The holidays are approaching! Personally, I always find December to be a great month for dates, falling in love, and being freaking adorable, and with that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of my top five most wished for winter dates (in Toronto). You can even book me for any of these, or a date not on this list!
- Bampot Tea Shop
Me at Bampot If you’ve yet to discover this place, you’re seriously missing out. Tucked away in the Annex, Bampot doesn’t look like much from the outside. But inside the shop you’re greeted with something much different than the average cafe. This place is designed for intimate meetings with raised pillow-covered platforms to sit on with privacy curtains, little nooks tucked away out of sight, big plush couches, soft music, over 150 types of tea (my favourite by a wide margin is the Bam Bam Chai with soy), and delicious, filling food. There are many options for vegan folks or gluten free people (even the desserts!), the prices are reasonable, and they never try and rush you out the door. This is somewhere that you can go to have a long, relaxed date, have some intense make outs, and maybe even cop a feel without feeling like you’re being watched or making people uncomfortable (thanks, privacy curtains!), or just spend a while cuddling. They also have plenty of board games, if you enjoy those.
- Last-Minute Gift Shopping
Not everyone enjoys shopping, but I do. I love helping people track down or come up with the perfect gift and then later hearing how it was received. Going shopping together is a good way of getting a date in when you feel like you have too much left to do before the holidays, as well as a good way of getting to know your date and the people in their life a bit. You can see what sorts of things they look at for themselves, if you’re wanting to surprise them with anything. Consider shopping at local businesses or online sites such as etsy if you want to avoid the mall crowds or if you want to get something a little bit more unique.
- Ice Skating!
I haven’t been ice skating for years but would love to go again. Personally, skating is one of those activities that’s more fun when you’re doing it with someone else rather than on your own, thus why it’s on my date wishlist. It’s also rife with opportunities to hold hands, kiss, and tease each other when you fall and make a fool of yourself. Chances are good that you’ll be equally ungraceful, and if one of you is new and the other knows what you’re doing, then the experienced one will just have to be a bit more hands-on to keep you on your feet. After you’re done, it’s easy to extend the date and go elsewhere to warm each other up if you’d like, or an easy way of parting ways if that’s what you’d rather.
- Be Active with an Obstacle Course
Image from Indiegogo A friend of mine opened Pursuit OCR, an 10,000-square-foot obstacle course, and I’ve yet to make it there! I keep wanting to and then not quite following through, whoops. Pursuit OCR is a great place for fitness-buffs or those who aren’t. This space is 18+ only (other than Sunday mornings), and there’s also a giant ball pit, which sounds pretty fantastic, as well as a CryoCabin if you’re into Cryotherapy. This is a great date spot for working up a sweat and staying warm this winter while pushing your body!
- A movie at Carlton Cinema This is my favourite movie theatre in Toronto. It’s smaller, cheaper, and sell more reasonable sizes of drinks and popcorn (they also have alcoholic drinks, if you want that!). They tend to have old movies playing, some blockbusters, and some random ones, and they have a much different, more independent feel than a place like Cineplex. The lobby is full of paintings that you can buy and an upright piano which has someone playing it about 50% of the time – I have no idea if this is a random person or someone hired by the theatre? But they’re usually playing it surprisingly well. The cinema rooms themselves are fairly small (even their larger ones), making it a more intimate showing, but they seem to rarely be sold out because the only time I think I’ve been to a packed showing there was for the Tragically Hip’s last concert. Perfect for cuddling up to your date!
Et voila! These are the five dates that I most want to be treated with this winter (want to book me for a date? I’d love to hear from you!). What about you? Where are your favourite places, or favourite things to do?
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