1. Have a care with your appearance – too often married couples stop feeling the need to look good for their partner. Don’t be self-concious, but do not take an indifferent attitude towards your appearance. If you don’t care what you look like, your partner may find it difficult to care about it as well.
2. Be demonstrative towards your partner – it’s not enough to just assume that they know you love them. Show them through small ways that you do. A little note tucked into a place where they can find it. A five minute back-rub, a single flower picked from the garden and a simple homemade dinner that you took time to prepare.
3. Be loving in your words – just saying ‘I love you’ isn’t always enough. Expand beyond just three simple words. Share your thoughts, your dreams and your hopes. Don’t just focus on the negative aspects of a day, focus on the really profound and fun moments. Listen when your partner shares those things with you.
4. Be Gentle – Communication is 70 to 80% non-verbal. A lot of how we communicate is not found in our words. Touch is a primary human sense and through gentleness, we can show how much we care. Imagine the lightest caress that you would favor on the cheek of a baby, feather light, it still conveys affection.
5. Make Time – You’re busy, your partner is busy, everyone is always rushing somewhere. There are always a dozen things to be done, the dishes, the laundry, the errands and the kids, the kids take up tons of time. You don’t have a lot of time. You can’t afford to not make time for your partner, however. Whether you set aside a date night every week or an hour before bed every night. Make the time that’s just for the two of you. You can talk, watch a movie, or share the same sofa, curled up together while reading different books.
6. Be Corny – Corny as traditional gestures like flowers and chocolates at Valentine’s, candlelit dinners and sensual music when you’re feeling romantic there is a reason they are corny – because they work. They help create a romantic atmosphere.
7. Do the Unexpected – Be unpredictable now and again, do something that will sweep your partner off their feet. Bringing home dinner from a favorite restaurant, doing an annoying chore, get up early and let them have a morning to sleep in or hire a babysitter and take them out to see a movie they are really interested in seeing.
8. Play – You do remember that you and your partner used to enjoy just hanging out and playing together? Find an activity that the two of you can just hang out and enjoy. Whether it’s going bowling, riding horses, taking up ice-skating or learning to roller blade. You don’t have to do something extremely expensive, just take pleasure from the moment.
9. Walk Down Memory Lane – Did you do something remarkable somewhere together as a couple? A first restaurant you shared a meal at? A first movie? A place that is special? Take a swing by and reminisce – sometimes just thinking about those feelings can bring them back to the surface.
10. Take Up Something New – An adventure shared is a wonderful thing. Discover something new together. Is there something you’ve always wanted to try, like ballroom dancing? Scuba diving? Take the plunge together.