Holidays

‘Tis the season! The holidays are upon us, which means that despite the cooler weather, our options for date ideas really open up. After all, parties and celebrations are everywhere---there’s no need to rely on the typical night of Netflix and dinner at home.

While popping some prosecco and lighting a nice fire in your living room are always good options for getting romantic, let’s think outside the box (meaning outside your apartment). What are some cool date options for someone you’re starting to really warm up to?

Following are some ideas to get you started:

Check out the lights in a cool neighborhood. No matter the city, there’s always a street or two that decorates like crazy – enough to attract small crowds during the holidays. This is a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. Do a little online research and pick a neighborhood, then go exploring – on foot or by car.

Go ice skating, sledding, or hiking. Even in Los Angeles, we have outdoor ice rinks during the holidays (as well as imported snow). So even if your city is not known for its icy lakes, chances are, there’s an outdoor ice rink to check out. (And for my friends in warmer climates this time of year, you have lots of outdoor options!) If you are blessed with cold weather options, try sledding, skiing, or hiking in the snow – or building a snowman. The point is: get outside and enjoy.

Volunteer. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own lives that we don’t make time for others. Volunteering helps us get in the spirit of the holidays and also reminds us of all that we have. It’s a great way to feel inspired with your date.

Build something together. Do you have a project you’ve been wanting to tackle? Perhaps you want to build a new bookcase, or put together a dollhouse you’d love to give your niece, or refinish the antique table in your backyard? Now is the time to take on this project – and doing it with a date makes it fun. Crack open a bottle of wine or go out to dinner as a reward.

Visit a Christmas tree farm. Nothing says Christmas quite like the smell of fresh cut pine trees. Pick out a tree together to take home and decorate, or just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere.

Go to an outdoor Christmas market. Outdoor holiday markets are big in many parts of the world, and offer a great variety of shopping, food, and warm mulled wine for the Christmas enthusiast. You can get errands done and enjoy the experience. Plus, it’s a festive way to spend the evening with a date.

Visit a sauna/ have a couples massage. Sometimes, you need a break from the holiday spirit. Why not treat yourself and your date to an afternoon sauna, or a nice couples massage? Consider it your holiday gift to yourselves.

Attend a festival. The holiday season is nothing if not festive. There are plenty of concerts and festivals – whether it’s wine and beer tasting, live music, a food festival, or holiday open houses, there’s always something to attend. Do a little research, and if you live near a big city, make it a day trip for you and your date.

Happy holidays!

eHarmony is offering a 4 day Cyber Monday Special this weekend in Canada. It starts Friday November 27th and ends on Monday November 30th, 2015.

With this special you can receive up to 75% off on select memberships at eHarmony. This is a great deal for singles who are looking to try out online dating. To receive the deal you don't have to do anything more than signup to eHarmony by November 30th. Once you have created your membership and completed the profile questionnaire you will find the discounted prices on your membership subscription page.

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eHarmony is offering a 5 day free trial this Thanksgiving weekend here in the United States. It starts Thursday November 26th and ends on Monday November 30th, 2015.

If you are single, the holidays can be harder on you especially when family and friends keep asking the same question - Have you met anyone new? If you are not out shopping for gifts (hopefully you have finished because those lines can get crazy), what better way to fix your predicament this holiday weekend than looking for your ideal match. Trust me you are not alone in this. Dating services like eHarmony are extremely busy during the holidays for this reason alone. If you are looking for a steady long-term relationship then eHarmony should be the dating service you want to try out. Their complex matching algorithm, which has had millions of dollars in research spent on it, sends eHarmony members new quality matches everyday for them to review. During the free trial, communication is free so if one or more match sparks your interest, you can send them messages.

Signing up to eHarmony is easy to do and free. All you need to do is complete the membership signup process and the matching questionnaire (which takes about 30 minutes). Once complete eHarmony will analyze your profile and send you your first set of matches. This process is completely free and no credit card is required. Just remember free trials do not include photos, secure call (a phone service), or skip straight to email. You will have to purchase a membership to use these features directly.

For more information about this service (the website and dating app) which looks to create long-term relationships between it's members, you can read our review of eHarmony.

Forget Black Friday. Forget Cyber Monday. China’s Singles' Day is now the world’s biggest online shopping bonanza.

The holiday, an anti-Valentine's Day for single people, traces its origins back to Nanjing University in 1993. Students began celebrating the single life annually on November 11, a date chosen because of the connection between singlehood and the number 1. Upon graduation many continued the tradition and the celebration of Singles' Day is now widespread amongst young Chinese people.

To mark the occasion, Chinese singles party with other single friends. The festivities can include a special breakfast, karaoke and blind date parties hosted in attempt to end singlehood as soon as possible. Singles' Day has also become the largest online shopping day in the world, with sales in e-commerce giant Alibaba's sites Tmall and Taobao clocking in at US$9.3 billion in 2014.

Yes, $9.3 billion. That’s more than the total U.S. online sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined in 2014. And no one got run over in a tragic store stampede.

Singles' Day shopping originated with Alibaba, but today merchants throughout China participate. Shoppers can score major deals on clothing, cosmetics, electronics and even food. Looking at the numbers will make your head spin:

• Alibaba's Singles' Day 2015 selection will include 6 million products from more than 40,000 merchants, and over 30,000 brands from 25 countries
• China’s post office estimates that nearly 800 million packages will be shipped as a result of the hoilday
• A Nielsen survey found that 56 percent of more than 1,000 internet users in China said they would increase spending compared with 2014
• Consumers are expected to spend an average of $277 per person, up 22 percent year on year
• Alibaba estimates that 1.7 million deliverymen, 400,000 delivery vehicles, 5,000 warehouses and 200 airplanes will be necessary to handle the deliveries

If predictions are accurate, 2015 could be the biggest year yet for retailers on Singles' Day. Alibaba sales could hit $10 billion in a 24-hour period.

"It's not a huge surprise that consumers are planning to spend more during this year's 'Double 11,'” Yan Xuan, President of Nielsen Greater China, told CNBC. “Income levels and internet penetration continue to rise throughout China, so this is a natural progression.”

Singles' Day is also expanding worldwide. Five thousand overseas brands from 25 countries – including the U.S, Europe, Japan and South Korea – will be available this year. This year's international participants include Costco, LG Electronics, Walt Disney Co., Fisher-Price and Lego. In recent years, Apple, Calvin Klein, Macy's and Burberry have participated.

Perhaps Singles' Day itself will soon be a global phenomenon.

eHarmony is offering a free trial this Halloween weekend here in the United States and Canada. It starts Thursday October 29th and ends on Sunday November 1st.

Are you ready to be scared this Halloween weekend? If so, you should check out your matches at OTHER dating sites! At eHarmony there are no ghouls or trolls 😉 to worry about as all matches are generated using the eHarmony matching algorithm and are based on what you want in a partner as well as what traits matches best with your personality. eHarmony's goal is to find you a long-term relationship.

All eHarmony memberships are free and no credit card is required. It is also free to receive and review your matches. Normally you do have to pay a membership fee to communicate (sending emails) with those matches, the only exception is on free communication and trial weekends like this one. Free eHarmony communication and trial events do not include secure call (anonymous phone service), skipping the guided communication process, and viewing of profile photos.

For more details on this popular matchmaking service designed to find members long-term relationships you can read our eHarmony review.

eHarmony is offering a free trial this weekend here in the United States. It starts Friday October 2nd and ends at the end of the day on Monday October 5th. The sooner you register the longer you will have to communicate with your matches for free. No credit card is required.

The days are getting noticeably shorter and the air is turning crisp. Summer is over and everyone is back from their vacations. Fall is here. A good time to try a bold adventure in life is when a new season is upon us. If your dating life is stuck in a rut and is going no where, online dating is the recommended solution. If you are interested in finding a quality partner for a long-term relationship then eHarmony is a good dating site to try. With free communication weekends at eHarmony you can create a profile, receive matches, and communicate with those matches for no cost. To get started it just takes about 45 minutes of your time before you will be reviewing your potential matches. eHarmony can be accessed via your web browser or through an app from iTunes and Google Play. During free weekends all members can communicate so this means it is an extra busy time, which is good for you.

Free communication events at eHarmony do not include: the phone service called secure call, skipping the guided communication process, and viewing of profile photos. For more information on this popular dating service you can check out our review of eHarmony.