed photo walkOnly red things, only reflections, only doors. One hour, one theme, then compare. 12. Library dateChoose a book for each other by its cover alone and don't reveal the title until you're home. 13. An evening without phonesBoth phones in a drawer – and find out how long an evening really is. Try a whole weekend . Outdoors and nature 14. Count shooting starsDrive out of town during a meteor shower with a blanket and hot tea. First to spot one makes a wish. 15. Climb a peak togetherPick a summit that's just about doable and unpack the best sandwiches of your life at the top. 16. Swim before the water's warmOne quick plunge in late spring. Every hot shower afterwards feels like a spa. 17. A night in a tentA campsite, a field or the back garden – a tent, a head torch and no plug sockets. 18. Forage for berries or mushroomsWith someone who knows what they're doing or a good field guide, then cook what you find. 19. Paddle a canoeRent a boat, take turns steering and find out who really sets the pace. 20. Plant a treePlant it together and take a photo next to it every year. 21. Watch a thunderstormLights off, window open a crack, counting the seconds between lightning and thunder. 22. Hike to a waterfallA trail with a reward at the end. Wet shoes allowed. 23. Sunset from the highest pointA hill, a tower or a rooftop, something to drink and nowhere else to be. 24. A whole day by the riverFeet in the water, skimming stones, sandwiches in the backpack. 25. Cycle for ice creamAt least 20 kilometres, with the best ice cream around as the finish line. 26. Gather what the season givesWild garlic in spring, elderflower in June – turned into pesto or cordial at home. Travel and road trips 27. A road trip with no bookingsA rough direction, a shared playlist, and every evening you decide where to sleep. 28. Take a sleeper trainBoard at night, fall asleep to the rattle, wake up in another city. 29. A city on foot onlyA weekend away without taxis or public transport. You'll see far more than you expect. 30. A country where you don't speak the languageGet by with hand signals, smiles and the three words you learned on the plane. 31. A cabin with no Wi-FiA wood stove, a deck of cards and going to bed when it gets dark. 32. Island hoppingCatch ferries from island to island and stay wherever looks best. 33. Show each other where you grew upThe old school, the secret hideout, the bakery you went to as a kid. 34. Let the dice decideRoll for direction and distance, then go wherever the dice send you. 35. A new capital every yearKeep going until the map starts to look like a pattern. 36. Go to a festivalRain boots, glitter and three days where your phone has no signal anyway. 37. A cycling tourSeveral days, town to town, with panniers and very honest legs. 38. Return to your first trip togetherSame beach, same restaurant – and see what's changed. Including you. 39. Chase the northern lightsHead north in winter with thick socks, a lot of patience and a little luck. Food and drink 40. Make pasta from scratchFlour, eggs, a rolling pin. The dough won't be perfect; the evening will. 41. Take a cooking classThai, Georgian or Ethiopian – one evening, one cuisine, recipes to take home. 42. Help with a harvestPick grapes at a vineyard, apples in an orchard or pumpkins at a farm. 43. Blind tasting at homeFive chocolates, cheeses or craft beers, a blindfold and a scoring sheet. 44. Breakfast in bedCoffee, pastries and one rule: nobody gets up before eleven. 45. The restaurant you never treat yourselves toSave up, dress up and order the full tasting menu once. 46. A street food crawlStall to stall, small portions only, so there's room for everything. 47. Bake your own breadStart a sourdough and give it a name. It's family now. 48. Market cook-offEach of you buys three ingredients for the other. Then you cook with them. 49. A three-course picnicStarter, main and dessert in jars, served on a blanket in the park. 50. Learn where your coffee comes fromVisit a roastery or join a tea ceremony for the drink you have every morning. 51. Cook each other's childhood favouriteThe dish your grandma or dad used to make, recreated from memory. Cosy nights in 52. Blanket fort and film marathonCushions, fairy lights, three films, popcorn in the salad bowl. In December: a Christmas movie marathon . 53. A 1,000-piece puzzleLeave it on the table until it's done, however long that takes. 54. Repaint a roomPick the colour together, turn the music up, then have a picnic on the floor. 55. A real photo albumPrint the best photos of the year, stick them in and write the stories next to them. 56. Game night with stakesWhoever loses makes breakfast tomorrow. 57. Love letters by postPen, paper, a stamp, the postbox – even though you live together. 58. Living-room karaokeWarn the neighbours, pick your anthems, use a hairbrush as the mic. 59. Grow something togetherA cutting from a friend's plant that you raise between you. 60. Read side by sideTwo hours, two books, one pot of tea – then tell each other what happened. 61. Spa nightFace masks, a foot bath, candles and a playlist. A spa that costs nothing. 62. A night of big questionsWhat was your most embarrassing moment? What do you secretly dream about? Ask what you never have. 63. Make a time capsulePhotos, notes and one object from this year in a tin. Open it in ten years. Be brave, learn something new 64. Take a dance classSalsa, swing or waltz. The point isn't to be good – it's to be bad together first. 65. Tandem skydive or paraglideLet go once in your life, strapped to a professional. 66. Learn a language togetherTen minutes a day, and on your next holiday you order dinner in it. 67. Indoor climbingBelaying each other means really trusting each other. 68. Pottery classWonky mugs make coffee taste better. Promise. 69. Learn one song on an instrumentUkulele, piano or drums – practise until you can play it together. 70. Stand-up paddleboardingFirst one to fall in buys the ice cream. 71. Run a 5K togetherRace numbers pinned on, crossing the line side by side. 72. Improv workshopOne evening where being awkward is the whole point. 73. Volunteer for a dayA food bank, an animal shelter or a tree-planting day – one day for other people. 74. Get scuba certifiedYou can't talk underwater, and somehow you still understand each other. 75. Stay up all nightNot at a club, just because: talk, cook, walk until the sun comes up. 76. Try cold-water swimmingJoin a group that does it every week, and bring hot tea for afterwards. With friends and family 77. A themed dinner partyThe 1920s, your favourite series or everything green – every guest brings one course. 78. A scavenger hunt for friendsYou hide the clues around town; they run. 79. A big cabin weekendOne big house, a few couples, a cooking rota and no rush. 80. Both families at one tableYou cook, your parents tell stories about you as kids. 81. Pub quiz nightYour best friends and a team name embarrassing enough to win something. 82. Campfire with a guitarToasted marshmallows and someone who knows at least three chords. 83. A day with your godchildZoo, playground, ice cream. Everyone goes home tired and happy. 84. Record your grandparents' storiesWrite down their recipes, look through old photos and press record. 85. Backyard olympicsSack races, egg-and-spoon, cardboard medals. Non-negotiable. 86. Throw a surprise partyFor a friend who would never see it coming. 87. Cook for a crowdOne huge pot of chilli, ten people, zero stress. 88. Share a list with your peopleStart a shared bucket list with friends and see who ticks something off first. Here's how . Big life dreams 89. Take a sabbaticalA few months away when life allows it – and write down together what it's for. 90. Grow your own foodA garden, an allotment or a balcony full of tomatoes. 91. Cross a continentBackpacks, no return ticket, for as long as the money lasts. 92. Say your vowsA big wedding, a tiny ceremony or just the two of you on a hilltop – with words you wrote yourselves. 93. Run a marathonA year of training, one shared plan, one finish line. 94. A year of firstsEvery month something neither of you has ever done. Twelve new memories. 95. Adopt a petFrom a shelter, when it fits your life – and once you've agreed who does the early walks. 96. Live somewhere else for a whileA few weeks or months in another city, with a flat instead of a hotel. 97. A book about the two of youYour story in photos and words, printed for later. 98. Start something togetherA small project, a club, a pop-up café for one weekend. 99. See a wonder of the worldThe one you've both wanted to see forever – and pick a year for it. 100. Still holding hands at 80The longest item on the list. Tick off a little of it every day. How to turn the list into real moments Start small. Pick one idea you can do within the next seven days. The first tick makes the second one easier.
Put a date on it. “Someday” isn't a date. Choose a day, even if it moves later.
Plan for the weather. Keep a few ideas ready for every season and for rainy days – there are plenty in our rainy day date ideas .
Keep the memory. One photo and one sentence afterwards is enough. A year from now, it's your favourite album.
With MomentMal you build your list together, set dates and get a suggestion from your own ideas when the weather is right. Free on iPhone and Android.
Frequently asked questions How many ideas should a couple's bucket list have? Enough that there's always something to choose from, few enough that it never feels like homework. Twenty to thirty good ideas is a great start – the list grows with you.
What should go on a bucket list for couples? A mix of small and big: things for a free evening, for a weekend and for someday. Most importantly, you both add something.
How do you actually stick to it? Set dates, start with small ideas and look at the list together regularly – over Sunday breakfast, for example.
Is there an app for a shared bucket list? Yes, for example MomentMal : you share your list, see what the other person adds and keep what you've done with photos.
MomentMal
