Houston First Date Ideas for Gamers

It’s Friday night down here in Houston, and the weather is just about perfect; although, for Houstonians, we’ll just about take any day that isn’t filled with 800% humidity and 95-plus degree temperatures.  No humidity makes this time of year idea for outside first dates in Houston, so let’s drum up some creative ones, shall we?

Houston First Date Ideas for Gamers

First dates are all about first impressions; that we all are probably very well aware of.  That being said, don’t take that as being “flashy” and think you have to drop a half-month’s pay just to impress your date.  The best route is to be creative, but don’t go overboard and pull them into something that they simply don’t believe in or agree with.  For example, do a little research: maybe you shouldn’t take your date to Fogo de Chao if he/she’s a vegetarian, or unless you both really love boozing, it probably isn’t a good idea to surprise your date with two tickets to the “name-your-theme-bar-crawl”.  Does that make sense?  Aim for middle of the road.  Alright, let’s move on to those date ideas; that is after all why you’re here, right?  Aside from registering at LFGdating, of course.

Houston First Date Idea #1: Texas Renaissance Festival

If you’ve got a day date planned, say for Saturday or Sunday afternoon, then a visit to the epic Texas Renaissance Festival might just be the best option in Houston for an awesome first date.  If you have attended this festival before, or better yet if you both have, then this may not be worth it, but if your date hasn’t, then there is a lot of potential here.  Please note that while this is a medieval festival, you are not required to dress up like the thousands of actors there.  You can, if you and your date are into it, but the majority of people that buy tickets are dressed normally.  Alright, time for our first date pros and cons!

Pros: Extremely creative, especially if you or your date have never been.  There is an insane amount to do at the festival, from games, food stands, and countless shows; there’s a reason why this festival goes on for like two months – you only see about 5% of the festival in one day.  It’s actually fairly cheap too, believe it or not, with tickets only going at the gate for about $26 each.  Compared with other theme parks and major events, this is a pretty reasonably priced date with tons of creative potential.

Cons: Parking and driving distance.  The festival isn’t technically in Houston; it’s more like an hour and a half northwest of H-Town in a town somewhere in the middle of nowhere.  Parking is almost always a nightmare; whoever designed that parking lot structure in the middle of the woods should be slapped around for at least six hours, because there is only one road in, and one road out.  Your best bet is to show up during lunch time and head back around dinner to beat the traffic.

Overall: If the weather stays decent, and you’re not too far of a drive from the festival, then the Ren Fest might be that home run date you’re looking for.  I went on opening day last weekend in regular clothes with my fiancee, and we had a blast; the only downside was the parking fiasco, but that is probably an opening day thing.  This is a must-do, and like I mentioned above, will be going on for another month and a half!

Houston First Date Idea #2: The IMAX

Yes, the IMAX!  While I am pretty strongly against doing a movie theater on a first date – since you really don’t get much of a chance to talk to one another – the IMAX is the exception.  Here are my thoughts: do dinner somewhere so you can get to know each other first, and schedule the IMAX afterwards.  The cool thing about IMAX theaters – outside of the giant freaking screen – is that they show off the wall movies that you don’t find at regular movie theaters, like documentaries and concert movies.  Again, get a pulse on your date (figuratively) beforehand to see if any of the movies at the IMAX will be a win, or at least interesting; if there is one, then go for it!

Pros: Extremely cheap, and because people so rarely go to the IMAX, taking your date there will surely be a cool, memorable experience.  The 3D glasses: you will both look goofy, but it will bring you closer together because you’ll laugh at, I mean with each other.  Trust me on this.  Oh, and the movie times play to your favor as IMAX films regularly only run for about an hour or hour and a half, so you won’t spend half your night in a theater.

Cons: Well, it is a theater, so once the show starts you’re pretty much relegated to whispers if it’s packed.  Be sure to plan dinner beforehand, and maybe an ice cream or drinks run afterwards to keep the conversation going.  If he/she’s been to the IMAX recently, or goes regularly, then the wow-factor or creativity-ness (yes, I just made that word up) may fizzle or be lost entirely.

Overall: Go for it, especially if your date hasn’t been in a while, and there’s a show that suits you both (or at least your date!).

Want More Creative Houston First Date Ideas?

Dinner dates are a dime-a-dozen, and we all know that Houston has a gazillion restaurants.  Use the Interweb, think festivals, events, and stuff that you two can do together.  Galveston isn’t going to win any Best Beach awards, but have you actually been downtown in the historic part of the island’s city?  It’s pretty awesome, and great for walking around.

To all my fellow Houston gamers, drop us a line and keep this creative first date idea list going!  We will be publishing more not just for Houston, but for many other cities around the nation (we’ve lived just about everywhere, from Chicago to Honolulu, and everywhere in between).  And of course, if you haven’t already, register at LFGdating – because after all, you’re only a conversation away from your last first date!