Bailey’s Love Tips: 25 Christmas Date Ideas

2. HAVE A PEPPERMINT TASTING CHRISTMAS DATE

Hot chocolate not your thing? Have a peppermint tasting party instead. The stores are full of peppermint everything this time of year. Let this Christmas date idea be your excuse to buy all the peppermint treats you’ve been wanting to try and have a little tasting party with your loved one. If you want to cut down on calories, you can invite your friends over for a Christmas inspired double date. To make it extra special, you can even create little “tasting notes”, kind of like the notes you use when you go wine tasting, so everyone can take notes on their favorite peppermint treats.

Some of our favorite peppermint treats this time of year:

• Peppermint bark {This one is the best!}
• Lindor Peppermint Cookie Mint Chocolate Truffles
• White Chocolate and Peppermint Boom Chicka Pop 
• Peppermint Pretzel Slims from Trader Joe’s {Bassam’s holiday kryptonite}
• Candy Cane Joe Joes from Trader Joe’s {My holiday kyrptonite}
• Peppermint Hold the Cone! from Trader Joe’s
• Candy cane inspired cocktail: equal parts vanilla rum, white chocolate liqueur and peppermint schnapps

Peppermint still not your thing? Go classic and have a wine tasting party. Who said you have to have holiday treats for your Christmas date idea? Wine works any time of year!

3. RENT A CABIN FOR THE WEEKEND

Every year we love going to Big Bear, California and renting a cabin for a romantic weekend getaway. We spend the weekend doing snow activities like sledding and building snowmen and explore the cute little town. Most cabin getaway towns have the cutest Christmas decorations! You could even plan to light a fire and snuggle inside your cabin the whole weekend! Don’t forget to take along all kinds of cozy Christmas date night essentials, like a cozy blanket to cuddle together in, your favorite Christmas movies, hot chocolate, Christmas PJs, and some games. We personally love cards, but a Christmas inspired game would be festive and fun for a Christmas date idea.

4. PLAY SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERS

From gift shopping to wrapping, to-do lists can become a mile long this time of year. Rather than let your holiday to-do list stress you out, turn it into a fun Christmas date idea. You can knock out all the items on your to-do list during one marathon date or have a separate holiday date night for each task to make the fun last longer!

Get together to go shopping for your Christmas lists together. You can make it even more fun by turning it into a competition to see who can pick out the funniest, most cost-effective, most unique, most (insert adjective here) gift.

Alternatively, you can decide to make gifts together for your loved ones! Think soaps, ceramics, frames, ornaments, potpourri…

Once you’ve bought (or made) a gift for everyone on your list, wrap the gifts together and write all the Christmas cards. Make it even more fun by watching a Christmas movie at the same time or listening to Christmas music. Don’t forget holiday inspired drinks and snacks! You really can’t go overboard with this stuff.

5. HAVE A GINGERBREAD HOUSE DECORATING COMPETITION

Decorating gingerbread houses together is one of the most classic Christmas date ideas! Put a spin on it by turning it into a competition. You can choose a particular theme to guide the direction of the gingerbread houses or just go with whatever inspires you. Don’t forget to place your bets before you start decorating!

Tip: you may want to consider using a gingerbread house kit as a starting point, but we always like getting our own toppings and frosting! This kit includes a mini village!

6. GO ICE SKATING

Ice skating is another classic Christmas date night idea, but it’s a classic for a reason. We are both absolutely terrible ice skaters, but it doesn’t matter, it’s still such a fun holiday date night. While ice skating is possible year-round at an indoor skating rink, we love finding pop up outdoor ice skating rinks that are specifically for the holidays. They are always so fun and festive and make us feel like we are starring in our very own romantic holiday movie! Most of these rinks stay up about a week after the New Year, making this Christmas date idea perfect for after the holidays are officially over.

Bonus: physical activities and exhilarating activities are great love boosters! They help increase feelings of adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin, which mimic the feeling of falling in love. Take advantage of these types of holiday date ideas if you’re looking to fall in love with a new crush or to re-spark a long-time romance.

7. TAKE CREATIVE HOLIDAY PHOTOS AND MAKE HOLIDAY CARDS

Taking holiday photos together is a great tradition to start. It’ll be so nice in the future to be able to look back at all your photos over the years. Make it extra fun by coming up with a creative or funny holiday photo. Then use those photos to create holiday cards to send your loved ones.

Romantic/Cute Holiday Photo Ideas for Couples:

• Wrapped up in twinkle lights together
• Steal a kiss under mistletoe
• Cuddling in front of a Christmas tree
• Walking through a bunch of Christmas trees
• Sit on his shoulders as you place the star on the tree
• Cheers with his and hers Christmas mugs
• Cozying up in front of a fireplace or fire pit. Even cuter with matching plaid PJs!

Fun/Silly holiday Photo Ideas for Couples:

• Stand inside of a wreath together
• Snowball fight
• Draw a snowy landscape with sidewalk chalk and lay there pretend to make “snow angels”
• Tangled up in a scarf together
• Taken “hostage” by your pet or kids and tangled in holiday lights
• Baking Christmas cookies gone wrong, flour is everywhere
• Doctor it up with Paint or Canva and write up top: I’m Dreaming Of… and add funny thought bubbles for each of you
• One of you wraps the other up in tinsel

8. GO FOR A ROMANTIC EVENING WALK

While not the most creative of Christmas date ideas, our favorite holiday date idea is to go for romantic early evening walks. We usually stop by a local coffee shop to pick up a warm holiday drink and then find a new neighborhood to walk in each time. Anytime I’m like “what should we do” around this time of the year, Bassam says, “let’s get warm drinks and walk around!” We love seeing all the different ways people decorate for the holidays and just love this festive time of the year. Plus it’s a great way to get moving a little since so many other Christmas date ideas revolve around food!

9. FIND THE BEST NEIGHBORHOODS TO LOOK AT CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

This holiday date idea is similar to the holiday date idea above, but whether you drive through or walk, make sure you check out the neighborhood in your area that’s famous for their light display! Every town has one and it’s so fun to make it a yearly tradition. We are lucky enough to have several in our town, as well as beautiful displays at a local zoo and museum. You can also turn this into a scavenger hunt, with a list of things you’re looking for like icicle lights, a blow up snowman, a snow globe, etc. To make it extra fun, take along some hot chocolate with you to drink as you look at the lights. You can even spike it with peppermint schnapps!

10. START YOUR OWN HOLIDAY TRADITION

I think there is something so special about couples having their very own holiday tradition. If you’re dating, this can be something that you carry on for years to come as your relationship grows and develops. If you’re married, it can be a special thing that your family unit does together. This time of the year can be so busy and hectic, leaving little time to spend together. Having this holiday tradition to look forward to each year ensures that no matter how crazy the holiday season gets and how many demands there are on your time, you will have something special to look forward to that’s just for the two of you.

Tips to making it happen:

• Pick a specific date and time
• Add to your calendar as a reoccurring yearly appointment
• Have this time be annual and nonnegotiable
• Pick a date that you don’t typically have other family obligations during
• Choose something you will continue to love over the years
• Consider perhaps incorporating kids into this tradition in the future or leaving it be something just for the two of you

Ideas of holiday traditions for couples:

• Make cinnamon rolls together Christmas morning
• Open stocking together the night before Christmas
• Write letters to each other to exchange the following year
• Make a specific type of cookie together every year
• Order pizza for breakfast the day after Christmas
• Do the same advent calendar with each other every year
• Collect ornaments from each place you travel to and make a date of decking your tree with those special ornaments
• Any of the Christmas date ideas on this list!

11. VISIT A BOOKSTORE AND READ YOUR FAVORITE KIDS CHRISTMAS BOOKS

Spending a few hours pursuing a bookstore is one of our favorite date ideas year-round. It’s so much fun to go around the holidays when the store is festive and share your favorite childhood Christmas books with each other.

Popular Children’s Christmas Books to Read Together:

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Twas The Night Before Christmas

The Gingerbread Man

The Little Christmas Tree

12. MAKE YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

We love getting creative during date nights and making our own Christmas decorations is such a fun Christmas date idea! This is such a fun spin on decorating together and can be a great Christmas tradition to have together! If you make a lasting decoration, not only can you make a different decoration together each year, you can also have the fun of putting those decorations up together each year and reminiscing over the past as you put up all those decorations you made together over the years.

Ideas of Christmas decorations to make together for your Christmas date night:

• Go to a local pottery painting studio and paint decorations
• Take a pottery class and make your own ornaments, mugs, or other holiday decorations
• Make paper snowflakes
• Ugly Christmas sweaters
• Decorate a wreath

13. SEE A CHRISTMAS CONCERT, PLAY, OR BALLET

There are so many wonderful performances to go see this time of year. Choose a play, concert or ballet that you’ve never seen before or pick one of your favorites and see it together. If there’s a performance that’s really special to one of you but the other hasn’t seen it, this can lead to a really great bonding experience.

One of our favorite Christmas performances was the year we went to Lindsey Stirling’s Christmas concert. Not exactly traditional, but hearing her beautiful rendition of traditional Christmas songs was so romantic!

14. HAVE A HOLIDAY MOVIE MARATHON

A holiday movie marathon is a classic Christmas date idea, but it’s a classic for a reason. Pop some popcorn, light the fireplace if you have one, make a batch of yummy drinks, get cozy with fuzzy socks, snuggle under a warm blanket, and get ready for a cozy romantic Christmas date night!

Holiday movies for couples That Aren’t as Cheesy as the Hallmark Channel:

• Love Actually {My favorite Christmas movie. Bassam finally watched it last year and loved it!}
• The Holiday {A romantic comedy, but Bassam actually really enjoyed it! The travel aspect helps}
• It’s a Wonderful life {Classic for a reason!}
• Elf {A silly one!}
• Home Alone {Bassam’s favorite Christmas movie!}
• Last Holiday {Inspirational to seize the day!}
• The Family Stone {If you like family dramas}

15. GO CAROLING OR DO HOLIDAY MUSIC KARAOKE

Why not go caroling as a Christmas date night? It’s such a stereotypical holiday activity, but have you ever done it? To make it extra festive, go caroling for a cause, like maybe at a children’s hospital or a home for the elderly. If caroling is not your thing, find a bar that’s hosting holiday music karaoke. You can also do this yourself at home if you don’t want to sing in front of others! Make some holiday sangria to loosen up a bit!

16. CREATE A HOLIDAY NEWSLETTER OR WEBSITE

Sending holiday cards is a standard Christmas tradition, but take up a notch and send a holiday newsletter! This will be a fun way to look back at your year together and reminiscence over all the milestones and fun things that happened. Put the highlights and some fun photos in a newsletter to send your friends and family. It’ll be such fun mail for them to receive! If you’re tech savvy, you can even make a holiday website! Do it for free through websites that you use for engagement websites, who says they can’t be repurposed for other things?

17. BAKE CHRISTMAS COOKIES

What to do with all the Christmas cookies?

• Pass them out to your neighbors. This is a great way to get to know your neighbors AND you can walk around and look at lights at the same time!
• Drop them off at your local fire station with a note of thanks
• Bring them to your local senior citizen’s home. Stay and read them a book, have them tell you stories, or play games for a bonus date!
• Drop them off a local children’s hospital. Call ahead and make sure this is allowed first! Not all hospitals allow outside food
• Donate them to a homeless shelter
• Take a batch each to work and leave it in the kitchen
• Invite your friends over for a tasting party

18. PAY IT FORWARD WITH CHARITY WORK

This is a great time of the year to pay it forward, but keep in mind that popular places to volunteer your services get extra busy this time of year and they don’t usually need more volunteers. This doesn’t mean you can’t give back, but try to find creative ways that aren’t overcrowded. Then vow to go volunteer at a soup kitchen later in the year when there aren’t as many eager volunteers and places could really use the help.

Ideas to give back:

• Organize a toy drive with you friend and family, wrap all the gifts, and donate them to Toys for Tots, similar organizations, or families you know who could use some help
• Spend a day going around town and figuring out how you can do Random Acts of Kindness for people
• Pack stockings full of necessities and gift them to homeless people
• Offer to babysit for a single parent you know who could use the help
• Sponsor a family for the holiday season
• Offer to run errands for an elderly neighbor
• Donate school supply goody bags to teachers at your local elementary school. Most teachers have a wish list, so call ahead and see what they need
• Donate your time and skills, like giving a social media class at your local library or teach an arts and crafts lesson at a local school
• Homeless shelters are typically crowded on Christmas and big days. Go order a bunch of food from somewhere and pass it out to those standing in line at the homeless shelter

19. LEARN ABOUT OTHER CULTURES HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

Every culture celebrates the holidays a little bit differently. A fun Christmas date idea could be to learn about a different culture’s traditions together. Learning new things together can help boost your love bond and add novelty to your relationship. If you are both from different cultures, you can teach each other about the customs that your cultures observe. If not, try Googling traditions in other countries and recreate it at home or find somewhere in your town that offers that custom. If you’re going on a trip in the coming year, it could be fun to observe a custom from the country you’re traveling to!

Some holiday traditions from around the world:

• Argentina – Fly ‘globos’, paper decorations with a light inside that float into the sky, on Christmas Eve
• Finland – People will light a single candle and place it next to the grave of their loved ones on Christmas Eve. You don’t have to go to the cemetery on your date night, but try lighting a candle together for your loved ones. This will be an extremely sentimental and intimate date. The candle symbolizes resurrection
• Iceland – Exchange books on Christmas Eve and spend all night reading them and eating chocolate {I LOVE this idea! We’ve got lots of book recommendations here}
• Lithuania – The traditional Christmas Eve dinner consists of 12 meatless dishes
• Japan – KFC for Christmas dinner!
• Lebanon – Plant chickpeas  on Eid el-Burbara (Dec 4) and place them under the Christmas tree when the shoots have grown. This represents the birth of Jesus Christ. Bassam is from Lebanon but his family didn’t celebrate in this way because they are not Christian. We have other traditions for the holiday we celebrate, Eid, which we will share another time

20. DECK THE HALLS

As much as we love looking at decorations together, we especially love decorating for Christmas together. We have so much fun picking out fun little additions to our holiday decor and adding little bits all season long. Last year we did a coastal inspired Christmas tree and tablescape. Even if you don’t live together, help each other put up and decorate your Christmas trees together. Listen to holiday tunes and have a holiday inspired beverage to make this an extra fun and festive date idea!

21. MAKE YOUR OWN ADVENT CALENDARS

I love the idea of making your own advent calendars to celebrate the holiday season together, because you have a special way to spend a little bit of quality time with each other each day. You can buy a premade one, but I think it’s extra special to create your own together. Plus, if you make one together, you have an additional date night idea and the opportunity to get creative with each other!

Here are some ideas on advent calendars for couples:

• Look up a tutorial to make a traditional advent calendar. Each of you fill half of the days with a little surprise that relates to your relationship in some way, like an item to symbolize your first date or an item that relates to something you want to do together in the coming year
• Create a date night advent calendar with a different date idea to complete each day {Tip: you can use all of the date ideas from this post!}
• Include a small romantic and cozy thing to do with each other each day. This is different than the date night ideas one above, because all of the things will be quick and easy
• Open the calendar each day to a different topic of conversation or question to ask each other. Both of you contribute questions to the calendar and don’t share what the questions are to make it a fun surprise and mix up your conversations!
• Create a calendar full of romantic dares!

22. BE KIDS AGAIN FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS DATE IDEA

Kid inspired dates are some of the most fun. They can really bring out your goofy sides, leading to lots of laughs and great memories. Why not choose a kid inspired Christmas date idea? Here are some ideas:

• Snowball fight. You can turn this into a group date as well and make it a formal game resembling dodge ball or paintball
• Go snowshoeing
• Build a snowman. You can even turn this into a competition to see who can build the best one!
• Go sledding
• Walk around a toy store and “pick out toys”. It’ll also be fun to reminisce over your old favorites
• Turn it into an overnight Christmas date idea and camp out in the living room one night by the Christmas tree. Make sure to buy tons of holiday treats for sleepover snacks
• Elf on a Shelf
  • We love the idea of doing Elf on a Shelf for each other! Take turns surprising each other each day with romantic adventures your Elf gets up to! This will be such a cute Christmas date idea that keeps going all season long! Plus, if you’re competitive, you can try topping each other’s ideas each day and have a prize for whoever comes up with the most creative Elf on a Shelf

23. PEOPLE WATCH AT THE MALL

Call us crazy, but we actually love the mall during Christmas time! We know it’s hectic and full of stressed shoppers, but we love grabbing a warm drink, walking around and looking at the mall decorations and fun things in stores, and people watching. This is the BEST TIME to people watch! You’ll see all kinds of interesting people, interactions, and happenings. Find a comfy place to sit with your warm drinks and watch the people go by. We love making up backstories about all the people we see passing by.

24. MAKE YOUR OWN UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER

Most likely you’ll be invited to an ugly Christmas sweater party or two, so why not spend your Christmas date making unique matching Christmas sweaters that you can wear to all of those parties? It’ll be fun to create together and you’re sure to be a hit at all of the parties this season!

25. FIND A CHRISTMAS MARKET

We’ve had it on our bucket list to do a tour of the Christmas markets in Europe for 2 years in a row now, but we haven’t been able to make it yet due to things that keep happening. If you can’t make it to Europe like us, find a Christmas market in your area. They are actually all over, even if they aren’t quite as grand and festive as the European ones!