This idea comes from one of our LFAD members, Bluestars:

"Jared and I often have bookstore dates, where we both go to Books-a-Millions and look around. At places like that, the stores are arranged the same (if you live in the same country I guess), so you can tell each other where to find what you are looking at. Regardless of whether you are window shopping or buying the same thing, it is really fun because it almost seems as though your partner is really there!

Coffee shop webcam dates ~ We did this for one date, and it was really fun. We usually only get on webcam at our houses, so being on it at a coffee shop made it seem more special than usual. Coffee shops have a really cool and laid-back vibe, and I had fun explaining to a random person that I was talking to my boyfriend who lives far away. My headset really came in handy."

I always wanted a way to compare the weather in Maine (where I live) with the weather in Massachusetts (where Frank lives). I searched up and down to find a widget or site that could do a side by side comparison of the current weather conditions. But it was to no avail and I gave up, and whenever I was curious about Frank's weather I would just have to look our forecasts up separately. I don't know why I like looking up his weather, but maybe it is because I'm not where he is and it just makes me feel an eensy weensy bit more connected.

But then on July 15, 2010 Weather.com updated their site with new features. And guess what!?! Right on their home page they have it set up so you can save 3 favorite locations so the current conditions for those locations will be there every time you visit weather.com (you don't even have to be logged on or anything! Just have cookies enabled). It also lets you give a nickname for each location, and as you can see below, I just put mine and Frank's names:

And guess what!? I reset my browser's home page to Weather.com 😀

This idea comes from one of our loyal LFAD members, USA2Canada 😀 Thank you so much for the idea!

This could be a neat gift idea but it can also be something that you and your boyfriend/girlfriend can prepare together, AND it's pretty inexpensive 😀

Supplies needed? 2 small flower pots, plant/flower seeds, soil, and water. Yes, you guessed it! As the title implies, you'll be growing a plant together 😛 If you want to do this as a gift, you could take an extra step and decorate a flower pot for your boyfriend/girlfriend. If you're doing this as a little project together, have fun deciding what plant/flower you both should plant. Make sure that the plants are planted on the SAME day - that way each of your plants have similar growth. You could even get a little competitive here and see who's grows the fastest/biggest, and who's plant lives the longest.

Just another thing you as a long distance couple can share and have fun with, despite the distance.

It's never too early to save or invest money for your future together. I don't suggest going out and opening a joint bank account before you're married. BUT you each could start setting aside money every week - it could be $5 or $10. Automate it by having it automatically transferred each week into your own respective savings accounts OR do it the old fashioned way with a money jar. You'll appreciate having a nest egg when you close the distance and get your first place together. Trust me!

Another really easy and smart way to save money (and make your money MAKE money) is with the Robinhood app. It's a free app, and a great way to get started with investing. If you use our link, you'll get a free stock just for signing up. It could be a really valuable stock like Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, or GE! Claim your free stock and find out what it is 🙂

This next idea comes from Mia. Her and her boyfriend created a timeline together predicting and setting date goals of major life events including:

• When to move in together
• When to get married
• When to have your children
• etc...

Don't get too serious about it, just make it a fun, even silly 😀

An awesome website that lets you create timelines online is TimeToast.com It also lets you share your timeline by providing an embed link that you can publish anywhere online. If you want to print your timeline, make sure your javascript is turned off when you visit your timeline.

This idea also comes from Mia 😀 Just another random activity to do together if you find yourself with nothing to do one night 🙂

We both made up our own words. We always complained that we were tired of using "I LOVE you" because we thought anybody could say that! So one day he went and made up his own word for me <3 He made his up a very simple way: He always said that we were very "mushy" when we talked to each other, and he said he really liked how "ga" sounded so his word was Mushaga. Nothing came to me when I tried to make up my own word his way so I searched online how to make up my own word, and almost every article said to use root words, prefixes, and suffixes. So I found a pretty good root word, prefix, and suffix list, and came up the Amist. Root word "Ami-" meaning "love" and suffix "-ist" meaning "one who believes in." So Amist basically means, "I believe in love" or "one who believes in love." I also liked how Amist was pretty close to "amistad" that means friendship in Spanish. Anyhoo, so now instead of the normal "I love you," he says, "I Mushaga You," and I say "I Amist You." 🙂 - Mia

Try out this site to find TONS of root words, prefixes, and suffixes and their meanings to create your very own "love" word that is the perfect fit for your relationship 😀

Recently, Frank and I had lots of fun talking about our dream home. How big it would be, how many rooms it would have, what the floor plan might be like, what the exterior would look like, etc...

I was still daydreaming the day after we talked and I thought how nice it would be to not just imagine but actually be able to envision our plans! I found this free open source program that lets you create your 3D design model of a house - furnishings included!

You may either use their online version or download their free version.

Check out Sweet Home 3D

Now you can create your plans together. Or you could even both try to come up with your own individual plans. Are they alike or extremely different? Whose is better?

Hope you all have as much fun with this as Frank and I are! 🙂

Sync-Video is an awesome website that lets you create a chat room in which you can watch YouTube (or Vimeo) videos with other people. You can make a room private however, and use it for just you and your boyfriend/girlfriend 🙂 Thank you Lunar Snow for the suggestion! 😀

So you've probably subscribed to receive text message updates in the past. For an example, Frank gets text message updates sent to his phone for every inning of a Red Sox game. 😛

This fun idea comes from Debby. She came up with her own daily text message updates...

"Just for fun - I send a DPU text each day. That is a Daily Panty Update; what my panties look like - an explanation of the colors and designs on them each day. I enjoy sending and my SO enjoys getting the messages."

This will be sure to make your significant other smile as long as you change your undies every day. 😛

Here's another one of those "ordinary" activities that some same-city couples do together that long distance couples probably don't imagine being able to do because of the distance.

Frank and I closed the distance July 2011 and we recently started working out together. We have a little hour routine we do before supper about 3 days a week. We do a half hour of cardio, and another half hour of conditioning. It's lots of fun! Frank and I get competitive and try to outlast each other in the tougher workouts and we usually get a good laugh. I wish we had done it sooner (we feel healthier and more energized) and it is a great (different) way to spend time together. I never imagined it to be possible while dating long distance.

But it IS possible! If you already have movie date nights (idea #1 on this list), then you can definitely exercise together because it's (almost) just as easy. Just set up your laptops in your respective living rooms (or wherever you have enough room to workout), turn on the webcam, and start playing the same workout video simultaneously (you not only get to follow along with the trainer on your screen, but along with your boyfriend/girlfriend as well!).

You don't even need to own the same workout DVD. There are plenty of free full exercise routine videos online on Youtube as well as on other websites (just google). Also, if you already have Netflix or Hulu, they each have a small collection of workout videos available for online streaming.

Remember, you can't let distance define your relationship! There is almost always a creative way for long distance couples to do an activity that typically only non-distant couples do.

Advance to the next page to see more long distance relationship activities and ideas!