You might not think of Veterans Day as a romantic holiday, since it’s a day when we honor those who have sacrificed to protect—let’s be honest—the greatest country in the world. (Actually, since it was originally Armistice Day to celebrate the end of World War I, it also honors the British, French, and other nations involved in that conflict.) So it may not seem like a good theme for a date … but enjoy your hard-earned freedom by having a bit of fun with these suggestions for a great date during Veterans Day week.

Play Darts

I’m sorry—what?

I know this sounds crazy, but read on.

Why might going to your local pub and shooting darts be considered a relevant Veterans Day date activity? Several reasons:

• Our boys overseas in the great European conflicts spent a lot of time in English pubs, French pubs (such as the appropriately named Bombardier), occupied German pubs, occupied Italian pubs … you get the idea.
• Like most sporting activities from chess to rugby, darts actually represent a cathartic yet fun proxy for battle. Very few deaths result from darts, but crappy players do often surrender.
• Alcohol rations (along with cigarettes and, yes, comic books) were considered vital to morale for soldiers in wartime. At pubs, you drink. Q.E.D.
• You can spend a bit of your evening raising a pint to those who made it possible for us to play a British game while eating Bratwurst and drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon: our veterans.

The main reason to spend part of your date throwing sharp objects at the wall is that it’s lots of fun, allows for friendly (even romantic) competition, and there’s alcohol and food. WIN.

Go Skydiving

Paratroopers have played an important role in war since the development of modern aircraft. There are also other good reasons to spend a date jumping out of a perfectly good airplane:

• Although it’s not fraught with the rush of jumping behind enemy lines, it’s still a date experience you’ll never forget.
• Aside from being shot at in the air or captured once on the ground, many of the exhilarating parts of paratrooping are still 100 percent in effect: Pulling the ripcord at the right time (even though you’ll probably be jumping in tandem with an experienced skydivers), landing so you don’t break your legs, drinking a bottle of champagne after you land. (We don’t know if real paratroopers did this, but many did land in France, so maybe some touched down in the Champagne region and they were just given the local wine.)

“Thanks, the troops!”

• Fresh air, adrenaline rushes, maybe kisses once on the ground—these are great components of any date.

Eat!

Always a popular date activity, dining can be made something special during Veterans Day week. How about going on a “restaurant crawl” to commemorate:

• WWI or WWII allies: Cheeseburger, shepherd’s pie, escargot. (And maybe the Axis, with Sushi, pizza, and a nice strüdel for dessert!)
• Korea: Cheeseburger, Tangpyeongchae (with fresh nokdumuk, of course)
• Vietnam: Cheeseburger, Phở
• Gulf War I: Cheeseburger, Hummus
• Gulf War II: Freedom fries, Hummus
• Mexican-American War: Taco Bell (it covers both sides)

Also, veterans are heroes, so maybe a hero sandwich? Or if you want to honor the Navy in particular, a sub? Surf ‘n’ Turf for the Marines might be a good choice.

By my calculations, this is the most patriotic image in existence.

Volunteer!

This may not seem like much of a first date activity, but for any time you want to spend with a special someone, helping out at places that assist actual veterans is the best way to honor their service and sacrifice. Something many people may not think about is how much it means to an servicemen and women for someone to just sit and listen to their stories. Remember, their war stories are stories about why we have a free republic. Romantic? Maybe not in the usual way, but you’ll show your date or significant other what a sensitive and just generally kind person you are. And who doesn’t need those points?

Date for America!

No matter what you do, feel free to get creative and have fun honoring our nation’s veterans in your own quirky way. Great dating is what America’s all about.

Oh, whoops—dating added. Now it’s the most patriotic image EVAR.