15 Christmas Date Ideas For Festive, Romantic Fun

I mean, classic, right? But don’t just find a Christmas bar — get fully dressed in your best holiday gear to go to the Christmas bar. Find one that does Christmas karaoke or has live music if you can and have an absolutely joyful, festive date night that you’ll never forget.

You can make driving around to see Christmas lights super romantic. Make a big thermos of hot chocolate and bring some toppings into the car with you. Go through a drive-thru for your favorite quick meal, or pack some snacks (charcuterie boards on-the-go are totally a thing) and plot out the best places to see lights. Make a Christmas playlist, put on your Christmas jammies, and get settled in for all the festive fun.

I know, you’re worried this won’t be romantic, but listen — we don’t have time for weaponized incompetence during the holiday season. And we have a lot of gifts to wrap. Grab your partner, even if they insist they’re “terrible at wrapping gifts,” and get all the things you need to wrap ready. Make a festive cocktail or two, put on your favorite Christmas movie, and enjoy some quality time while crossing something off your to-do list.

Another super easy date night is a Christmas movie night. But make it a little extra with themed jammies and snacks. It’s also really fun to either choose one neither of you have seen before, or take turns choosing each of your favorite Christmas movie that the other hasn’t seen.

Maybe you have a favorite from childhood or your partner has a cookie they’d love to try. Or maybe you both just pick up a Christmas cookbook and randomly select two to make — either way, there are few things more fun than being in the kitchen with your partner, making Christmas cookies.

You might already have your tree up, but if not, make it a big deal to decorate your tree together and turn it into a date night. My own husband and I sort of do this — we decorate our tree with ornaments with our girls on Thanksgiving morning, but the night before, we like to do the lights together and watch our favorite Thanksgiving sitcom episodes. It’s a really nice way to unwind, feel festive, and enjoy each other’s company without any small children screaming.

Whether it’s shopping for a local toy drive or finding an organization in your community that could use some help pulling holiday dinners together, there is something incredibly lovely about volunteering with your love and giving back to others during the Christmas season.

Check your local community theatre, high schools in your area, your Facebook events page — there’s bound to be some kind of Christmas concert or play happening in your area that you could attend. Christmas trivia nights are also a fun date night idea, and any chance you can get out and support a local group of artists is always the best.

Like volunteering, a sweet Christmas date idea is to sit down with your spouse and make some care packages together. You could put together items to send to troops, reach out to a local organization collecting toys for donations, or even find a way to sponser a child or family in your area and go shopping together. Paying it forward is so huge, especially during the holidays, and it will give you all the feels to do it with your partner.

I’m sorry, but there’s nothing like the mall at Christmastime. t’s not quite as spectacular as it was in its heyday, but a local mall is still a really fun place to reminisce with your partner and enjoy some festive Christmas decorations. Make sure to get a holiday coffee, too.

There are so many great holiday books out there, but if you want to make it a real date night, snuggle up together and each of you read the same short story. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham, A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote, or The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry are all great choices. If you want to unlock some childhood nostalgia, please also add The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson and Clarice Bean, Think Like an Elf by Lauren Child.

Just have a cozy reading night together and then share your favorite passages. You can even take turns reading it out loud.

I love a puzzle night, and this is pretty much a perfect date night to me: fondue pots going, festive drink in hand, and a glorious winter-themed puzzle all ready to go. There are tons of options out there to choose from, but Galison has some of the best Christmas puzzles if you’re looking for a fun one to try. The pieces are nice and sturdy, they come in a wide variety of sizes, and the actual artwork is just dreamy.

Scrabble is always a great date night idea, but you can make it Christmas-themed with one simple rule: the words you spell can only be festive-themed. It gets super tricky, and you can ease up on the rules about swapping for tiles to see if that helps, but it’s a really fun, festive game

If you have a local art studio or one of those sip-and-paint places near you, chances are they’re doing a Christmas-themed project. From ceramic trees to snowy paintings, there are a lot of options to get creative and festive with your boo this season. Make a whole date night out of it with dinner, too.

A Christmas movie is great and all, but I like a charcuterie board of entertainment — a little bit of everything, you know? That’s where lining up your favorite TV show Christmas episodes is a must. Modern Family has some amazing Christmas episodes, as does Friends, Will & Grace, and all of your favorite sitcoms. Make a big list and watch them with a festive snack in hand.