Date ideas
35 holiday date ideas for couples
The holidays fill up fast. These dates save a little time for just the two of you, from Thanksgiving week to Valentine’s Day.
In Australia and New Zealand, the holidays land in summer, so there’s a picnic in the sun for that.
Thanksgiving
For Thanksgiving week, whether you’re hosting a crowd or keeping it to the two of you.
15 minutes, plus notes all week · Free · thoughtful
The thankful jar
Fill one jar with notes of thanks all week, then read them together.
A whole week of specific thank-yous, read all at once, can turn into a night you both remember for years.
The fun part: Pouring out a week of notes and reading them aloud, one by one.
2 to 3 hours · About $15 to $30 · cozy
A Friendsgiving for two
A tiny feast of only your favorite dishes, just for the two of you.
A holiday meal made only of what you both love can feel like a celebration of the two of you.
The fun part: Going around the table, all two of you, to say what you’re thankful for.
About 2 hours, with baking · About $8 to $15 each · playful
Pie in two kitchens
Bake the same pie in two kitchens and taste them together on a call.
Doing the same thing at the same moment can make a call feel like sharing one kitchen.
The fun part: Cutting a slice at the same moment and judging whose came out best.
About an hour · Free · playful
Leftovers, reinvented
Turn the holiday leftovers into a brand-new dinner, with a winner.
A friendly kitchen challenge can turn the quiet day after a big meal into its own little celebration.
The fun part: Crowning a winner, or calling it a tie and eating both.
Christmas and the holidays
Lights, cookies, carols and a few quiet nights in, from mid-November to New Year’s Day.
About 2 hours a movie night · Free with movies you already have · playful
The holiday movie bracket
Eight holiday movies, one bracket and a champion by New Year’s.
A game that runs all season gives you a reason to keep making time for each other.
The fun part: Making the case for your favorite before each vote.
About an hour · Up to $15 each · playful
The small-budget gift swap
Set a tiny budget, split up in one shop and meet back with a gift.
Watching someone pick something just for you, on the spot, can show how well they know you.
The fun part: Explaining your choice while they unwrap it.
2 to 3 hours · Free · cozy
Carols by candlelight
Find a carols night nearby and sing along by candlelight.
Singing along with a crowd, even badly, can make you both feel part of the season together.
The fun part: Singing the ones you know and humming the ones you don’t.
A long afternoon · About $10 to $30 · cozy
A holiday picnic in the sun
Pack the good leftovers, find some shade and make a lazy afternoon.
A slow afternoon outside, with nowhere to be, can be the best gift you give each other.
The fun part: Staying until the light turns gold.
About an hour · Up to $15 each, plus postage · cozy
Open one together
Mail each other one small gift and open them together on a call.
Opening gifts together, even on a screen, can turn a day apart into one you shared.
The fun part: Opening them at the same moment.
5 minutes a night for eight nights · Free · thoughtful
Eight nights of little notes
One small note a night for eight nights, timed to their evening.
A note that arrives every night for a week can be a steady reminder that someone’s thinking of you.
The fun part: Seeing which note they loved best on the eighth night.
45 to 90 minutes · About $10 to $25 · cozy
Holiday cards at the kitchen table
A stack of cards, a list of people you love and a warm drink each.
Writing to the people you both love, side by side, can give you a warm evening full of stories about them.
The fun part: Write one card to each other, too, and hide it for later.
2 to 3 hours · About $10 to $20 · playful
Cookie decorating night
A tray of plain cookies, bowls of icing and no rules at all.
Decorating together, with icing everywhere, gives you a sweet, silly evening and something to share with others.
The fun part: Decorate one cookie as a portrait of the other person.
45 minutes to an hour · Free · cozy
Holiday lights on video
Walk or roll to see the lights where you each live, on video.
Showing each other the lights near home can bring a little of your holiday season into theirs.
The fun part: Narrate each display like a very festive sports broadcast.
About an hour · $5 to $15 each · cozy
Gift-wrapping party on a call
Wrap gifts together on a call, including one for each other.
Wrapping side by side on a call can turn a holiday chore into a cozy evening, with one gift for each other at the end.
The fun part: Wrap one small gift for each other with the camera looking away.
About 2 hours to make and mail · $5 to $15 each · cozy
One ornament, two homes
Make or find one small ornament and mail it for their home.
A small ornament from each other can give your holiday season a shared tradition, even in two homes.
The fun part: Pick or make one that says something about this year together.
About 2 hours · About $30 to $45 with skates · playful
Ice skating, hand in hand
Wobbly laps at a public rink, then something warm to drink.
Holding on to each other on the ice gives you a reason to laugh at every wobble, and each lap feels like a small win together.
The fun part: Giving your wobbliest moment a fancy figure skating name.
2 to 3 hours · About $10 to $30 · cozy
A keepsake from the holiday market
Wander a holiday market and choose one small keepsake for the year.
Choosing one small keepsake together each year can grow into a tradition you’ll both look forward to.
The fun part: Hunting for the smallest, most delightful thing at the whole market.
1 to 2 hours · Free, using what you have · cozy
Holiday lights drive with a thermos
A slow drive past the best holiday lights, with cocoa and old songs.
A slow drive through twinkling streets with a warm drink and your favorite songs can be simple, festive and all yours.
The fun part: Ranking the houses: most elegant, most over the top, the one you’d live in.
About 2 hours · About $40 to $80 for two · cozy
Garden lights after dark
A holiday light show in a botanic garden or park, with a warm drink.
Walking through a garden full of lights, arm in arm, can make an ordinary evening feel like a small celebration.
The fun part: Choosing the one display you’d build yourselves, if you could.
A weekend · About $15 to $30 · cozy
Our holidays, a little early
Celebrate the holidays together before you each go home for them.
Holding your own early holiday gives you traditions that belong to the two of you, even if you spend the day itself apart.
The fun part: Opening one small gift each a week early, and calling it tradition.
New Year’s
Look back on your year together and plan the next one, with a few ways to ring in midnight.
About an hour · Free · thoughtful
Our year in twelve photos
Pick one photo from each month and tell the story behind it.
Walking back through a year together can remind you how much you’ve shared.
The fun part: Telling the story behind the blurry ones.
2 to 3 hours · About $10 to $25 · playful
An early midnight
Ring in the new year with a city a few hours ahead, then get cozy.
Celebrating on your own schedule keeps all the fun and makes room for a good night’s sleep.
The fun part: Counting down with another city’s fireworks.
15 to 20 minutes · Free · thoughtful
Our word for the season
Choose one word to shape the next few months together.
Choosing a word together can give you a small shared compass for the months ahead.
The fun part: Pitch your word in 30 seconds, like a very gentle game show.
20 to 30 minutes · Free · thoughtful
Twelve dates for next year
One small date for every month of the year ahead, picked together.
Planning a year of small dates together gives you twelve things to look forward to before the year even starts.
The fun part: Each month gets one date, and at least one has to be a little silly.
Two short calls, hours apart · $2 to $5 each · playful
Count down to two midnights
Ring in the new year twice: once at your midnight, once at theirs.
Celebrating each midnight on its own clock can turn the distance into two new year moments instead of one.
The fun part: Count down at your midnight, then again at theirs.
About 2 hours · Free · thoughtful
First walk of the new year
A slow walk on the first day of the year, with one hope each.
Starting the year side by side, outside and unhurried, makes room for hopes you might not say on an ordinary day.
The fun part: Sealing your hopes in an envelope to open on the same day next year.
Lunar New Year
Make dumplings together at home, or go out and join the celebrations.
About 2 hours · About $10 to $20 · cozy
Dumplings from scratch
Fold a big batch of dumplings together and eat them hot from the pan.
Folding dozens of dumplings side by side is slow in the best way and makes room for a long talk.
The fun part: Seeing whose dumplings come out looking best.
A few hours · About $30 to $60 · adventurous
A Lunar New Year night out
Find a parade, lion dance or night market, then share a meal nearby.
Joining a city’s celebration together can make an ordinary night feel festive.
The fun part: Catching the lion dance up close.
Valentine’s Day
Sweet ideas that don’t need a fancy reservation, at home, out or across the miles.
About an hour to write · The price of a stamp · thoughtful
A real love letter
Write each other a love letter by hand and mail it, stamp and all.
A letter they can hold, reread and keep can say something a text can’t.
The fun part: Finding their letter in the mailbox.
2 to 3 hours · About $30 to $60 · playful
An anti-fancy Valentine’s
Skip the set menu: bowling, an arcade or a roller rink, then dessert.
Laughing together on a night that’s supposed to be serious can feel more romantic than any reservation.
The fun part: Setting a playful bet on who picks the next song.
About an hour · Free · playful
Our first photo, again
Find the first photo of you two and recreate it, pose and all.
Then and now, side by side, can remind you how far you’ve come together.
The fun part: Putting the two photos side by side.
15 minutes · Free · playful
Five notes in hiding places
Five tiny notes each, hidden where they’ll turn up all week.
Finding a small note from you in an unexpected place can make an ordinary day feel noticed and loved.
The fun part: Hide one somewhere they won’t find for days, like a winter coat pocket.
About an hour · About $30 to $45 · cozy
Fondue night for two
A pot of melted chocolate, a plate of dippers and two forks.
Dipping from one pot, slowly and messily, gives you a long, cozy dinner where the talking comes easily.
The fun part: Lose a dipper in the pot and you tell a story from your childhood.
2 to 3 hours · About $30 to $60 · thoughtful
Dress up for dinner at home
Your best clothes, a set table and a dinner that feels special.
Getting dressed up for no one but each other can make a regular night at home feel like a real occasion.
The fun part: Get ready in separate rooms and meet at the table like it’s a first date.
45 minutes to an hour · $2 to $5 each · cozy
Make each other a card
Make a card by hand on a call, with the cameras looking away.
Making something by hand for each other can turn a quiet call into a keepsake that arrives days later.
The fun part: Describe your progress in the vaguest way possible.