Marriage can feel like a very grown-up thing, especially when it’s tangled up in bills, work stress, and who forgot to unload the dishwasher again.
However, it’s possible to keep it fun, and that doesn’t require planning elaborate weekends away or writing love letters every morning. Sometimes it’s the dumb, silly stuff that keeps you laughing, connected, and actually enjoying each other’s company. Here are just some of the ways couples keep their marriages from turning into flatpack furniture instructions—technically functional, but no joy in sight.
1. Give each other completely ridiculous nicknames.
We’re not talking about the usual “babe” or “honey.” We mean full-on unhinged pet names like “Captain Crumbs” or “Snuggle Yeti.” The weirder it is, the better. It adds a layer of inside-joke magic to your day that no one else understands but you two. These nicknames don’t have to make sense. In fact, it’s funnier when they don’t. It’s like a secret language that reminds you both not to take yourselves—or each other—too seriously.
2. Have fake arguments for entertainment.
“Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?” Boom—half an hour of nonsense sorted. These fake debates are low-stakes, pointless, and somehow hilarious when you both commit to the bit. It breaks the tension and gives you a break from real-life stress. Plus, you get to see how passionate your partner can get about truly dumb stuff, which is oddly endearing.
3. Turn chores into competitions.
Folding laundry isn’t fun—unless you make it a race. Cleaning the kitchen? Time it. Loser makes tea. These mini-competitions inject just enough silliness into everyday tasks to keep them from feeling like a grind. It’s not about winning. It’s about laughing when one of you is weirdly bad at vacuuming or gets overly smug about a spotless bathroom. Mundane jobs become a bit more bearable with a dash of playfulness.
4. Invent fake backstories when you’re out in public.
If you’re sitting in a café, pick a random couple nearby and come up with an entire dramatic backstory for them. Are they secret agents? Long-lost pen pals? Just got engaged and already regretting it? It makes people-watching ten times more fun, and it turns a quiet lunch into a weird little game. It’s a creative way to connect and make any outing more entertaining.
5. Celebrate the weirdest “anniversaries.”
Everyone celebrates their wedding anniversary, but what about the first time you farted in front of each other? Or the day you adopted that weird plant that never grows? Marking the small, strange moments creates a shared timeline full of laughs. It doesn’t need to be sentimental. Just light a candle and say, “Happy two years since we locked ourselves out in pyjamas.” It’s dumb. It’s perfect. It works.
6. Text each other memes from the next room
It’s childish, yes. But also? It keeps you connected. Sending your partner a dumb TikTok while they’re literally five feet away is just modern love at its finest. You’re saying, “Hey, I thought of you,” but without the pressure of being romantic or deep. It’s a low-effort, high-payoff way to keep the giggles going even during a quiet day.
7. Give each other stupid “awards.”
Hand out imaginary trophies like “Best Snorer” or “Most Dramatic Cereal Pour.” You can make up categories daily if you want. It’s absurd, but it keeps you both from falling into autopilot mode. There’s something charming about a relationship where you can mock each other gently and still feel safe and adored. Bonus points if you create a terrible acceptance speech in return.
8. Prank each other, but only the nice kind.
Nothing mean or messy, just harmless surprises. Like swapping their shampoo label with one that says “unicorn tears” or hiding googly eyes around the house. If you both enjoy that cheeky energy, it becomes a little running game. The best pranks are ones that make the other person laugh, not scream. It’s just a reminder that you can still be playful even when life feels like a to-do list.
9. Do karaoke… badly… on purpose.
You don’t need an audience or even a mic. Just pick a ridiculously dramatic song, butcher it with full commitment, and let your partner witness the performance of a lifetime. Whether it’s an ’80s power ballad or a Disney classic, the key is confidence, not talent. Bonus points if they join in and it turns into a duet no one asked for but everyone secretly enjoyed.
10. Have weird traditions that make no sense.
Maybe every Friday you only speak in movie quotes. Or on your anniversary, you eat something completely random like tinned peaches and toast. The more bizarre and personal, the better. These little traditions become relationship glue. They make your version of love different from anyone else’s. It’s about creating your own folklore, and making yourselves laugh while doing it.
11. Narrate each other’s actions like a nature documentary.
“Here we see the male in his natural habitat, approaching the fridge with confidence.” It’s dumb, it’s dramatic, and it never gets old. Especially if you really commit to the David Attenborough voice. Turning everyday moments into a mini spectacle keeps you both entertained and gently mocks the routine nature of couple life. It’s hard to take anything too seriously when you’re pretending to be a documentary narrator.
12. Create secret handshakes or dances.
Look, no one said it had to be good. Just create a weird handshake, a happy dance, or a little jingle that’s entirely yours. You can use it to say hello, celebrate finding matching socks, or just because you’re in the mood. It’s pure nonsense, but it’s also a way to stay close—like a private language that no one else gets. It brings back that sense of play most couples had in the early days but often forget about.
13. Do “theme nights” for dinner at home.
You don’t need to throw a full party. Just pick a theme—Mexican, ’90s snacks, food-that’s-orange—and go with it. Wear something silly, make the playlist match, and pretend it’s a big deal. It’s cheap, it’s cheerful, and it turns a regular Tuesday into something to look forward to. Plus, even a pizza night feels more exciting when there’s a theme involved.
14. Speak in terrible accents for no reason.
Whether you’re suddenly Scottish or doing a terrible French waiter voice, slipping into ridiculous accents adds humour to even the dullest task. You’ll both sound ridiculous, but that’s the point. It’s hard to argue or stay annoyed at each other when one of you is ordering tea like a bad soap opera villain. It brings laughter back into the mundane stuff you usually just rush through.
15. Write each other the worst poems ever.
Source: Unsplash Forget romance novels—channel your inner awkward teenager and write something deeply bad but full of heart. Rhymes that don’t land. Lines that make no sense. Bonus if you read them aloud dramatically. The joy is in not being good at it. You’re not trying to win a literary award—you’re just creating something silly together that’ll make you both laugh years from now when you find it again.
16. Turn your inside jokes into full-blown legends.
That one time they tripped over a sock and blamed gravity? Bring it up like it’s a pivotal moment in your shared history. Inside jokes can evolve into full storylines if you keep them going long enough. It’s not about the joke itself—it’s about building a world where you both get to be the heroes, the clowns, and the main characters. That shared world is what keeps marriage fun, even when life around it feels anything but.
