Maybe you have your own bucket list, but do you have a “Couple’s Bucket List”? If not it may be a good time to do so if you are in a long-term, committed relationship. I have put together some thoughts as how to get started.

Why Make a “Couples Bucket List”?

1. It can help activate discussion and  clarify what things are important to you as a couple.
2. It can create a sense of cohesiveness with creating shared goals.
3. It can build shared purpose.
4. It is a first step toward designing a life you want together.

What Goes on a “Couple’s Bucket List”?

• This can be shared goals. Things you have decided that are important to you as a couple.
• This can be experiences you wish to have together.
• This can be a place you want to go visit as a couple.
• This could be a restructured way of living or being for the both of you.

Here is an example of a “Couple’s Bucket List”. This is not mine or anyone that I know. Just one I created to help you have some ideas as to what yours might look like. There is no wrong or right way to do this. It is what fits for you and your loved one.

John and Susan’s Bucket List

1. Travel to Europe
2. Weekly Date Night
3. Learn How to Tango
4. Weekend Cabin in the Woods
5. Learn to Scuba Dive Together
6. Totally Free Weekends with No Work
7. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity as a Couple

The Steps in Putting Together Your “Couple’s Bucket List”

1. Schedule some time with your sweetheart and brainstorm some ideas as to what might possibly go on your “Couple’s Bucket List”. Be spontaneous and carefree with your ideas. Plus,  include some time to be more thoughtful and reflective as you generate  ideas.
2. Then go back through together and decide what is a fit for both of you.
3. Create your list and put it somewhere where you both can see it. You might consider just for fun to put your list on a bucket shaped piece of paper you create or download from the internet.
4. And of course lastly, begin to take some steps toward living your bucket list. You probably will not work on all of these at once. That may be a bit overwhelming, but you can choose one item that you both feel strongly about or that you feel is doable for the current time and take a small, concrete step toward this shared dream.

Variations of Bucket Lists for Couples:

• A general list that is more long-term in nature
• A more specific time oriented list, for example for a particular season or time frame.
• A list of what you want to do before you have children or while you have children or when your children leave home.
• Do as a yearly couple’s  ritual at the beginning pf the new year. After the first year it would be an updating. Your thoughts will change and shift of course with time and as you grow as a couple. Plus, it would be a great time to do a check in and see what progress you have made on your “couple bucket list”.

So what is on your bucket list???  Have fun creating your own special “couple’s bucket list”!