Racy Stacy | Herald Contributor

The “Honeymoon Phase”: The period of time at the beginning of a relationship where everything is nearly perfect. You rarely fight with your significant other, you always want to be together, and everything is rainbows and butterflies. Once this six month to one year period is over—it’s different for every couple—things can start to get a little… stale? You’ve been with this person for a very long time, and it’s easy to understand why we might get a little sick of each other after spending so much time around one another. I dated a guy for over a year and a half and it got really hard sometimes. If you find yourself feeling bored or frustrated in your relationship, here are some tips to spice things up.

1. Show them you love them, don’t tell them: This doesn’t need to have anything to do with buying gifts. You want your significant other to continue to put in the same amount of effort throughout the entire relationship as they did in the beginning. Instead of simply saying “I love you”, try telling them how beautiful/handsome they are or be encouraging and supportive of their hobbies and goals. Saying “I love you” all the time is great, but adding those little details can really make a difference. Being there for each other is key and having a best friend who is also your significant other is the best thing in the world.
2. Spend a weekend together: For Valentine’s Day or an anniversary, try getting a hotel room together just for a night. Buy some champagne, order some pizza, and try some new things in the (hotel)room. Couples massages are also encouraged.
3. “Just because” gifts: You can easily get your significant other a gift that’s not crazy expensive, or even better, you can make them something! If they’re having a rough week, something as simple as making them a card or writing them a “you got this!” note can really show them how much you care. You can even go to CVS and put together a care package with all their favorite snacks.
4. Go on a fun, spur-of-the-moment date: When my ex and I were on vacation in Florida, we drove past an arcade with laser tag and had to go in! We were both the oldest people in there playing against a bunch of kids (who whooped our butts in laser tag) but we had a blast.
5. Do something kinky: Go to a sex shop together, try new positions, anything you can think of to spice things up in the bedroom. Don’t continue doing the same positions over and over again when you have sex. Try having a sex marathon and going as many times as you can or use a blindfold.
6. Ladies, put on something sexy: Wearing lingerie is sexy for both you and your significant other. It’s a confidence boost for you that also gets your partner going too. Give your bae a booty call and be ready in your lacy lingerie when they get there.
7. Hangout with people other than each other: Don’t ditch your girlfriends every weekend to hangout with your man. It’s important to make time for your friends and have a girl’s night out once in a while. It can also be fun to get together with a group of all your friends and his friends. Ladies, don’t get mad at him when he wants to spend time with his boys on Saturday. Let them play and have a movie night with your girls.
8. Talk about the future: When you’re in a relationship with someone for a long time, you want to know they’re in it for the long run. Having a small discussion about what’s going to happen after college can be reassuring and makes the other person feel like you are serious about the relationship. You don’t have to go ahead and plan the wedding from top to bottom, but just talking about living together in the future can be enough.
9. Communicate with them: If you’re holding in feelings there’s no way you’ll be able to make the relationship work. Be open and honest with your significant other and tell them how you feel. Chances are, if you feel like you have to hide something from them, you shouldn’t be with them at all.