10 Holiday-Inspired Date Ideas For You And Your Significant Other
Warming up by an open fire, sipping on hot chocolate while lights twinkle from the Christmas Tree and your favorite holiday movie plays in the background sounds like the epitome of Christmas. Some nights are meant for staying in with your significant other, to unwind and relax, and other nights are meant for fun, adventure, and let’s be real, some super cute Christmas photo ops. Having a significant other, especially during the holidays, entails some amazing memory-making date nights, and with the festive feeling of Christmas in the air, you’ll want to create as many loving memories as you can, whether at home or out on the town. Here are 10 holiday-inspired date ideas for you and your significant other.
1. D.I.Y. Ornaments
If you’re a die-heart Christmas kid, your tree is going up the nanosecond Thanksgiving is over. The bright lights and colorful ornaments are enough to get your heart pumping with pure joy. What better way to share in this excitement than crafting your own, unique ornaments together? You’ll need clear, plastic (or glass if you really wanna vamp up the elegance), round ornaments and some Christmas-colored paints. Squirting two to three different paints inside of the ornament and rolling it around in circular motions will create an amazing marbled effect, completely unique from one another. Contrastingly, fill a clear ornament with glitter, fake snow, or small Christmas charms to create an elegant, breathtaking design. Each ornament you and your significant other create will be absolutely unique, and a memory you can cherish with every glance at your tree.
2. Holiday Baking
If you and your significant other enjoy getting your hands dirty, baking is the most fun way to go! A mess in the kitchen is inevitable, but often times creating something together is a laughter-filled experience with a delectable end result. Put on some Christmas music, sip on some eggnog or some spiced wine and bake away!
3. Thrift Store Christmas Sweater Challenge
For the partners up for more adventurous activities, this is the perfect date night for you! Go to your local thrift store, whether it be Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc., and pick out the ugliest Christmas sweater you can find for your partner. Wear whatever sweater is picked for you out to dinner and watch the laughter ensue all night long! If you’re feeling extra rambunctious, pick out an entire outfit via thrift store to pair with the sweater, and go somewhere festive to take hilarious pictures.
4. Christmas Light Crawl
In most suburban neighborhoods, there’s tons and tons and tons of lights and Christmas decorations adorning the houses. In some instances, there are entire blocks of houses that dedicate themselves to decking out the halls for the holidays to create a memorable, photo-worthy experience as you drive down the stretch of houses in a Christmas Wonderland. Find something similar near you! You and your significant other can have a magical night of viewing Christmas lights, whether you brace for the cold and make the journey by foot, or drive from neighborhood to neighborhood, accompaniment via Christmas music, finding and viewing the best Christmas lights in your town. This is one of the best holiday-inspired date ideas!
5. Holiday Tea Time
A Christmas Tea is an elegant celebration, complete with dainty finger foods and your finest attire. If you and your significant other enjoy the finer things in life and experiencing something new, a holiday tea is the perfect experience. Check your local cafes and restaurants for any information about holiday tea’s they may host, usually beginning around November. Many involve reserving a table ahead of time, and come complete with three different courses of finger foods, scones, and delectable desserts, and bottomless tea! The elegant outfits and fancy foods make for the perfect Instagram photos, as well.
6. The Walnut Room
This one’s a Chicago exclusive. The Walnut Room, located in Macy’s on State Street, is world-famous and a holiday tradition for many. With a luxurious dining area complete with a 45-foot breathtaking Christmas Tree that graces the dining room every holiday season, this is the perfect place for dinner, or perhaps a Sunday brunch with your significant other. Not a Chicago native? Check your local area for holiday-inspired date ideas such as dining.
7. Hot Chocolate Cafe Crawl
It’s no surprise that the blistering cold of the Midwest makes for the complete necessity of hot chocolate to warm your insides and out. You and your significant other can become hot chocolate connoisseurs for a night and check out five spots in town that offer hot chocolate, trying and ranking each one! If you’re not a hot chocolate fan, apple cider or spiced wine are also great options for trying around and finding both of your favorites!
8. Christmas Stay-cation
A weekend getaway is a must for every couple, and during the stress and franticness of the holiday season, one should be taken now more than ever! Almost every hotel or resort will be magically decorated for the holidays, making it impossible to feel anything other than warm and cozy during Christmas time in your city. Travel to a nearby town or city that has hotels with cool features, like a spa or rooftop bar, and plan a weekend trip with your significant other. In major cities like Chicago, it’s even more fun to buy tickets to a holiday show or ballet, ending the rest of the night awe-ing at the spectacular views from your hotel room.
9. Supermarket Sweep-Holiday Edition
If you’re too young to remember Supermarket Sweep, I’m terribly sorry. To appropriately sum it up, this super fun television program involved contestants supermarket shopping in under a certain time limit, among many other game-show aspects. This date idea is a great group activity for other couples or even siblings! Go to a local retailer or thrift store, (I suggest Target for obvious reasons), and set yourself a one minute and thirty second time limit. Set a theme, such as holiday stocking stuffers, and begin the time! Whatever is picked within the 1:30 time frame will be given to your partner as a gift, and the panic-induced laughter will create endless memories, as well as the special (and totally random) gifts picked out just for you! This is one of the best holiday-inspired date ideas!
10. Christmas Around The World
Another one of Chicago’s holiday-inspired date ideas, the Museum of Science and Industry located in Chicago has the most amazing holiday experience for you and your significant other. The museum offers an exhibit called Christmas Around The World. You and your partner can explore Christmas traditions from around the world, while awe-ing at the museums four-story, floor-to-dome, Grand Tree, surrounded by a plethora of 50 other trees and holiday decorations to represent the global celebrations and traditions of Christmas. If you’re not a Chicago native, check out local museums in your area for similar holiday features!
