It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also the most chaotic time of the year! It’s easy to get so caught up in the parties and shopping and family traditions that you might not have as much time to spend with each other. Date night is always important, but I’ve found it to be extra important in my marriage during the busy seasons of life! I like to have a list of holiday date night ideas to help us have fun amidst the hustle and bustle.
During the upcoming holiday season, pick a few holiday date night ideas from the list below and add them to your calendar. I try to keep our dates during the holiday season more low-key. Because amidst the hustle and bustle of the season, we all need time to relax. Although a lot of these Christmas date night ideas are more relaxed, they will help you stay in the holiday spirit while connecting and having fun with each other.
Related: Three Ways to Make Your Marriage a Priority During the Holidays
For more date night ideas like these ones, check out the book, Prioritizing Date Night in Your Marriage, with 300+ date night ideas.
One of my favorite things to do each December is to pull out all of our holiday decorations, turn on the Christmas music, and add lots of holiday joy to our home. We generally decorate our tree as a family, but there are a lot of other decorations to be put up, and we can do that together after the kids are in bed. It might be fun to add more holiday decor to your collection each year. Go shopping together for those things that you want to add to your decor each year.
This is my very favorite date night tradition of ours every year. We stop at the gas station or somewhere with a great cup of hot chocolate. Then we turn on the radio station that only plays Christmas music and drive around looking for the best light displays. We always go on a drive with our kids during the season as well. But we make a point of going out for a date at least once. Because it is good, quality alone time and we get to just talk and enjoy the sights and sounds of the season.
Tip: If you aren’t able to get out without the kids but still want to make a date of it, I have an idea for you! Grab your kids some drive-thru food and turn on a holiday movie for them in the backseat. Then they’re having fun and can enjoy the view as they want, and the two of you can have a date night at the same time.
Related: Christmas Lights Drive – Holiday Date Night Idea
There are Christmas movies that we love to watch every single year. Some are cheesy chick flicks that I watch on my own. Others are fun movies to watch as an entire family. And some we enjoy curling up on the couch and watching for date night. Get your favorite takeout or a plate of Christmas goodies, turn on the fire, dim the lights, and enjoy the time you have to relax and just be together.
Related: The Best Christmas Movies to Stream for a Date Night at Home
This is a favorite family tradition of mine, from when I was growing up. I love that this activity can take an entire day, or be split up over the course of a week or two, as time allows. This post has my very favorite sugar cookies and buttercream frosting recipes. These are the ones that allow us to break our sugar cookie-making up into more doable time frames if needed. Portions of the process can be an activity for the entire family to participate in, or just for the two of you to do together for date night. After you’re done, deliver your cookies to friends and family and enjoy eating some yourselves as well.
Related: Christmas Cookie Decorating Date Night
I love making a date night out of some of the holiday “tasks” that we choose to do. I really enjoy making gifts for our neighbors and delivering them together. Sometimes we walk through the neighborhood with a wagon full of goodies, if the weather is nice. Other times, when it’s cold, one of us drives while the other runs the gifts to each door.
On a week when the hustle and bustle have been too much, take some time to just be still together. Enjoy a holiday treat and listen to your favorite Christmas music. Go through your own music collection, find a playlist on your favorite music app, or just listen to the radio. Even better if you sit and watch the Christmas tree lights or the falling snow while you do it.
If you don’t have a mistletoe to hang somewhere in your house, put that on your list to get pronto! We have a faux sprig, like this one, that I hang each year, sometimes on our headboard, and other times over an opening in our home. Invite your spouse to join you under the mistletoe and make out like you did when you were dating. It’s a fun holiday tradition that I’m sure your spouse wouldn’t say no to!
Related: 28 Ways to Increase the Intimacy in Your Marriage
Each year, we add more holiday books to our collection. Most are favorites from our childhood. Others are recommended by friends or family and some we stumble across while we’re out doing other shopping. Sit down one night and read your favorite classics together. Pick a couple of books each, sit in front of the fire and enjoy getting into the spirit of the season.
Christmas Eve is one of my favorites! We have some of our own traditions special for that night that you can read about here. But one of the most magical parts of the holiday season, especially now that we have kids, is helping Santa. We spend an hour or two after the kids are in bed, getting things ready for Christmas morning, and the kids
Related: Our Favorite Christmas Eve Tradition
We do most of our holiday shopping online now, but there is at least one trip we usually make to get some final things on our list. We make a date out of it by going to dinner first. Then we hit up the stores, embrace the chaos of shopping during this season, and have fun together. If you can’t go out, order takeout and spend an evening doing all of your online shopping together.
Wrapping gifts can take a really long time every year. Especially if you have a lot of kids or family members to gift to. The task is a lot more fun and goes by faster if you do it together! I love to turn on a holiday movie, set up our wrapping stations, and power through it. Make the job more fun by competing to see who can wrap the most gifts! After you’re done, enjoy the feeling of accomplishment and a holiday treat.
Related: Holiday Gift Wrapping – At Home Holiday Date Night Idea
One of everyone’s favorite parts of the holiday season is the dinners that you get to enjoy with family and friends. I think it would be fun to put together your own holiday dinner, for just the two of you. This makes a great at home date on a weekend when you don’t have a lot going on. Cook your favorite holiday side dishes and a smaller main dish like a small ham, duck, or a smaller bird. Pull out your nice dishes, light some candles, and bring out the bubbly. This is a date that I would love to make a tradition in our marriage every year!
Related: Everything You Need for a Romantic Dinner Date at Home
Enjoy the upcoming holiday season and the traditions that you are able to participate in. My hope is that you find time each week to do something fun and festive to continue to date each other through all of the chaos! I’m looking forward to our traditional holiday dates, as much if not more than our other holiday traditions! I hope that some of these Christmas date night ideas will become a tradition in your marriage as well! Happy holidays to you and your family!
