The holiday season is a time of celebration – and you should make special time to celebrate with your significant other! These 10 winter date ideas include something every couple will enjoy, and they are very affordable, as well.
You know the kind of excitement you can actually feel inside your tummy? I feel that about Christmas this year. I’ve always loved Christmas, but it’s become infinitely more enjoyable since sharing it with Ryan.
Ok I’m aware that sounds suuuper cheesy, but hey, it’s true on so many levels. All my older siblings are married, so being the single, odd one out during the holidays has been my reality in years past and it can be a bit of a downer. I’m so ready to not have that experience this year!
And, we get to do double the celebrating together! This year we’re going to Idaho to celebrate with his family first, then coming back to Ohio to celebrate with my family around New Years. That means double the gift giving and double the gift receiving, double the yummy food and double the festivities. Family Christmas gatherings are a lot more fun (and sometimes just more bearable) when Ryan is with me.
Then there are the Christmas traditions and activities. Holiday activities are of course fun to do with a friend or family member, but let’s be real, these winter date ideas are a lot more fun with a significant other!
For this post, we’ve put together our top 10 winter date ideas for the Christmas season.
1. Go ice skating.
My balance isn’t the best and I tend to fall at least a few times, but you can be sure I’ll do my best to pull Ryan down with me. 😉 In Ohio where we live a lot of friends have ponds that we can skate on, but many cities also have ice rinks!
2. Cut down your own Christmas tree.
I have never in my life had a real Christmas tree. (I heard some of you gasp when you read that.) My mom’s excuse was always that they make a mess and they’re a hassle, which I really do understand. But someday I definitely want to go with Ryan to a Christmas tree farm and pick our own tree! Such a fun, classic Christmasy date. Then you can decorate the tree together when you get home!
3. Drive through the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.
Make some thermoses of hot cocoa or tea, play some Michael Bublé Christmas music (or whatever album’s your fave) and it’s practically a free date! I love doing this every year and seeing the gaudy, the extreme, the tasteful, and the beautiful lights in different neighborhoods. Our neighboring town also has a drive-through lights show!
4. Have a Christmas movie marathon.
This is one of the best winter date ideas in my opinion. Cozy up inside when it’s cold outside and choose your genre. There are so many good options: classics like Rudolf and A Charlie Brown Christmas, cheesy Hallmark movies, funny films like Elf (my personal favorite), oldies like It’s A Wonderful Life, or chick flicks like Love Actually.
5. Bake Christmas cookies.
You get to decide whether to keep them all to eat yourself or be kind and share them. I love Christina’s idea of ding-dong ditching with the cookies – putting Christmas cookies on a neighbor’s doorstep, ringing their doorbell, then leaving the cookies and running away before they see you! You can also do a cookie swap with friends. Each attendee brings a dozen cookies as well as copies of their cookie recipe. You swap cookies and receive a recipe for each type of cookie you take. Make an extra dozen to enjoy together! You can check out our top 13 clean eating Christmas cookie recipes.
6. Visit your zoo’s holiday lights event.
Our local Toledo Zoo and nearby Indianapolis Zoo have beautiful Christmas light events every year. Check your local zoo to see if they do too! I love animals so visiting the zoo is already a favorite activity of mine, but the Christmas lights displays and festivities definitely take the experience up a few notches.
7. Go Christmas caroling.
This has been one of my favorite winter date ideas this year! If the two of you are singers, feel free to brave it alone. Otherwise, get a few couples together, print off some lyrics (or make sure everyone has them on their phones), and make a group date of it! We love caroling at the local nursing home. It’s a beautiful way to bring joy to the lives of some of the most lonely people in our community. Have you ever known an elderly person who had lost much of their mental capacity but could still sing songs from their youth? I have seen this many times, and it’s amazing.
8. Play in the snow together.
If you live somewhere with snow, or can travel to it, take advantage! Snow makes so many activities possible. Build a snow fort or snowman, go sledding or skiing, or have a snowball fight. If you’re a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold like I am, just get as bundled up as possible and be sure to reward yourself with hot cocoa afterwards. 🙂
9. Make Christmas cards and wrap gifts together.
If you’re creative types, go all out. Pick out your wrapping supplies together, then spend hours making your gifts as beautiful and personal as possible. If you’re more the types that dread Christmas wrapping, make it bearable for each other by doing it together! Christmas music, hot chocolate, and Christmas cookies make any holiday activity enjoyable, right?
10. See a Christmas performance together.
If you’re on a limited budget, check what free concerts and performances local high schools, universities, or churches are doing. If you’re ready for a fancier date, check performance schedules of your local theaters, dance studios, and performing arts groups. Get dressed up and pair the performance with a nice dinner.
