The pros and cons of the double date
Words: Holly
The double date can be both the perfect night of four-people-fun and match-making heaven, or the single most awkward encounter that four people can endure. Whether you and your girlfriend are going out with another fully formed couple, or the four of you are single and it’s a match-making set-up, be sure to make yourself aware of the pros and cons before you embark upon the double-date.
PROS…, 1. REDUCED AWKWARDNESS, Not sure if you’ll have enough to talk about on a date a deux? Worried that sitting oposite a beautiful woman you hardly know will be gut wrenchingly nerve-wracking? Well then gents, breath a sigh of relief because the double date is perfect for you. With twice the conversational gravitas behind you no one will notice if you stumble to tell a story.
2. MORE OPTIONS, Dates one-on-one are great, sure. But think of all the fun you could have as a foursome. Doubles tennis one evening after work, a boozy dinner at Soho’s latest Mexican-fusion followed by dancing the night away, even a weekend of activities in the countryside. Let’s face it, no matter how much you enjoy dates, it’s always going to be more fun as a four, plus it means you can do things you might not be able to do as a two.
3. MORE FUN, Put plainly, double the people usually means double the fun. More stories, more jokes, more hilarious anecdotes – the double date (a good one of course) can be as fun as going out with your friends – which we all know is probably where you’d all rather be on a Friday night. In an ideal set-up, the guys are friends already and so are the girls, this way you’ll be bouncing off your friend, prompting their best jokes and side-splitting one liners the whole night through.
CONS…, 1. INCREASED AWKWARDNESS, The couple opposite you are laughing, giggling, looking lovingly into each others eyes – how wonderfully perfect this double-date is going for them. You, however, sit rigidly, rapidly running dry on conversation as you and the forth date member stare blankly into your empty glasses as it becomes more and more apparent that for you two, this is going nowhere and it’s only amplified by the clear chemistry you see opposite.
2. COMPETITION, We’ve all been there, a friend tells us they’ve met someone who would be “just perfect for you”, so they’ve organised for them to casually join you as a group one evening. Within 5 minutes and two sips of your drink it’s blatantly, fatally obvious that said perfect person does not share the view that you two would be perfect for each other, but rather, that they would be perfect for your friend. The double-date between four singletons is prime location for this kind of situation to arise, so make sure you lay down the law on who is going for who to avoid both falling for the same girl and causing unhealthy competition.
3. MONEY MATTERS, If you split the bill between the four of you then you’re essentially telling the two girls with you that you’re all just four friends hanging out and this is not, was never, a date, let alone a double one. So then what? If it’s a gentleman’s duty to pick up the bill on the first date then should both the men at the table pay and split the bill, or does just one of you, because we all know that bill splitting of any kind is a real mood killer? There’s no real right answer to this, just make sure you decide before hand. If you want our advice then it’s probably best that just one of you pay for dinner and the other does drinks afterwards.
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