First Over 60 Date Ideas

A first date at sixty something has exactly one job, and it isn't to sweep anybody off their feet. It's to work out whether you'd like a second one. That's a much smaller ask, and it makes choosing where to go a lot easier. You want somewhere you can hear each other, somewhere neither of you has to drive an hour to reach, and something with a natural finish so that nobody ends up trapped. Here are six that do the job.

1. Dinner

The obvious one, and obvious for good reason. Everybody knows how dinner works, so there's nothing to be nervous about beyond the company. The thing worth getting right is the room. Somewhere with hard floors, loud music and tables jammed together will have you both nodding along to sentences you didn't catch, which is a miserable way to spend two hours. Ring ahead and ask for a quiet table if you're not sure. Think about the drive as well, because a place that's five minutes from you might be forty five from them. And if they pick somewhere you'd never choose yourself, go anyway. You'll learn something about them, which is the entire point.

2. Country Walk

Walking is the great secret weapon of first dates, because you're side by side instead of staring across a table, and there's scenery to fall back on whenever the conversation needs a breather. It doesn't have to be proper countryside. A park, a foreshore path, a botanic garden or a reserve near the shops will all do nicely. Agree the distance beforehand so nobody is quietly suffering in the wrong shoes. If you've got a dog, bring it. You'll find out within about ninety seconds whether they're a dog person, which is more than some couples establish in a year.

3. City Bus Tour

Underrated, this one. It's ideal if they're new to the area, and surprisingly good even if you've both lived here for forty years, because the commentary always turns up something neither of you knew. It also solves the hardest problem with first dates: what to talk about. You've got a running supply of prompts going past the window, and the sitting down is done for you. Book the seats up top if the weather looks kind.

4. Cinema

People will tell you the pictures are a poor first date because you can't talk. They're missing the point. The film is the easy bit. What you're really doing is going for a coffee or a drink afterwards with something to talk about already handed to you, which takes the pressure off completely. Seniors tickets and weekday matinees are cheap, the cinema is half empty in the afternoon, and if the film turns out to be dreadful you'll have a far better time pulling it apart than you would have had watching a good one.

5. Boating

Plenty of parks still hire out rowing boats and paddle boats by the half hour, and there's a reason this works. It's slightly ridiculous. Neither of you will be much good at it, you'll spend a fair bit of the time going in circles, and it is very hard to stay awkward with somebody while you're both laughing at how badly it's going. Half an hour is the perfect length for a first date too, long enough to get talking and short enough that you can go your separate ways if it isn't clicking. Somebody will get wet. It won't be the end of the world.

6. Garden Centre

Not glamorous. Genuinely good. A big nursery or garden centre gives you a couple of easy hours: something to look at, plenty to point at, a cafe to stop in halfway round, and absolutely no pressure to perform. If you both garden you'll be away, comparing notes on what won't grow for you and what the possums keep getting at. If only one of you does, that's fine too, because people are always worth listening to on the subject they love most. Buy them something small on the way out. A herb in a pot beats flowers that die by Thursday.

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