Holiday Dates:
By Lyla Hughes
Ice Skating at North Park
When picking this as a date idea keep these questions in mind: Can I skate? Can my date skate? If the answer is yes to both, that’s easy, you guys won’t fall. If the answer is no to both, then skating could be a slight issue. Still, try to go at least one lap around the rink. If you guys both give up on skating there is a great concession stand!
Now, here comes the controversy, if one answer was yes, one answer was no, do not go skating as a first date if you do not know the person well. Save the embarrassment and circle back to this idea for a date later in the relationship. When you know the person, falling would be less frustrating and just less all around awkward.
North Park ice skating rates are $5 for residents and $6 for non residents. The skate rental is $2 for residents, and $3 for nonresidents. To bypass this fee just bring your own! For residents, the total cost without skates would be $7. For the nonresidents, the total cost without skates would be $9.This is a cute date because not only can you do an activity together, but you can also live out the plot of a Hallmark movie. Who doesn’t want that?
Ice Skating at the UPMC Rink
Adult tickets at the UPMC Rink cost $12. They also charge $10 dollars for a pair of skates. All in all, each person would cost $22 (x2 would be $44). Now, you can just stop here with the skating or take it a step further. Across the rink is the Holiday Market in Market Square. Here you can look at the local and handmade products and shop for the holiday spirit. They have so many unique gift ideas! From Market Square you guys can then pick one of the many places to eat around the square. Noodles & Company, No. 1 Sushi Sushi, and Original Oyster House are just some of the great places you can eat around Market Square. Skating, shopping and food makes for a perfect winter date!
Phipps Holiday Magic
Phipps Conservatory is a botanical garden. In the most basic terms, it is kind of like a plant museum. This is what makes Phipps such a great date idea: you can walk around, look at the plants and also talk! The walkthrough time is an estimated two hours. The tickets cost $13.95, (for ages 2-18), which means that two tickets would cost $27.90. Phipps’ exhibit this year has the theme “Holiday Magic.” It will incorporate holiday decorations as well as festive flowers.
Going to Target and Making Eachother “Burr” Baskets
This date is like a game. Each person is trying to build a basket filled with holiday gifts for the other person. This could either be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be by adding a spending limit. Making a “Burr” basket in Target is easy because they have a bunch of different prices as well as options for gifts to put in the baskets. Basket prices go from $5-$16, with the baskets material ranging from plastic to cloth. Theming the basket is a good way to stay on track, so you don’t pile your cart with things you don’t need. It could be themed by something like “cozy” with blankets, slippers, and a little stuffed animal.
Hot Chocolate & Movie Night
You could do this two ways: stay at home or go out. At home, you can make hot chocolate, add the marshmallows, and find a cozy holiday movie. Easy places to find movies are Netflix, Disney Plus, or Hulu. Other options for places to find movies are the classic channels such as Freeform, Hallmark, or Lifetime. If you were looking to get out of the house, you could go to Cinemark. At Cinemark they can play movies like “ELF” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” To find the movies just go to Cinemark’s website, select the McCandless Crossing location, and look through future date screenings. Now, for the hot chocolate part of the date, you could visit Convive Coffee. This cafe’s location is 751 Providence Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 (very close to the theater). Their Hot chocolate goes for $2.60 (10oz), $3.60 (12 oz), or $4.50 (16oz). Cozying up with hot chocolate, a holiday movie, and your date is a perfect way to get into the festive spirit with this date.
