Long-distance relationships are like trying to cook a meal while someone else holds the ingredients in another kitchen.
They’re challenging, sometimes frustrating, but can result in something beautiful if you’ve got the right recipe.
Whether you’re separated by college, career choices, or a zombie apocalypse, these ten strategies will help your love survive the miles between you.
1. Schedule Virtual Date Nights
Nothing says romance like seeing your partner’s pixelated face freeze mid-sentence! Set up regular video dates where you both dress up, light candles, and pretend the screen isn’t buffering every five seconds.
Cook the same meal in your separate kitchens and pretend you’re at a fancy restaurant. One upside? You can secretly wear pajama bottoms and they’ll never know.
Pro tip: Use these calls to actually talk, not just stare at each other while scrolling through social media. Your relationship deserves better than being relegated to background noise!
2. Send Surprise Care Packages
Mail isn’t just for bills and political flyers anymore! Surprise your faraway sweetie with a box of goodies that says, “I miss your face enough to stand in line at the post office.”
Fill it with inside jokes, their favorite snacks, and perhaps a shirt you’ve worn so they can sniff it like the lovesick weirdo they are. Remember that chocolate melts and homemade cookies become crumbs, so choose wisely.
The real magic happens when you include something utterly ridiculous that makes them laugh out loud and explain to their roommate why they’re giggling at a rubber chicken.
3. Become Texting Olympians
Your thumbs are about to get so strong they could win arm wrestling competitions! Maintain a steady stream of messages throughout the day—memes, updates about your annoying coworker, or just a simple “thinking of you” when they least expect it.
Develop your own shorthand language that would baffle FBI code-breakers. Nothing says true love like having 17 different emoji combinations that all mean “I miss your stupid face.”
Just remember to occasionally look up from your phone so you don’t walk into traffic or fall into an open manhole while crafting the perfect response to their cat video.
4. Play Online Games Together
Nothing strengthens a relationship like mercilessly destroying your partner in virtual competition! Find online games you both enjoy and schedule regular sessions to connect through shared digital experiences.
Whether you’re building a farm together or hunting zombies, these activities create memories and inside jokes. Fair warning: discovering your sweet, gentle partner becomes a ruthless tyrant in Monopoly might be slightly concerning.
The best part? When they’re thousands of miles away, they can’t see you doing your embarrassing victory dance when you finally beat their high score. Just make sure your microphone is muted.
5. Create a Shared Bucket List
Dream big together! Create a collaborative list of activities, trips, and experiences you want to share when you’re finally reunited. This gives you both something to look forward to beyond just counting down days.
Include realistic items like “try that new restaurant downtown” alongside wildly ambitious ones like “skydive naked over the Grand Canyon” (please don’t actually do this). The sillier entries will make you both laugh while scrolling through the list on tough days.
Bonus points if you include activities that horrify one partner but delight the other. Nothing says commitment like agreeing to attend a death metal concert for someone you love!
6. Embrace the Netflix Party
“Are you still watching?” becomes the third member of your relationship! Synchronize your streaming with browser extensions that let you watch shows together, complete with a chat window for your running commentary.
Choose wisely—starting a 7-season show together is basically saying “I commit to being with you for at least 92 hours of content.” That’s more commitment than some marriages! Horror movies are particularly effective, as your partner can’t actually comfort you when you scream.
Fair warning: pausing for snack breaks and bathroom runs means that 2-hour movie might take you 4 hours to finish. Long-distance movie nights operate in their own time zone.
7. Master the Art of Digital Gifting
Amazon Prime is the cupid of long-distance relationships! Learn to surprise your partner with perfectly timed digital gifts that arrive exactly when they need a boost. Nothing says “I’m thinking of you” like random packages appearing at their door.
Food delivery services become your love language. Sending them their favorite meal when they’re having a rough day earns you relationship points that can be redeemed for forgiveness when you inevitably forget an anniversary.
Just double-check delivery addresses—explaining to your partner why their heartfelt gift was sent to your ex or their neighbor creates an entirely different kind of surprise!
8. Become Pen Pals (Yes, Really!)
Channel your inner Victorian and write actual letters on paper! There’s something magical about holding something your partner touched, even if it’s just to complain about their fantasy football team.
Your handwriting will reveal all your secrets—like the fact that you never quite mastered cursive despite Mrs. Peterson’s best efforts in third grade. Bonus points for including embarrassing doodles, lipstick kisses, or mysterious stains that will make them wonder.
Just remember that unlike texts, letters can’t be unsent. That passionate declaration written at 2 AM after three glasses of wine will definitely reach its destination, even if you regret it by morning!
9. Celebrate Tiny Milestones
Who needs anniversaries when you can celebrate “We’ve gone 17 days without a miscommunication” or “Congratulations on not falling asleep during our last three video calls”? Create ridiculous mini-celebrations to mark your journey.
Send each other digital certificates for achievements like “Gold Medal in Remembering to Charge Your Phone” or “Distinguished Service in Not Mentioning Your Attractive Coworker.” These silly acknowledgments make the distance feel less daunting.
The secret benefit? These micro-celebrations create inside jokes that will confuse your friends when you mention your “173-day no-accidental-hang-up anniversary” in casual conversation.
10. Plan Ridiculous Reunion Scenarios
Forget running into each other’s arms at the airport—that’s amateur hour! Spend time planning increasingly absurd reunion scenarios that you’ll never actually execute but are hilarious to imagine.
Will you hire a mariachi band? Dress as each other’s celebrity crush? Choreograph an elaborate dance routine that will definitely go viral for all the wrong reasons? The more outlandish, the better.
The real reunion will probably involve one of you being exhausted from travel, the other forgetting deodorant in their excitement, and both of you just wanting to order pizza and cuddle. But dreaming big keeps the spark alive!
