Couples Bucket List (274 Ideas)

How does the bucket list builder work?

1. Pick ideas. Browse by category (this weekend, at home, food, outdoors, travel, romantic, with kids, kid-free night, long distance and more), search, or tap Swipe to go through them one at a time like a game. Type your own idea into the search box and tap Add.
2. Send it to your partner. In Our list, tap Send. Your partner swipes through your picks and hearts the ones they want too. They can add their own and send it back.
3. See your matches. The list sorts itself: you both want, only you, only them. Start with the matches.
4. Plan your next 4 weekends. Tap Plan my next 4 weekends on the first screen, or Plan our next 4 weekends in your list, and it puts one idea on each Saturday, from the ideas that fit a weekend, the ones you both want first. Long distance lists get 4 video dates instead. Swap any of them, add the plan to your calendar, and tick things off as you go. The date is saved.

Your list is saved on your phone. The link holds the list itself, so nothing goes to a server and there is no account.

Why bother with a bucket list as a couple?

Because new things done together tend to feel good for the relationship, not just in the moment. In a well-known set of studies, Arthur Aron and colleagues (2000) found that couples who did a short, new and exciting task together reported higher relationship quality afterwards than couples who did a dull one. A bucket list is a simple way to keep new things coming. It also settles the Friday night question of what to do: the answer is already on the list.

Couples bucket list ideas to start with

A few favorites from each category. The builder has all 274.

At home

• Have a no-phones evening from dinner until bed
• Learn to make fresh pasta from scratch, no machine
• Each make a playlist that tells your story, then swap and listen in the dark
• Read the same book and hold a two-person book club
• Give each other a full yes day, once each

Food and drink

• Find the best tacos (or pizza) in town: rate five places on one night
• Do a progressive dinner: starter, main and dessert at three places
• Cook a recipe from each of your grandparents
• Learn to make each other's comfort food the way their family does

Outdoors and travel

• Find a dark sky spot and see the Milky Way
• Camp a whole weekend with no phone signal
• Take a road trip with no plan: flip a coin at every turn
• Ride an overnight sleeper train
• Do a city break where each of you plans one full day in secret

Romantic

• Slow dance in the kitchen with no music
• Write each other a letter every anniversary and keep them in one box
• Watch the sunrise and the sunset on the same day
• Hide 10 notes for the other person to find over one week

Milestones and marriage goals

• Write a five-year plan: each of you brings three dreams
• Hold a year-in-review night every December
• Talk through your money stories and set one shared goal
• Start a yearly tradition that belongs only to you two

With kids

• Swap babysitting with friends so you get one night out a month
• Take each child on a one-on-one date
• Pick an old date you loved before kids and do it again

Short on time tonight? Our date night ideas at home and couple games with no equipment are quicker picks.

A long distance relationship bucket list

The Long distance category is split into three stages, because what you can do changes as the distance does.

• While apart: watch the same movie at the same time, cook the same recipe on a video call, send a letter every month, keep a 30-day call streak, or beat each other at Pool or Minigolf on a video call (both are built into Cupie).
• On a visit: show each other your favorite spot in your city, meet each other's closest friends, and spend one day doing nothing special, like a normal couple.
• After closing the distance: pick the city, sign the first lease, and open the box of letters you sent while apart.

More ideas for the apart stage: long distance date ideas and tips that help long distance work. Counting down to a visit? Use the countdown until I see you.

How to make a bucket list you actually finish

• Mix sizes. For every big dream, add three things you could do this month.
• Put cheap ones on it. Tap Free or cheap: most of the best items cost nothing.
• Start with matches. An idea you both hearted gets done. One only you wanted tends to wait.
• Put dates on it. One thing a month is 12 a year, which is more than most lists ever see. The weekend plan does the choosing for you.
• Write the date. The ticked list with dates becomes a record of your year together.

Printable couples bucket list template

Want it on paper or on the fridge? Under the search box, Print 50 ideas gives you a checklist straight away, with no choosing, and Blank template gives you an empty page to write on. Or build your own: in Our list you get a poster in five styles and three sizes, for print, a post or a phone wallpaper, with room for a gift note, a checklist with a box and a date line for each item, and cut-out cards for a jar. Copy as text pastes it into your notes app.

What are the limits?

• The list lives in your browser. If you clear your browser data or change phones, open the last link you sent to get it back.
• There is no live sync. Each link carries the list at the moment you send it, so send a new link after big changes.
• Anyone with the link can see the list and the names you typed. Only send it to your partner.