11 fun ways to spice up a long distance relationship

Long distance relationships are notorious for being difficult. After all, loving someone who’s hundreds, even thousands of miles away can be complicated, both emotionally and physically. But it doesn’t have to be! After all, as the saying goes, distance is to love as wind is to fire—extinguishes the weak and fuels the strong. And there are plenty of ways to make LDRs fun, exciting, and filled with love!

Here are a few of my personal faves that help keep an LDR super fun until you finally get to meet again IRL.

1. Start watching a new show on Netflix together

Just because you’re not in the same place doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some sweet TV time! Pick a show you both have been dying to see and set aside a time every day or couple of days to sit down and watch an episode at the same time.

You can message each other your reactions real-time, and it’ll feel like you’re spending an evening in together, even if you’re hundreds of miles apart.

2. Send each other surprise deliveries

Whether it’s a sweet care package or an awesome dinner, everyone loves getting a surprise. Think of something your boo would totally love and send it to them, just because you can.

For example, even if you’re in another state, you can still call up your love’s fave pizza place and have one delivered to their house if they’re having a rough day—and you can even ask the pizza place to write a message from you inside the box!

3. Try using a couple’s app

Because it’s 2016, there are some fabulous apps for LDR couples. For example, take The Couple App, which allows you to play games with your boo, make lists of upcoming dates and dream travel locations, and even “thumb kiss” by pressing your thumbs onto your phone screens, making both your phones vibrate. Could it BE any cuter?

4. Send each other ~saucy~ texts

There are a lot of things that can make LDRs tricky, but one that particularly comes to mind is a lack of physical time. But the distance can actually make things all the hotter.

If you’re feeling particularly turned on, don’t be shy—let your love know in a sexy text. They’ll not only be flattered, but will be thinking of you all day. Wink, wink.

5. Send each other snail mail

Sure, technology makes LDRs easier than ever before, but that doesn’t mean we should forget about a good old-fashioned love letter.

Write each other real letters, or even cute postcards, and it will give you both something to look forward to when you’re checking the mail. (Bonus points—you can agree to spray the letters with each other’s perfume / cologne to slip in the pillow and make it smell like your boo.)

6. Plan what you’ll do for your next IRL date

Even if you won’t be seeing each other for months, planning ahead to what you’ll do when you finally get to meet up IRL can help remind you just how amazing it’s gonna be when you finally get to see each other again.

Make a list together of all the things you’ll do when that day finally comes!

7. Play video games together

If you both are gamers, maybe you’re already doing this, but even if not, there are lots of fun online games you can play together—especially massive multiplayer online games (MMOs) like World of Warcraft, Minecraft, and Second Life.

Watching your love’s character move around can make you feel like you’re hanging out IRL!

8. Try a “miracle berry” date

Want to do something totally different? Buy miracle berries on Amazon. They’re fruits that change how your taste buds operate, especially involving sour food, and make everything—including lemons—taste ultra sweet. Try buying some and trying different things with your love on video chat for a fun, weird date.

9. Play drinking games on Skype

If doing funky things to your taste buds isn’t your idea of fun, but drinking is, why not play a fun drinking game with your love over Skype? It will inevitably lead to giggles and long, tipsy late-night conversations.

10. Come up with a list of questions you’ve always been wondering about your partner

What’s the best dream they’ve ever had? If you could go back in time, what time would you go to? There are a ton of questions to ask your partner to learn more about them, and if you think hard enough, you probably can come up with a few yourself—and there are plenty on the Internet to choose from! Ask your partner to do the same thing, then have a Skype session and start chatting away.

11. Plan a surprise visit!

Work together with your boo’s BFF so that you can surprise them with a visit. There’s nothing better than seeing that shocked-yet-ecstatic grin spread across their face when they see you when they’re least expecting it. <3