Double dating can be great for your relationship with your significant other. Not only is it a fun way to meet your partner's friends, but it allows you to get to know your partner better. By finding out about the people that your boyfriend or girlfriend has chosen to become friends with, you can learn a lot about who your significant other is and what they value.

However, not everyone sees double dating as a relaxing and low-stress way to spend the evening. Horror stories abound, and as fun as they are to read, they're not so fun to live.

Keep reading for a few tips on how to double date with your significant other's friends.

Try to Relax

Especially if your relationship is a young one, you may be feeling a lot of anxiety before the big (double) date. Not only are you hoping that your partner will like you, but you're hoping to win his or her friends over too.

While it's fun to think about how great your evening may go, there is no point in stressing out about it. Spend some time before the date on the phone with an old friend, watching television, reading a book or whatever it is that you do to relax. You'll go into the date with a better attitude, ensuring that you'll have a more enjoyable evening and make a good first impression.

Getting to Know Their Friends

One of the most difficult aspects of double dating is engaging a reserved person into a conversation. If this is a concern, consider seeing a show or attending an event first. By going to a sporting game, a movie or a concert first, you'll automatically have a shared experience to discuss over dinner.

If a dinner-and-a-show is outside of everyone's budget or time constraints, consider bonding over a silly board or card game. A common focus and objective is a great ice breaker and can help even the most reserved person open up.

Finding Common Ground

When two people share a connection that the others don't, things can get boring really fast. For example, if you and another person on the date work for the same employer, it's easy to make that the focus of the conversation. Alternately, if you and an old friend are double dating with your respective partners who don't know each other, you need to make sure that you don't monopolise the conversation with inside jokes and old stories.

No matter how you and your significant other are connected to the couple, work hard to find common ground among everyone present.

Be Adventurous

If you and your partner know the other couple well, consider trying a new activity or going to a restaurant that none of you have been to. By trying something different, you can break out of the monotony that may develop among couple that go out together regularly.

Keep It Positive

Some couples feel like it is perfectly acceptable to air their dirty laundry for all to see. Some even go so far as to recruit others to their side of an issue, essentially ganging up on their partner.

No matter what happens, don't get into an argument with your date, and don't get pulled into the other couple's argument. No matter how light-hearted it may seem initially, even an off-hand passive aggressive comment can lead into an all-out war. Steer the conversation away from sensitive topics, and don't get pulled into petty bickering.

Don't Get Too Personal

Most people know that you shouldn't ask someone about anything related to their finances, including their income or how much they pay per month for their apartment. However, you may also regret bringing up other personal topics, such as their on-going job hunt or anything related to their family. Even if your friend and co-double dater told you that her boyfriend has been looking for a job for six months or that his grandfather just died, he may feel weird about you bringing it up. Generally speaking, people feel uncomfortable when other people know things about them that they themselves did not share.

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