By Leaa Forschler
Love is in the air, but when pocket books are tight students share ideas for inexpensive dates that may alleviate Valentine?s Day pressure.
Greg Sorenson a 23-year-old pre-nursing major from Placentia, Calif. suggested starting out with a dollar theater movie, followed by sharing a carton of ice cream, eating it in a park, and playing on the park equipment.
?It doesn?t have to be expensive to be fun and to have the best time in the world,? Sorenson said. ?It is all about creativity and spontaneity.?
Sorenson said another good idea is to rent a boat from Outdoors Unlimited and take it out on Utah Lake for a dinner cruise. One of Sorensen?s most memorable group dates was a Polaroid scavenger hunt. This Valentine?s Day, Sorensen said he plans to send a package to his missionary girlfriend in Philippines, Olongapo Mission.
Other students like Shiloh Lundahl from Provo said group dates with his friends can be fun.
?I always suggest dating in groups unless you have been dating someone for awhile,? Lundahl said about past dating experiences. ?Usually the girl can make friends with other girls in the group. Girls that can?t make friends with other girls ? that?s a red flag.?
One date that worked out well for Lundahl required a little more planning, but resulted in her later marriage. Her date had different items delivered to her apartment, first a movie from Blockbuster, take-out dinner from the Olive Garden and last, him. Lundahl was delivered to his date?s apartment in a huge box that required a dolly to move. She was required to sign that she would not return the contents. When she opened the box she found Lundahl dressed in a tux.
Other students had fun on inexpensive outdoor dates.
Anthony Bingham a married political science major from Mission Viejo, Calif. once got a bucket of golf balls and hit them off of Squaw Peak with a baseball bat.
?All these other people were making out and we were hitting golf balls,? said Bingham.
Landon Glenn a business finance major from Yakima, Wash., once set up a tent in a park and watch a movie on a laptop with his date.
Other students talked about dates that showed how much they knew the other person.
?I think writing songs for a girl is like the best thing, my wife really likes that,? said Nick Anderson, a political science major from San Juan Capistrano, Calif. ?Simple things are the good things.?