It doesn’t always take a grandiose declaration of love to get your message across. Much of the time, it’s those little somethings and sweet nothings that help you stay connected for the long haul. Need ideas? The 15 suggestions below are just a few examples of everyday actions that mean the world to someone you’re in love with. Pick two or three to start practicing today!
1. Help whittle down your significant other’s to-do list. Pick up her dry cleaning, stock his fridge with a week’s worth of groceries, clean her bathroom, frame the poster that’s been sitting in the corner of his living room since you met. After all, it’s tough to be romantic with all those tasks hanging over your head.
2. Slip a sweet note into his gym bag. What better workout motivation is there than a reminder of how much you care?
3. Make her feel at home. If you and your significant other live apart, make an effort to stock your place with specific items — food, shampoo, etc. — that he or she likes. It makes your place feel more like home.
4. Send your sweetheart a postcard or love letter in the mail. Emails are easy come, easy go. Snail mail packs a punch — especially when it’s not a bill.
5. Share your feelings through music by making your sweetie a modern mix tape. This one looks like an old cassette tape, but it’s actually a flash drive.
6. Make breakfast for your girlfriend. It doesn’t have to be in bed. It doesn’t even have to be anything fancy. Heart-shaped pancakes are easy (hint: pour the batter into a heart-shaped cookie cutter).
7. Recreate your first date. Go to the same place, order the same drinks, and so on. Reminisce about your first impressions of your partner and some of the best, most exciting things that have happened in your relationship since then.
8. Display a sentimental snapshot. Instead of keeping an awesome photo of the two of you on your phone or Facebook wall, print a copy and frame it. Put it somewhere your partner will see it every day.
9. Make the bed at your S.O.’s place after you spend the night together. Tuck the sheets in, fluff the pillows, and make it extra neat so it’s relaxing to get back into later.
10. Help simplify your lover’s day-to-day. Maybe he’s been using the same broken umbrella for a year, or she’s always misplacing her keys. Buy something to solve this little problem, like a top-of-the-line umbrella in his favorite color or a keychain that beeps when she whistles for it.
11. Suggest doing something that your boyfriend wants to do. Think of a restaurant, outing, movie — something that you know is right up his alley — and suggest it before he can bring it up.
12. Compliment your partner in front of other people. It doesn’t just feel good for both of you, it also inspires other people.
13. Hold hands… even if you’re just watching TV at home. Touch is an easy and powerful gift you can give almost anywhere… in various stages of dress.
14. Post a list of three things you love about her on her Facebook wall or send it out into the Twittersphere.
15. Make a vow to always greet each other in a loving way after you’ve been apart. Even if it feels a little silly at first, it’ll help you and your partner keep the butterflies alive
Amanda Green wrote this article for Your Tango
