For those of us who haven’t experienced a long distance relationship, the prospect of keeping your relationship alive during what could potentially be months of self isolation seems daunting. Even if you are still choosing to see your significant other during this time, there aren’t a lot of fun date options right now. You can’t go to a movie, a restaurant, a bowling alley, don’t you dare try to go to a bar and an arcade is already unsanitary enough even without COVID-19 floating around. At the end of the day, remember that self isolation isn’t just about your own health, but the health of your community. When you’re in a relationship, staying at home instead of going out to see your partner can feel like the end of the world, but there are so many things that you can still do together without being together:

1. Play a drinking game

If you’re still hellbent on wilding out this break, you can play all sorts of drinking games with your partner over video chatting (you can even make beer pong work.) The added bonus is that the drunk conversations will be fun and you can even skip down to item #8 on this checklist and play 20 Questions. 

2. Make mixtapes

This is a romantic classic that never fails to make someone’s day. You can make playlists to different themes, spelling out sentences in song titles or just compiling songs that you think they’d like. Personally, I love listening to new music recommendations, especially made by someone who knows you very well. 

3. Watch movies simultaneously 

There are plenty of websites that will allow you to do this and if your internet happens to be really good, screen sharing the movie will work just as well. Watching a movie alone is good, but reacting with your partner to the movie is much more fun. 

4. Mail a letter

Ever heard of snail mail? While texting is always great, having something physical and handwritten to hold onto is much more memorable. You can even send them a gift or drawing! (Just don’t sneeze on anything.)

5. Set fitness goals for each other

Doing the same workouts or setting fitness goals for one another will help you both stay motivated, connected and positive during self isolation/social distancing.

6. Play video games together

Transport yourself from off your couch and into a virtual world to go on a quest (or just build a farm if those are your kind of games) with your partner. You can talk to each other while playing and there are so many different video games to choose from! If you need some inspiration, check out our article on some freshly released video games.

7. Write a story sentence by sentence 

This can be a good way to pass the time and get creative with your significant other. You can expand upon an absurd plot going back and forth sentence by sentence, it’ll give you a lot of laughs and inside jokes. 

8. Play 20 Questions

A time killer and a relationship builder, playing 20 questions will spur conversations (or confessions) that you’ve likely never had or shared before. 

9. Get artsy 

Video chat your partner while you both try to follow a DIY video, then compare finished products. 

10. Share screens

Share screens on your device and go on a YouTube/Tiktok/meme binge together.