Any ideas on great first dates?  I'm going on my third one this month, and they don't seem to be getting any better - maybe I can suggest something before my next date.  Ladies (and fellas), all your advice is welcome.

Thanx. 

I've been on many first dates that involved the movies, but I have read about a place in California (near Hollywood) where you can actually watch a movie at a cemetery.  In fact, I think it at the actual Hollywood Cemetery where you can watch movies on a huge screen, while sitting near the graves of some of Hollywood's origina movie stars.  Talk about original.  I don't know if you live near Hollywood, but the movies are never a bad first date idea, if there is something original tied to the movie date.

If you don't know each other well, I think a first date should enable you to talk a lot and get to know each other better.  A movie isn't very good for that as people tend to shush you.  A picnic in the park can be fun and spark conversation as you watch people go by or an informal dinner at a casual restaurant.  Anywhere that will enable and inspire you to start talking would be great for a first date, I think.

 I agree that an informal situation where you are able to connect is best. Something relaxed, having lots of people around is good, as if there are some awkward silences you might be able to find something to talk about in what others are doing, or saying.

 I like going to an arcade and playing two different kinds of games with dates.

1. Dance Dance Revolution (DDR).  Why?  Because it doesn't matter how good you are, you still look ridiculous playing.  If the guy isn't willing to make a fool of himself for me then...come on...what's the point?
2. A Gun game.  It doesn't matter which one it is, but it does need to be one where y'all work together to clear the levels, not against each other.

The reason I like these specific games is that they're fun, you don't have to be awesome at them to play and they're great ice breakers.  Even if you run out of things to say once you sit down to eat, you can always bring up those super-righteous dance moves of theirs. ;)

Um, don't take this the wrong way, but have you actually done that on a date, much less a first date with a guy?  Did that work?  I don't know why but that really doesn't sound like very much fun to me.  When I was single and out on a date, the last thing I wanted was to be surrounded by a mob of kids spilling their drinks on me.

Jennifer:

 I like going to an arcade and playing two different kinds of games with dates.

1. Dance Dance Revolution (DDR).  Why?  Because it doesn't matter how good you are, you still look ridiculous playing.  If the guy isn't willing to make a fool of himself for me then...come on...what's the point?
2. A Gun game.  It doesn't matter which one it is, but it does need to be one where y'all work together to clear the levels, not against each other.

The reason I like these specific games is that they're fun, you don't have to be awesome at them to play and they're great ice breakers.  Even if you run out of things to say once you sit down to eat, you can always bring up those super-righteous dance moves of theirs. ;)

 Actually, I've been married for too long for DDR to have been out when we were dating, but we've done the arcade thing since and enjoyed it a great deal.

As for whether it would work on a first date, I gave that same advice to a younger friend of mine and she reported that her date was so bad at it that he just start jumping around in circles on the dance pad, knocked her off by accident and then they had a great date after that.  I mean, seriously, how could the date have gone downhill from there so neither of them had any issue with being themselves after that.

Oh, you do know that places like Dave & Busters kick minors out after a certain time on the weekends, right?  So you don't have to worry about kids spilling their drink on you.