Whether you're looking for a new sweetie or already have a beau this fall, newsflash: Atlanta is currently on the cusp of cuffing season.
That means you need to be on point with date ideas.
"Cuffing," you'll remember, is the time of year when you search for someone to "cuff up" with during the cool months. Cuffing season begins around November, as the dreary weather sets in and douses the whole dating pool's desire to venture out to meet up with prospects who could be duds.
One swell strategy for going into the holidays with a cuddlebug commitment: planning great dates now. In other words (go ahead, call this a "bae-sic" of cuffing up), stepping out together in fall-leaf weather might mean having a Netflix and pizza partner before snow flies. (Or, in the case of most of Georgia, before the cold rain gets especially drizzly.)
If you can envision the plaid, cozy, hot chocolate and brandy-style cuffing up and the brisk fall (okay, slightly less blistering hot) weather, you can do this.
Try a few of these seven date ideas designed to take you from cusp to cuff with creativity, romance and humor:
Cook up some magic.
As an excellent planner, you can see that learning to cook those "downtime together" type foods on a fall date is a great idea. A good start could be the Publix Aprons Cooking School (4305 State Bridge Road, Alpharetta. 770-751-8560) session from 7-8 p.m. Oct. 5 , when the theme is Couples Cooking Soups and Stews. If that time or another session at Publix doesn't work for you, the Cozymeal Altanta office can hook you up with, say, a seafood cooking lesson that happens at the chef's place and includes an very impressive menu.
Credit: Courtesy of Second Self Brewery
Credit: Courtesy of Second Self Brewery
Barbecue and brew with your beau.
You get to enjoy barbecue, beers and football but you're still away from the house and on a date--genius! Achieve this by heading Second Self Beer Company (1317 Logan Circle NW. 678-916-8035) on Sundays when the Atlanta Falcons play. The brewery pairs up with People's BBQ, who smoke a whole pig and sell plates for $15 and "all you can eat" for $25, which includes side dishes.
Learn to curl ahead of the curling up months.
This may be a play on words but it's also a great way to get a potential date's positive attention, and to remind them that baby it's about to be cold outside. Try that Olympic-event with the brooms and ice together! The Atlanta Curling Club has select Fridays open for lessons at the Center Ice Arena (5750 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs) that start at 9:20 p.m. and include all the equipment.
Do you have to be at least a little nuts to want to try this date, cuffing season or any other time? Look up this curling refresher video to remind yourself how good-weird (not weird-weird) curling can be.
Meet the moonshine at its source.
About an hour's drive down autumn-hued "country roads, take me (away from) home..." is Dawsonville Moonshine Distillery. This Georgia town is arguably the Moonshine Capital of the World, and is definitely the place to experience moonshine being made, from mash to sampling. It's a good way to learn if you can love someone who prefers apple brandy to White Lightning.
If things are going, make a special point of buying a bottle together, and vow not to break the seal until the first frost.
Credit: hpousner
Credit: hpousner
Go collegiate.
What's more fitting in autumn than a "back to school" date vibe. Emory University has just the thing, with its Oct. 24 Mummies and Mixers event at Michael C. Carlos Museum. You can be artsy, eerie and spirited, all at once.
Gaze at the stars.
Before you can expect those committed-couple evenings of watching Netflix, put in some romantic time trying to catch a falling star in action. To appreciate the night sky and your companion, take a calm evening and head for a local observatory. Two choices are the Georgia Tech Observatory (Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta. 404-385-8133) and Fernbank Science Center (156 Heaton Park Drive, Atlanta. 678-874-7102).
Sing-along with your bae on a week night.
You think you really know someone and then they've never heard of Imagine Dragons. Don't let that happen to you! An autumn Singo date at Truck and Tap (30 Milton Ave., Alpharetta. 770-680-2760 draws you out on a Wednesday night (oooh, school night!). This game is a hybrid of bingo and trivia that inevitably reveals your date's taste in music. It's also pure fun, go on, sing along!
