Red Vase Intervention’s Anti-Cold Christmas Speed Dating Night

When you’re single in the city, around this time of the year (Christmas just around the corner!), you would often hear people saying stuff to you like “Wala ka pang boyfriend/girlfriend? Malamig ang Pasko mo nyan!” (You’re still single? It’s a cold Christmas for you then!). This WheninManila contributor has definitely heard her fair share of comments like that from friends who are in a relationship, relatives, and sometimes even co-workers.

Well, while I am a hopeless romantic at heart, I am also a single lady who believes that there are times that you need to give Cupid a helping hand in the form of a dating site or bind date for finding a special someone to be with. So, when Red Vase Interventions invited When inManila to join in their speed dating event entitled, “An Anti-Cold Christmas Speed Dating Night” last November 23, you betcha I jumped at the chance! Besides, I’ve always been curious to try it.

The event was held at Mario’s Restaurant in Quezon City – quite a nice place to go on a date that was my first impression when I got off the cab and first laid eyes on the venue.

This is how the place was set up:

Upon arriving, each participant had to register and get a name tag with an assigned table number. The last table number was 15 because the idea was to meet 15 dates in one night! Now that’s what you call going the distance in dating! (“,)

Each participant was also given a folder which contained 3 papers: one was for the participant to write down things about their date that they found memorable, unique or even what turned them off; another was a small sheet of paper to write down your best date and also send them an anonymous message; and the last one was the assessment sheet – this is where you check one of either two columns: nice meeting you or would love to know you better.

For those you wanted to meet again, you check off the the “Would love to know you better” column and if your date felt the same way about you, Red Vase would email you both with your date(s) photos, the traits they are looking for in a partner and their contact info, so you can set another date in the near future. That folder also had some basic guide questions that you could refer to if you had no idea what to say to your date. Definitely very helpful for a first-time speed dater like me.

Before the date proper began, we all played an icebreaker game. Each guy and girl had to pick a paper from a bowl which contained two clues to two people that you had to find i.e. An account manager who lives in Makati or Born October 13, 1987 . The first guy and girl to complete that wins a prize from Red Vase. That was definitely a great way to get to know the participants and loosen up before the dating proper began!

The speed dating proper begins! The ladies stayed put in their respective table numbers while the guys went around the room, moving from table to table. Each date lasted 5 minutes. Why 5 minutes, you ask? Well, according to the organizers, 5 minutes is enough time to see and decide whether you and your date had chemistry or not; so if it’s the latter, it helps you avoid the long awkward silence where you may end up thinking “Dear God, will this date never end?”

Luckily, there was no dull or awkward moment for me during the whole speed dating proper. There were guys who opened the conversation proper during the date, those who were quite witty and those who were a little shy, but thankfully didn’t give one-word/one phrase replies to my questions. In fact, at some points during the speed dating proper, it was like you and your date were enjoying the conversation that you’re surprised to hear the bell which meant your five minutes together are up!

And then there was him…

What’s with the cards, you asked? Well, that’s him trying to charm his dates with his magic tricks. I asked him to do a magic trick with me, too, when he told me about his bit and he amazed me with his “no-hands tying his shoelace” trick. Now that’s one way to make an impression on your date!

Overall, I would say that this was a great first speed dating experience. The ambiance was great – as I’ve mentioned, the venue was tastefully picked: a white rose as a table centerpiece, the music playlist that played while we waited for the program to begin was light and so full of hopeful love – they definitely helped put me in a “I-wanna-meet-new-single-people” mindset that night. Plus the people I met during that night – all my dates had something interesting to say, which is a big plus for me because I like guys who can carry on a good conversation! Oh, and I have to give a special shoutout to Vhey, one of the organizers/host of the event for being so nice and friendly, she also helped put me at ease! Kudos to Red Vase Interventions for a great speed dating event!