It’s the often dreaded, often unspoken question for new couples during the holiday season. Will we be together, or go our separate ways, or the big day?

Unfortunately for this question, I can’t really give you any clever advice. It’s time to be honest. If you have family, you usually spend the holidays with that family, so the question becomes whether or not to take each other along.

For some couples it will be a pretty easy decision. Either you’re both planning to spend the holiday with your family and you know it’s too soon to “meet the parents” or you’re both certain that you want to be together on the big day, so you’ll work out schedules to make it happen.

But, in some relationships, one person feels “further along” in the relationship than the other, or one partner just has a crazy family and isn’t in a hurry for the introduction. That’s why I say it’s time to be honest.

Don’t avoid the discussion. In fact, the sooner you have it, the better. Otherwise, all your December dates will be clouded with the unanswered question. So, get it out in the open so that you can move on.

If you are taking your new love interest to meet your family, give both sides plenty of preparation. This is not a time when anyone needs a big surprises.

If you’re going to meet your new love interest’s family; make a good impression. Even if you break up later, you’ll never regret making a good impression. If you get married, you’ll always regret making a bad one. Take a gift for the parents, and try to fit in without being presumptuous.

Happy Holidays,daters!

Family Christmas, Family, Holidays

Thanksgiving is upon us, and this time of year can be a little tricky if you’re seeing someone new. Some people tend to avoid inviting their new flame to any personal or family events for fear of overwhelming them or of implying an intimacy that they may not yet feel. Yet, even at the earliest stages of dating, it’s hard to let Thanksgiving pass by unremarked. Here are some ways to enjoy November even if you’re not ready to take your new flame to a huge Thanksgiving celebration.

• Cook a traditional dinner before or after the holiday. If you’re a whiz in the kitchen, whip up a holiday dinner before or after the holiday to share with your new love interest. You may not choose to include all the fixings, and you may not even choose to cook a turkey. But a nice home cooked dinner together as your own Thanksgiving celebration is nice. It might be fun to cook it together, too.
• Consider a more laid back “fall” date. Enjoy a drive in the country to take in the fall color or go on a fall hayride with a group.
• Build a fire in the fireplace and watch a great classic movie together, complete with some pumpkin pie and apple cider.
• Eat Thanksgiving dinner together with a group of friends. If neither of you are planning to visit relatives for Thanksgiving, spending the day together is far less stressful. Consider hosting or attending a Thanksgiving dinner for friends instead with your new love interest. If no one wants to host, remember that lots of restaurants offer a traditional Thanksgiving buffet that requires no work at all.

There’s no reason to be stressed out about how to appropriately share the holidays with a new flame. Just take some time to plan ahead and you’re sure to both enjoy the holidays stress free.

Family Date Ideas, Food, Holidays, Thanksgiving

Summer time is in high gear, and that means plenty of opportunities to get “out and about” to meet other singles. Online dating services are of course a great way to meet up with someone whose interests match with your own, but there will always be a role for in person, face to face interactions when it comes to the dating world.

That’s why Match.com conducted its annual Singles Summer Travel Survey to find the very best places for singles to travel this year if they want to find lots of opportunities to meet other singles.

And this year’s winner? Miami, Florida, of course! Who wouldn’t want to take a summer trip to this beautiful city which is also home to some of the most beautiful beaches to be found anywhere?

In fact, it is the availability of beautiful beaches that most singles say is one of the major deciding factors in their choosing of a summer vacation destination. A great beach is a “must have” for over 70% of the singles who responded to the survey, with a great swimming pool coming in a distant second with about 43% of the singles saying it was a “must have” for them.

If you can’t make it to Miami this year, though, take heart because there are a number of other great beach destinations that are also top picks for singles. These include Manhattan Beach, California; Waikiki Beach, Hawaii; and South Padre Island, Texas. So wherever you might be, there’s a great beach near you for meeting and connecting with other singles this summer!

News & Views Holidays, Match.com, Summer, Survey