This one is fun if you live where it snows. Everyone who comes to this group date needs to bring an emptry spray bottle or squirt gun. You provide the liquid food color to put into the water in the bottles. Go to a large empty field of clean snow and make pictures with the colored water on the snow. You could divide into teams and each plan and make a large picture based on a theme.

You'll need a video camera for each team. Give each team a list of things to video tape....set a one hour time limit and meet together when you're done to watch the 'movies'. Don't forget the popcorn. Here's an idea list to get you started: Tape someone on your team saluting a waving flag. Tape someone on your team asking a stranger for a quarter. Tape someone on your team trying to give a dollar to a stranger. Tape two people on your team walking backwards in a public place. You may even wish to include local landmarks (statues, buildings, etc) in your list: Tape two people on your team sitting in the laps of two statues at the library. Tape someone on your team 'teaching a missionary discussion, including scriptures, to Ronald McDonald.

Here's a variation on another 'prom' date found on this site: Clean and decorate your garage. Invite your dates to a semi formal dance. Set up a stereo in your garage and hold the dance in there. (Hint: in exchange for cleaning the garage, one guy's Mom bought all the food and refreshments for the crowd). Variation: everyone has $4 to spend at the local thrift store for 'dress up clothes' for this dance. Award prizes for best dressed, etc.

You need to have several fairly worthless items (a rock, a penny, a nail, etc.), enough for one for each couple or team. Go to a populated spot or designate a neighborhood. You'll also need to set a return time. Each team or couple races the others to trade their items for bigger and better ones. At the end of the hour, everyone returns to your home to compare items. Serve Ice Cream Sundays or Roor Beer Floats.

Before this date, all the guys get together and plan an inexpensive breakfast at one house. All the guys call their date's parents and ask them to help get their dates out of bed at 6:30 am on the given morning. On the morning of the date, go to the girls' houses, have thier parents get them out of bed, give them 30 seconds to put on slippers and everyone meets back at your house. When everyone's there, serve breakfast. (Hint: the girls will feel a little more comfortable if your Mom is there too. In her robe, of course!)

We asked a mom to help us with this one: first we got pictures of each of us when we were kids. There were about seven girls. We made the invitation like a Mission Impossible thing, with a map to a place, and each boy recieved a copy of one of our pictures in the invitation. It said something like "If you choose to accept this mission, call this number by [date]. Then arrive at the rendevous site shown here on [date]. You will be given further instructions at that time. Good luck." We delivered the assignment by hand, taping it to the front doors of the seven guys we invited. Each boy, when he arrived, had to try and guess who his companion was (most of them figured it out before they got there) but really, we went as one big group. Our date was a scavenger hunt and then we returned to the rendevous place for refreshments. You could do a scavenger hunt for food bank items (and deliver them) or try the service scavenger hunt (where you do little acts of service such as sweeping the kitchen, emptying trash, etc. and you have the person sign that you did the work for them).

In cultures where dating or courtship is acceptable, dating can help you develop lasting friendships and eventually find an eternal companion. Date only those who have high standards and in whose company you can maintain your standards. A young man and a young woman on a date are responsible to help each other maintain their standards and to protect each other's honor and virtue. You must honor the sanctity of the priesthood and of womanhood. Do not date until you are at least 16 years old. Dating before then can lead to immorality, limit the number of other young people you meet, and deprive you of experiences that will help you choose an eternal partner. Not all teenagers need to date or even want to. Many young people do not date during their teen years because they are not yet interested, do not have opportunities, or simply want to delay forming serious relationships. However, good friendships can and should be developed at every age. When you begin dating, go in groups or on double dates. Avoid going on frequent dates with the same person. Make sure your parents meet those you date. You may want to invite your dates to activities with your family. Plan dating activities that are positive and inexpensive and that will help you get to know each other. Do things that will help you and your companions maintain your self-respect and remain close to the Spirit of the Lord. -For the Strength of Youth, 2002

Take matters into her own hands!! Never fear! Ask your Mom and some of your YW leaders, I'll bet you'll find that many of them didn't date a lot until they were closer to 17 or 18. Some girls don't do much dating until they're in college. There's nothing wrong with that. Even so, dating is an important part of life, not to mention that High School is a lot more fun when you have a group of people you do things with. Dating should be fun, so getting stressed out about it isn't part of the game. If you want to date more than you do now, here are some suggestions: First, Do some soul searching. As the mother of (many) boys, I have learned from them that the girls they enjoy dating the most are girls who like to have fun without being wild and with whom they feel comfortable while they are out. Young women who dress modestly and talk and act in a becoming manner will find themselves with many friends who enjoy their company. A young woman who makes others feel good by being polite and courteous to all is someone everyone likes to be around. Does this sound like old fashioned advice? Guess what? It's really true! Think about the people you enjoy being around and you'll see that they are those who lift you and make you want to do better by being happy and cheerful. Try being happy and cheerful yourself for one whole week and see if you don't feel better about yourself as well. Second, there's really nothing wrong with gathering some of your friends for a group date. You don't need to wait for a boy to do the job. Some boys are reluctant to get people together for fear of being rejected. Go ahead. Find a group of people and set up a fun activity you can do together. Here's an idea that came from some young women who gathered at our house recently.