If you want to keep your love alive, it’s important to work at nurturing your relationship. Sometimes that means a grand gesture, and sometimes it’s a matter of paying attention to the small stuff. Otherwise, you may start taking each other for granted and drift apart.

Whether you’re newlyweds or you’ve been living together for many years, you can keep your connection strong. Try these romantic and practical ideas for showing your partner just how much they mean to you.

Romantic Ways to Show Your Partner How Much You Love Them:

1. Display affection. Greet your partner warmly each time they come home. Hold hands at the movies or walking around the neighborhood.

2. Write love notes. Create your own poetry or borrow quotations from Keats and Neruda. Stick Post-its with sentimental messages on the bathroom mirror or kitchen coffee pot. Put a love letter in your spouse’s luggage when they leave on a business trip.

3. Shower them with gifts. Presents can be inexpensive as long as they’re thoughtful. Bring home a movie your wife will love or a new novel by her favorite author. Buy your husband scented lip balm or drive across town to get the brand of salsa he prefers.

4. Spring a surprise. Wake up early and serve breakfast in bed on an otherwise routine weekday morning. Send your children to their grandparent’s house for the weekend, and spend a couple of quiet days together.

5. Laugh it up. It’s okay to have fun while you’re working on your relationship. Feel free to be silly. Sing songs from old commercials or dress up like a ghost. Reminisce about the blunders you made on your first date or during your early attempts at parenting.

6. Share your dreams. Talk about your plans and goals. Common values are even more important than liking the same pastimes.

7. Arrange date nights. Take turns planning a date night each week. You need some couple time away from children and chores.

Practical Ways to Show Your Partner How Much You Love Them:

1. Listen closely. Knowing your partner will help you speak their love language. Validate their feelings and concerns. Try to understand their perspective even when you disagree.

2. Do chores. Sharing the housework speaks volumes about your love and respect for each other. Claim the tasks you excel at or take turns.

3. Apologize promptly. Acknowledge your mistakes and learn from them. Be quick to forgive when your partner has a lapse.

4. Cheer them on. Give each other your full support. Listen actively and ask questions when your spouse describes their current projects. Celebrate their victories and empathize with their setbacks.

5. Work out together. Staying fit can give you more years to spend together. Sign up for a family or couple’s gym membership. Search for a sport that you both enjoy such as volleyball or tennis. Build a workout area at home where you can train together even on rainy days.

6. Find a hobby. Make your leisure time more enriching and develop interests that will draw you closer together. If you both love astronomy, buy a telescope, become members at your local science museum, and visit observatories when you travel.

7. Give each other space. While it’s important to spend time together, each of us needs our independence too. Let your partner know it’s okay when they want to spend some time alone or hang out with their friends.

8. Keep growing. Developing your potential may be the most profound way to express your love. The more you have, the more you can contribute to your relationship.

Maintain the magic in your relationship by asking yourself how you can make your spouse feel special. Loving words and actions will help keep you strong and united.