Relationship-Building Activities: 11 Ways to Deepen Your Bond

Relationship-building activities are things partners can do to strengthen their bond and achieve a deeper emotional connection. These activities help build trust, encourage conversation, increase physical intimacy, establish shared experiences, or serve as scheduled quality time.

Here are some relationship-building activities you can use to deepen your bond:

1. 1. Bucket lists: As a collection of activities a person wants to do in their lifetime, bucket lists can be wild, silly, or earnest. You and your partner or partners can write out bucket lists and share them to get to know each other better and start to make plans to check things off the lists.
2. 2. Cuddle sessions: Nonsexual touching can be just as important as intercourse in physical relationships. Cuddling is a great way to enjoy some relaxing physical intimacy, and you can pair it with a fun movie, a reading session, or shared bath time.
3. 3. Family therapy: While therapy may seem like an unusual bonding activity, couples counseling can foster deeper intimacy and connection, and it can be a great way to spend quality time together. Consider visiting a family therapist together, whether it’s to repair a bond or strengthen an already strong relationship.
4. 4. Goal setting: Having common goals and a healthy sense of momentum can be a powerful bonding activity. Sit down with your partner and draft a priority list together, including what you hope to accomplish in the next few years. Choose to set goals together and map out how you can work in tandem to achieve them.
5. 5. Massages: Deepen physical intimacy with a mutual massage session. This can be a strong way to practice listening to each others’ needs. A massage session can evolve into sexual activity, or you can choose to keep it nonsexual and simply enjoy the relaxing touch.
6. 6. New skills: Learning new skills together can be a way to add freshness to a familiar relationship. Consider taking a class or attending a workshop with each other or researching a new hobby and diving in together. Learning a new skill offers the opportunity to bounce ideas off one another and allows you to be vulnerable as you figure it out together.
7. 7. Outdoor activities: For a change of scenery, try an outdoor activity together. It can be something physically demanding—like a strenuous hike or a sports session—or something relaxing like a day at the beach or a picnic in the park. Fresh air and sunshine can help bolster your moods and make you feel more grateful for one another.
8. 8. Quizzes: Questionnaires and quizzes serve as conversation starters and allow you to learn more about each other. You can use or draft up quizzes on any topic, including sex life, personality, childhood, likes and dislikes, or any other kind of get-to-you-know questions.
9. 9. Regular date nights: If your schedules have become so busy that you and your partner find it hard to spend regular time together, schedule a weekly or monthly date night. Aim for plans that relax you both, whether that’s going out to dinner, trying something new, or staying home and cuddling.
10. 10. Sustained eye contact: While it may seem uncomfortable at first, sustained eye contact is a meditative practice that can deepen intimacy and encourage emotional connection. Consider incorporating the “eye gazing” technique from tantric sex, which can exist on its own or as a sexy foreplay activity.
11. 11. Team-building activities: Any team-building exercise that people use to build trust and encourage productive teamwork with friends or coworkers can also work as a fun couples activity to build a healthy relationship. Consider trying an escape room, board game, or other problem-solving activity to help you practice working together and developing your communication skills.

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