Date ideas
18 winter and holiday date ideas
When it’s cold out, staying close comes easy. Here are 18 cozy ideas for winter nights and the holidays, from a candlelight evening to a walk under the holiday lights.
In Australia and New Zealand, winter runs from June to August, and the holiday ideas land in summer.
- At home (5)
- Out and about (3)
- Outside (5)
- On a video call (3)
- Apart, at the same time (1)
- When you visit each other (1)
At home
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.
About an hour · Free · cozy
Longest night by candlelight
Mark the longest night of the year with candles and a slow dinner.
Marking the darkest night of the year together can give winter a warm little tradition of your own.
The fun part: Light one more candle for each good thing from the past year.
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 · cozy
Soup and bread from scratch
One big pot of soup, a quick loaf and a steamy kitchen.
Cooking something slow together, with the kitchen filling up with warm smells, makes room for easy, unhurried talk.
The fun part: Each add one secret ingredient and guess the other’s over dinner.
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.
Out and about
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.
2 to 3 hours · About $30 to $45 · cozy
The warm-up soup crawl
Three small bowls of soup at three spots on a cold day, all shared.
Warming up together between cold walks makes room for slow talk, and gives you a new favorite spot for the rest of winter.
The fun part: Trading spoons halfway through every bowl.
Outside
About an hour · Free · playful
First snow walk
Drop what you can when the first snow falls, and go out in it.
The first snow of the year only happens once, and noticing it together can turn it into a small tradition.
The fun part: Making one tiny thing together: a snowman, a snow angel or your initials.
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.
2 to 3 hours · About $5 to $25 · playful
Snow day sledding and cocoa
Find a gentle hill, slide down it together, then warm up with cocoa.
Sliding down a snowy hill together makes you both kids again for an afternoon, and gives you plenty to laugh about over cocoa.
The fun part: Racing down side by side, with dramatic commentary.
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.
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.
On a video call
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.
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.
Apart, at the same time
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.
When you visit each other
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.