It is a truth universally acknowledged that a happy couple must be in want of another happy couple to be B.F.F.s with. Fred and Wilma had their Barney and Betty; Lucy and Ricky had their Ethel and Fred. It seems that for every dynamic couple, there exists an assumed want for a complementary pair of friends , who are also a couple. The want is self-explanatory: "couples" friends reinforce each other's union and become a support system for the individual partners. Discovering people who enjoy not only your company, but your significant other's as well, affirms one's belief that his/her relationship is compatible. Furthermore, having this type of "shared" friends serves as another link a couple can bond over. But as this hilarious Wall Street Journal piece proves, finding that perfect four-way match is twice as hard when there are double the personalities to juggle. "You had to go on lots of dates when you were single just to find the one person who clicked. Imagine how many more it will take if four people are involved," writes WSJ reporter Elizabeth Bernstein. "Because whether we admit it or not, we're just as picky when looking for a couple to date as we were when we were looking for a mate in the first place." For couples seeking a matching duo to get chummy with, here are four ideas to finding the Chandler and Monica to your Ross and Rachel. 1. Use your couple hobby as a launching point . The no-brainer way to make friends as a couple is to chat up other duos over hobbies that both you and your S.O are participating in. Whether you two like to attend sci-fi conventions together or partake in a couples sport, meeting and bonding with another pair over an interest that is shared by all four people is the easiest way to cultivate an acquaintance, if not outright friendship. Play Together: Top Sports For Couples 2. Host a couples supper party with the neighbors . Almost as easy to accomplish as the first tip, how about hosting a supper cooking party with potential couple friends? The lure of good food is highly effective, and the preparation part leaves a lot of time for getting to know one another. You can even take it up a notch by splitting into him vs. her teams in your very own Iron Chef-esque cook-off. Are You Too Competitive With Your Guy? 3. Eat at restaurants with shared dining. Many Japanese hibachi and Chinese dim sum restaurants feature group dining , in which strangers are set at the same table. If it's a nice restaurant and it's evening, chances are you and your S.O. will be sitting next to other couples who probably share the same food interests as you. Take the subject of food as a way to drum up casual conversation. With any luck, the topic will lead to a point which you can slip in the idea for a dinner party. 4. Go online. Just as there are gluttonous amounts of dating sites for singles, there is no shortage of "dating" sites for couples seeking their counterparts, some with incredibly cheesy and/or dubious home pages: Check out Kupple.com or Couples in Common to see what we're talking about. Online Dating: How to Choose the Best Site For You
