Christmas Date Ideas: Cozy, Festive Plans for the Two of You

The weeks before Christmas are some of the busiest of the year. Between work parties, family plans, shopping and school events, it is easy for a couple to spend the whole season together without ever actually spending time together. That is a shame, because December is also one of the most naturally romantic months there is. The lights, the cold air, the excuse for hot drinks and blankets: the season practically plans your dates for you.

This guide gathers more than fifty Christmas date ideas for couples, from cozy nights in to festive days out, free dates and splurges, and ideas for couples who are apart for the holidays. At the end you will find a simple way to plan a whole season of dates so they actually happen.

Cozy Christmas date ideas at home

Some of the best Christmas dates never leave the house. Put the phones away, turn the main lights off and the tree lights on, and try one of these.

1. Christmas movie marathon. Pick three films, one classic, one comedy and one neither of you has seen, and build a nest of blankets on the floor. Make it a tradition by choosing the same night every year.
2. Bake and decorate cookies together. Make sugar cookies and decorate them to look like each other, your pets or your families. Rate them with brutal honesty.
3. Build a gingerbread house. Buy a kit or make your own. Either way, it will collapse at least once, which is the point.
4. Hot chocolate bar night. Set out mugs, cocoa, whipped cream, marshmallows, peppermint, cinnamon and anything else you can find, and make the most ridiculous hot chocolates possible.
5. Decorate the tree together. Put on a Christmas playlist, pour a drink, and tell the story behind each ornament you own.
6. Make ornaments for each other. Salt dough, felt, painted baubles or photo ornaments. They will not be beautiful, and they will be on your tree for decades.
7. Christmas Eve box. Fill a box with matching pajamas, a film, snacks and a small gift each, and open it together on Christmas Eve.
8. Wrap presents together. Put on a movie, open a bottle of something, and wrap everything for everyone else. It turns a chore into an evening.
9. Cook a festive dinner for two. Choose a menu from a country that celebrates Christmas differently, such as an Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes or a Scandinavian smorgasbord, and cook it together.
10. Fireside game night. A card game, a board game, or a round of the Couples Questions game in front of a fire, real or on the TV.
11. Write each other a Christmas letter. Set a timer for twenty minutes, write about your favorite moments of the year, then swap and read. The Love Letter Maker is there if you need a starting point.
12. Make a festive playlist together, one song each, taking turns, with the rule that you have to explain why you chose it.

Christmas date ideas out on the town

13. See the Christmas lights. Make hot chocolate in travel mugs and drive or walk around the best-lit neighborhoods. Vote for your favorite house.
14. Visit a Christmas market. Wander the stalls, share a warm drink, and give each other a small limit to find the best stocking filler.
15. Go ice skating. Hold hands, fall over, laugh, and warm up afterward with something hot.
16. See a holiday show. A ballet, a pantomime, a choir, a candlelit concert or a community play. Local productions are often charming and inexpensive.
17. Take a festive train or tram ride, if there is one near you.
18. Cut down your own Christmas tree at a tree farm, then bring it home and decorate it.
19. Go caroling with friends, or just sing badly in the car on the way to somewhere else.
20. Visit a botanical garden light display. Many gardens put on winter light trails that feel magical after dark.
21. Have afternoon tea somewhere fancy. Many hotels serve a festive afternoon tea in December.
22. Do your Christmas shopping as a date. Set a time limit, split up for an hour to buy for each other, then meet for lunch.
23. Go to a Christmas movie screening at a local cinema, especially one showing classics.
24. Visit a historic house decorated for the holidays. Many museums and estates dress their rooms in period decorations.

Free Christmas dates

December can be expensive, but some of the most romantic Christmas dates cost nothing at all.

• A long walk to look at lights in your own neighborhood.
• A free outdoor carol service or tree lighting ceremony.
• Watching a Christmas movie you already own.
• Stargazing on a clear, cold night with blankets and a flask.
• Making paper snowflakes and hanging them in the window.
• Rereading old Christmas cards and messages from past years together.
• Volunteering together at a food bank or community meal.
• A snow day, if you are lucky enough to get one: snowball fight, snow angels and a snowman version of each other.

For more free and low-cost ideas any time of year, set the budget filter to "Free" in the Date Generator and spin.

Christmas date ideas with a little splurge

• A night away in a cozy cabin with a fireplace.
• A festive dinner at a restaurant you have been saving for a special occasion.
• A trip to a city known for its Christmas markets.
• A couples massage before the holiday rush.
• A hotel staycation in your own town, with room service and a view of the lights.
• A horse-drawn sleigh or carriage ride, where available.

Christmas dates with friends and family

Couple time does not always have to be just the two of you. Some of the most memorable December dates are shared.

• Host a double-date Christmas dinner with another couple and play a game afterward. The Newlywed Game is perfect for a small festive party.
• Throw an ugly sweater party.
• Run a Secret Santa among your friends.
• Organize a cookie swap.
• Take your nieces, nephews or kids to see a Santa, and enjoy seeing it through their eyes.

Christmas date ideas for new couples

If this is your first Christmas together, keep it relaxed. You do not need to meet the whole family or start a lifetime of traditions in one month. Some easy, low-pressure ideas:

• A walk around a Christmas market with a warm drink.
• A festive movie night at one of your places.
• Ice skating, which gives you an excuse to hold hands.
• Baking cookies together.
• Exchanging one small, thoughtful gift each.

If you are wondering about gifts, our guides to Christmas gifts for your girlfriend and your boyfriend have a section on new relationships.

Christmas date ideas for long-distance couples

Being apart at Christmas is hard. These ideas help you share the season across the miles.

• Watch the same Christmas movie on a video call, pressing play at the same moment.
• Decorate your trees "together" on a call, and show each other every ornament.
• Bake the same recipe at the same time and compare results.
• Open gifts on video at an agreed time.
• Send a Christmas care package with a letter, a small gift, and snacks for your call.
• Play a game over video, such as the Couples Quiz or a question deck.
• Plan your next visit together as the final gift of the night.

Start a Christmas tradition together

Many couples find that the dates they remember most are the ones they repeat every year. A tradition turns a nice evening into something you look forward to all year. Some ideas:

• Buy one ornament together every year that represents that year.
• Watch the same film on the same night every December.
• Write each other a letter every Christmas Eve and keep them in a box.
• Take a photo in the same spot every year.
• Go to the same Christmas market, restaurant or light show every year.
• Make one new recipe each year and add the winners to a family cookbook.

How to make sure your Christmas dates actually happen

The problem with December is not a lack of ideas; it is a lack of empty evenings. Here is a simple plan that works:

1. Sit down at the end of November with both calendars open.
2. Block out one evening a week in December for a date, and protect it like any other commitment.
3. Choose the dates now. Pick one idea for each evening from this list, or spin the Date Generator together.
4. Book anything that needs booking early, because festive shows and restaurants fill up fast.
5. Keep one date as a surprise, planned by one partner, for the week before Christmas.

Christmas date ideas at a glance

Making Christmas Day itself feel like a date

Christmas Day is usually about family, food and chaos. You can still carve out a moment for the two of you:

• Wake up ten minutes earlier than everyone else and have coffee together before the day begins.
• Exchange one private gift, just between you, before anyone else is up.
• Take a walk after dinner, just the two of you, while everyone else naps.
• End the night with a toast to your year together, however tired you both are.

Dates for the quiet week after Christmas

The days between Christmas and New Year are often strangely empty, which makes them perfect for dates. Try a long winter walk with lunch somewhere warm, a pajama day watching the films you got as gifts, a museum visit on a quiet weekday, or a day trip to a nearby town. It is also a lovely time to sit down together and talk about the year ahead, including the dates you want to have.

New Year's Eve date ideas

• Cook a fancy dinner at home and dress up for it, even if you are staying in.
• Write down your favorite memories of the year and read them to each other before midnight.
• Make a couples bucket list for the new year.
• Watch the fireworks from somewhere with a view, or on TV wrapped in a blanket.
• Play a game like the Deep deck of the Couples Questions game to end the year with a real conversation.

Christmas dates when you have kids

Parents often assume date nights are impossible in December, but a little creativity goes a long way. Once the children are in bed, a tree-lit living room, a bottle of something festive and a film is a perfectly good date. Early mornings work too: if one set of grandparents offers to take the kids for a few hours, use it for breakfast out rather than errands. Some families swap babysitting with friends in December, so each couple gets one free evening for a Christmas market or a show. And sometimes the best Christmas date is a family one with a small moment for the two of you built in, such as holding hands on the walk to see the lights while the kids run ahead, or a quiet coffee together on Christmas morning before anyone else wakes up. It all counts. What matters is that you both feel noticed by each other in the middle of the busiest month of the year.

Frequently asked questions

Looking ahead? Our guide to Valentine's Day ideas will help you plan the next romantic holiday, and our date night ideas cover the rest of the year.