1. DON'T get ahead of yourself. It's OK to get excited before you go out with someone new, but stay realistic. As pessimistic as this sounds, if your expectations are low, then a good date will be a welcome surprise and a bad date will be no biggie. -- DearSugar.com 2. DO be open to unexpected date ideas. A homemade meal, PBR, and Guitar Hero might be a better way to get to know each other than the standard restaurant and a movie. Plus, are you really going to ask someone to take you out for filets and the theater in this economy? -- Tom Miller, Tango's Daily Dish 3. DON'T go somewhere overflowing with eye candy. A while ago I took a girl out to brunch at a restaurant that is always brimming with beautiful hipsters. Naturally, there was a Kate Hudson look-alike sitting behind my date, right in my line of vision -- maintaining eye contact with my date has never been more of a struggle. -- Ryan Dodge, Single-ish 4. DO bring dental supplies with you. I once ordered a shredded beef burrito and there was a string of meat stuck in my teeth. I would've excused myself to the bathroom to fix it, but I hadn't brought my floss with me. So I sat there, not listening to him and going crazy. Now I bring mints, gum, spray, floss -- everything. Seriously. -- Erin Meanley, Single-ish 5. DON'T question his height. You question the 5'10" on his driver's license. Suspend your disbelief. Feel free to store it for something to make fun of later. -- Tom Miller, Tango's Daily Dish 6. DO have a positive attitude. I tried to plan a really neat first date -- something different. So I pick her up, and it's cold out, and the restaurant I was going to take her to is closed. We're in an abandoned area, and it's cold; I'm not looking so good right now. Finally we find a place to eat, except the menu is all in Korean. We point to something and what comes out tastes like rubber chicken. Then, when we get to the bowling alley, it seems like we're the only non-gang members there. But it was an amazing date because she was cool. Her positive attitude dictated how the date would go. -- Evan Marc Katz, dating coach and author of "Why You're Still Single" 7. DON'T turn your dates into therapy sessions. My friend Isabel just had the worst year of her life: She had foreclosed on her house and was in serious debt. Whenever she was out with a guy, she would unload all her frustrations right on his plate! No one wants to hear you ramble on about your sick cat, annoying boss, or stalker ex-boyfriend. If she was hoping for a second date, Isabel should've asked more questions and done more listening than talking. -- Jess McCann, dating author of "You Lost Him at Hello" 8. DO order a big-girl meal. Do you really think a puny salad will hold you over all night? -- The Frisky 9. DON'T psychoanalyze your date. A guy once got all Freud on me and asked me if I had trouble getting close to men because of my relationship with my father. Totally inappropriate, considering we'd just met. -- The Frisky 10. DO call a friend for a pep talk. If you're suffering from first-date jitters, ring a friend for a few words of encouragement before you meet the guy. Before my first dates, you'd always find me in a cab on the phone with my mom, with her telling me the guy would be crazy not to adore me. Even though she had to say that (she is my mom), a few positive words made me walk into my date with confidence. -- Joanna Goddard, Smitten 11. DON'T get too personal. One woman on our message boards reminisced about a guy who asked her how many kids she wanted. "I'm hoping for at least one little girl," he added. Sweet... yet a tad premature. Another woman wanted to know if it was normal that a guy asked her about her credit score and credit limit. Yeah, not normal. -- Josey Miller, iVillage 12. DO discuss issues that are important to you. Why wait to find out that the two of you don't see eye to eye on something you feel passionately about? -- The Frisky 13. DON'T talk about your ex. No good can come of this! You'll seem either bitter, heartless, or still hung-up -- and any one of these is a huge turnoff. -- Em and Lo, Daily Bedpost 14. DO break the dating rules. If you want to call him, call -- he'll appreciate it. If you want to make the first move, do it -- why not! -- DearSugar.com 15. DON'T let him take you to a second location if you don't like him. Too often, I politely follow the guy to another bar, and another, when really I just want to go home and read. It's better for both of you if you just speak up. -- Erin Meanley, Single-ish ---- It is funny to read this article. I bet everyone have some good tips to share, so let us discuss the do's and don'ts on the first date.
every first date is different... lol and to me there is no rule to be on a first date.. one rule is HAVE FUN!!
just be yourself, if he, she finds out that your were acting form the start, they would just subtract points like crazy form you.
First Date Dos and Donts In case youre in the shadow..I said, the perfect first date would involve a blockbuster rental, and myself. No where did I mention anyone else.
