Another fun free group date activity is playing Where’s Waldo in the mall. Do you like dressing up? Do you like the thrill of sneaking around, blending in with the crowd, and avoiding detection? Like the thrill of the hunt? Hide and seek? This game is for you.
What you do is have one of the couples in the group dress up without you knowing what they’ll be. The idea is not to actually dress up as Waldo, but someone normal inconspicuous. Then go to the mall and walk around, shop, etc. They’ll try their hardest to blend in and hide in plain sight.
Then, all the other couples in the group have to search the mall and find them. This type of thing can be as fun as you make it and works really well for people who like to dress up and play different characters. When you’re done, you can all gather at the food court and grab a treat or something else to eat.
The trick is to not pick a totally obvious costume that would stand out in the crowd.
What you need for this Where’s Waldo group date idea:
You need costumes for the couple that will be disguised. Preferably you just tell them in advance to dress up and go to the agreed-upon location, then get straight to finding them. A mall isn’t required for this kind of group date idea.
It can be an outdoor venue with plenty of people, yet a fairly confined location. Indoor and outdoor malls work great for this sort of thing.
My commentary on this group date idea:
When I was a teenager I first played this where’s waldo in the mall game as a big group, and we had tons of fun. It was thrilling to walk around eyes peeled searching for the other people.
Once again there was a girl there that I liked, and she happened to be someone that I had had a crush on for probably four years, but nothing ever came of it. But still, that made the night more enjoyable for sure.
The people that were dressed up were getting funny looks from the workers in the various stores which was hilarious.
Fast forward to a handful of years ago when I suggested this date to a group. We played, we laughed, we all had the best time. Although the couple that was supposed to dress up picked pretty obvious costumes so it was very easy to find them. Not everyone has the specific skills to hide in plain sight and blend in without getting noticed, but that is part of the fun.
Watch this video I made about this Where’s Waldo group date idea
Do you have experience with this date idea? Let me know in the comments how it went and if your date, spouse, significant other liked it. You can buy a copy of the book 101 Creative Dates: ideas, tips, and personal experiences from the life of a hopeless romantic here or visit the shop.
Here are other creative date ideas you might like: