If you have taken Tammy Hill’s Marriage Preparation course, then you are familiar with experiential assignments. For those who did not have this privilege, let me explain. Experiential assignments are basically various activities that you can do to create or strengthen relationships with others. In Marriage Preparation, those relationships are usually romantic. For the sake of today’s blog post, these relationships will be married couple friends. SO. Sit down with your spouse and get ready for a list of fun things you can do to make more couple friends or strengthen the relationships you already have!

• Host a potluck. Potlucks are an amazing way to take off some of the stress of hosting – especially if you are hosting multiple couples. Invite people over and divvy up responsibilities. Maybe you make the main course, but have others bring sides, drinks, and dessert. This is a great way to easily get to know other couples!
• Host a series of themed dinners. Maybe you’re a bit more adventurous! Commit yourself to hosting a dinner party for one other couple at least once a month – and follow a theme! Maybe do a dinner each month inspired by a different Disney movie or type of cuisine. Or buy a new cookbook and slowly cook your way through it together! This becomes a fun challenge for both you and your spouse to share, as well as gives you an opportunity to get to know another couple.
• Invite a couple over for appetizers & drinks. Okay so a full dinner is a bit too much. Appetizers and drinks are a great way to keep it simple, yet still make it a bit more than having people over just to talk. Look up some mocktails on Pinterest and put together a charcuterie board. You’ve got this!
• Start a book club. Are you and your partner readers? Start a book club! Find some other couples who also like to read and start a group! Take turns choosing books and hosting and you’ll have a great way to get to know other couples with similar interests.
• Start a cookbook club. In my opinion, this is a great variation on a normal book club. Gather some friends together and each month take turns hosting cookbook club. Whoever hosts gets to pick the cookbook, and guests sign up to bring entrees, sides, and desserts from the book. A Google Sheets is an excellent way to have everyone sign up so that no two people bring the same thing! Once again, it’s a great way to bond with your spouse but also allows you to get to know other couples!
• Start a sports group. Maybe you and your partner are more athletic in which case I highly recommend starting some type of sports group. Go hiking with friends once a month, or play soccer together every Saturday morning. Groups like these are great because as those in your group find other couples with similar interests, they will invite them to events like these and you will make even more friends! It’s a win-win!
• Host a holiday party. Whether it be a Valentines Day cookie decorating party, white elephant gift exchange, or a murder mystery party, holiday parties can be so much fun! Especially if you make them an annual tradition for friends to count on each year. Maybe just choose one holiday party that you and your spouse want to host each year and see how it goes! You may find you hate it and never want to do it again, or you may find that you love it and have ideas to make it even better next year!
• Host a cook-off. Nothing forms fun friendships faster than a little competition. Choose a dish and host a cook-off. Think hamburgers, chili, mac n’ cheese. You name it! Have each person bring their own version of a dish as well as a side to share. Print off scorecards for people to place their votes and see who wins! You’ll have a full meal, lots of laughs, and hopefully a few new friends.
• Do a game tournament. Depending on the game you choose, this could be a long night. I highly recommend starting with something small like Skip-Bo or Monopoly Deal before moving into Settlers of Catan or… *gulp* Risk. Start with everyone playing, and slowly eliminate the losers until you have one clear winner!
• Do a series of challenges. If you’re on TikTok, chances are you have seen the fun challenge videos done by people like @global_munchkins or @hungry_fam. Gather a bunch of random prizes (they don’t have to be expensive), invite some couples over and try to complete some challenges. Each winner can choose a prize and then you can have dessert or something afterwards so that everyone feels like a winner!
• Host a girls night/boys night. Sometimes the best way to know if you’ll click with another couple is to start with those of your same gender. Because at least if you know you get along with them, you will feel more confident inviting your spouses into the mix. So grab your female/male friends and go grab dinner together, play a sport, or decorate some cupcakes. At least if things don’t work out with your spouses, you at least gain a new friend.

I almost feel like this list could use a “Part Two”, but for now I think this is a great start for some ideas to start or develop deeper friendships with other married couples!