Think aloud
We’ve all seen our share of couples that are so darn cute together that we wonder, ‘What’s wrong with us? What’s wrong with our relationships?’ Couples who seem to give their relationship a little TLC every single day clearly know something we don’t. What are the small things happy couples do daily?
Now, you and your partner are happy together. You spend time together, go on dates, share household responsibilities, and do everything you’re supposed to do for a happy and healthy relationship. You adore each other – but you’re terrified of boredom, falling out of touch, or even worse, falling out of love.
When you see all the happy Instagram couples on your feed who never seem to argue about anything and never seem to get tired of each other, you wonder whether you’re doing something wrong. You’re probably not, but that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t be doing more to keep your relationship going.
Nothing says ‘I love you’ like unloading the dishwasher, after all. When the honeymoon phase inevitably declines, that doesn’t mean that your relationship needs to take a nosedive as well. With a few tips and tricks, you and your partner can learn to highlight the small things happy couples do daily too.
We’re bringing you everything you need to know down below!
10 small things happy couples do daily
1. They appreciate the small things
Starting with something super obvious, you and your partner need to be on board with appreciating the small things. People often think they need some grand gesture to show how much they love their partner, but that’s not the case.
A weekend getaway to Paris might sound nice, but that’s not going to change the fact that you and your partner don’t communicate when there’s something wrong or don’t know how to express your emotions without starting a fight (hypothetically speaking).
When you start focusing on the things that matter and start making small changes in the moment-to-moment interactions with each other, you’re going to notice a world of difference.
2. They spend quality time together
Spending quality time together sounds simple enough, but you’d be surprised at the number of couples that don’t know how to (or don’t want to) focus on the quality of the time they spend together rather than the quantity.
The amount of time the two of you need to spend together every week to make your relationship flourish isn’t nearly as much as you might expect. That being said, you need to spend that time doing something you both enjoy, talking to each other, and bonding with each other.
Research shows that for a happy and healthy relationship, the two of you need about six hours a week to do the work needed on a relationship – six quality hours, and you’re good to go.
3. They make dinner for their partner – and do the dishes
When you care about your partner, you want to do things that make them happy or make their day a little easier to cope with, right? While making dinner for your partner, doing the dishes, doing the laundry, or generally doing any household tasks might not sound like a romantic gesture, it is.
Coming home from a hard day of work to a clean house can be therapeutic and can do wonders for your relationship.
When you make sure to do something small and simple for your partner every single day, you’re sending them a message that you’re thinking of them and that you’re more than happy to help them. What’s better than that?
4. They talk
We might talk your ears off with all the small things happy couples do daily, but people tend to forget the significance of these things because they’re so, well, small. Happy couples communicate with each other regularly.
Whether that means that you take time at the end of the day to go over everything that needs to be done or arrange weekly (or monthly) meetings to work on your relationship, that’s up to you to decide. Figure out what works best for you and make sure you stick with your plan.
Furthermore, make sure you ask each other questions every single day. While that might sound silly, random, quirky questions are the best way to figure out whether you’re still on the same page about your relationship.
5. They have weekly dates
Whether you’ve been together for a few months or you’ve spent your entire lives together, chances are that you don’t see the point of dating each other anymore.
You don’t need to get dressed up, make a reservation at a restaurant, and go on a date because you can simply spend the night watching Netflix, stuffing your faces with delicious snacks, and snuggling.
While there’s nothing wrong with the latter, we do urge you to get creative with your dates and spend quality time together every single week. Do something different every single time and see what happens. Go on a picnic, explore the local thrift stores, or surprise each other with a book of your choice.
Whatever you do, don’t allow your relationship to get boring.
6. They laugh
We know how hard relationships can be, especially when you’re dealing with a million other problems that don’t even have anything to do with your relationship – but your relationship seems to take a beating every single time, nonetheless.
Spend some time every single day doing something fun, laughing with each other (or at each other), and reminiscing about all the good times you shared together. Watch a comedy show, buy a cartoon-a-day calendar, or compete to see who can come up with the worst pun ever.
Do something to make your partner laugh every single day, and you’ll notice your relationship getting better and better over time.
7. They take walks together
Who would’ve thought that physical activity would be one of the small things happy couples do daily? While we do agree that you should go to the gym together, prepare for a marathon, or go hiking on the weekends, you’d be surprised at how powerful a simple walk can be too.
Going for a walk after dinner every single night might not sound like much, but the two of you can use that time to talk to each other, check in with each other, and get rid of all the stress you accumulated during the day. Walks are therapeutic too; there’s no question about that.
8. They give great foot massages
Who doesn’t want a good old foot massage after a hard day at work? We’re hoping that by now you understand that a foot massage doesn’t need to be a foot massage – you simply need to find something, some act of service you and your partner enjoy doing for each other.
Whether you end the night by snuggling on the bed and talking about your day, preparing good night tea for each other, or even showering together before hitting the sheets, we’re sure you can find something to do together at the end of the day.
9. They prep lunches for their partner – not because they have to, but because they want to
When you scroll down your Instagram feed, you’ll probably stumble upon a video or two of wives preparing lunches for their husbands to bring to work and getting a ton of hate for doing that.
Now, we do need to underline that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to – that’s sort of the whole point of figuring out the small things happy couples do daily. You need to figure out a way to help your partner, make your partner happy, and do something nice for your partner every single day.
Whether you opt for prepping lunch, picking up the dry cleaning after work because you have more free time, or going out of your way to buy the specific snacks your partner likes, that’s up to you.
10. They kiss good night
We don’t even need to explain why that’s one of the best things you can do with your partner.
Rather than going to bed angry with each other, annoyed because one of you forgot to take out the trash, or aggravated because your partner doesn’t read your mind and doesn’t know what you want – how about you spend a few minutes caressing each other, whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears, and kissing?
When both of you are tired, sleepy, and ready for the day to end, that’s the best time to show each other how much you appreciate each other. A simple ‘I love you’ can go a long way too. At the end of the day, the two of you adore each other, and that’s what you need to focus on before you drift off.