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When it comes to date night, you won’t find us doing the same thing each week. We love the classic dinner and a movie date, but we also love to experience new things together and date night is the perfect opportunity for a little adventure. We love to try new restaurants, check out different places made for fun in the area and enjoy the seasonal activities that are available where we live.
Winter is not my favorite season, I prefer the warmer months, but I try to embrace all that it has to offer. We are also not winter sports people so the skiing and snowboarding that everyone spends every weekend doing in the winter don’t appeal to us at all. We have however, found some really fun date nights that are perfect for the colder winter months. I find myself looking forward to the cold and the snow because I know that it means we’ll get to do some of those fun winter activities that we enjoy doing together.
This list of date night ideas includes things that can be done at home or out on the town. It has activities for snow bunnies and for those of us who prefer to stay indoors where it is warm. You can even take a few of the ideas and turn them into multiple dates depending on how you choose to participate in the activity each time (ie the hot chocolate tasting date). I hope this list inspires you to make date night a priority in your marriage and spend intentional quality time together this season!
20 Winter Date Night Ideas
Have a fondue night - Search for fondue recipes on Pinterest, make them together and enjoy a romantic evening dipping your favorite foods in cheese and chocolate. If you feel like splurging and there’s one near you, go to The Melting Pot
Host a game night group date - Invite your friend group or your siblings and their significant others to your house for a few hours. Pull out your favorite games and have everyone bring their favorite snack. Some of our favorite group games include Play Nine, Apples to Apples, Telestrations, Pass the Pigs and Battle of the Sexes.
Plan an indoor campout - Set up your tent in the living room, blow up your air mattress, play card games and eat camp food. Search Pinterest for indoor s’mores, have hot dogs or cook hobo dinners (meat, potatoes and other vegetables cooked in a tin foil packet) in the oven.
Related: Indoor Campout - At Home Date Night Idea
Hit the slopes together - Whether you ski or snowboard, spend the day on the mountain together. You might even try night skiing. Meet up at the lodge afterward and have some quality conversation while you drink hot chocolate.
Bake cookies together - Make sugar cookies, either from scratch or a mix, then frost and decorate them together. Go shopping beforehand for sprinkles, candy, and any other embellishments that you might use to decorate with. Deliver plates of them to neighbors and friends after you’re done.
Set goals for the coming year - Toward the end of the year, go out to dinner and bring a notebook with you. Check out this post on setting goals as a couple and use it to help you create and set goals for your marriage in the new year.
Related: Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals in Your Marriage
Go on a hot chocolate tasting tour - Ask your friends and family what their recommendations are for where to get the best cup of hot chocolate. Write down all of their suggestions and map out a route for your tour. Spend the afternoon drinking a cup of hot chocolate from each location. Enjoy quality conversation with each cup.
Related: At Home Date Idea - Hot Chocolate Tasting
Have a dance/music listening party - Grab both of your iPods or turn on your favorite Pandora channel. Listen to each of your current favorites, the songs that were your favorites in junior high and high school, your wedding songs, or set your iPod on shuffle and listen to whatever ends up in the queue. Songs have a way of bringing back memories. This date would give you a great opportunity to reminisce together or get to know each other better by sharing stories that your spouse may not already know.
Related: At Home Date Idea - Music Library Party
Go to a musical or a play - Find out what community theaters are in your area and pick one with tickets within your budget. Look at the shows that are scheduled for their current season and pick one that interests you. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can become season ticket holders. It could be nice to have a date night already planned and on the calendar every couple of months.
Plan a getaway - Maybe you can’t afford to get away for a romantic weekend together, but you can plan and start preparing for one now. Decide how long you’re going to be gone, where you are going to stay, what you will do for the weekend and where you want to eat. Sit down together and browse the internet to find everything you need. After you’ve made your plans, set a date and start saving money to put your plan into action.
Have a video game competition - Get pizza and sit on the couch together for a night of friendly competition. Keep track of who wins each game and at the end of the night, give a prize to the one who has won the most or pass out consequences to the loser (ie has to do the dishes for a week).
Have a snowball fight - Spend an afternoon outside in the snow. Pick a base and build your snowball stockpile. Then have fun feeling young and tossing snowballs at each other. Don’t keep score, just have fun! After you’re done, cuddle up with a cup of hot chocolate to help you get warm.
Watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve - Whether you’re out with friends and family or enjoying a quiet celebration at home for the new year, spend the last 15 minutes of the year together. Hold each other close, participate in the 10 second countdown and kiss your way into the new year!
Take a bath or soak in a hot tub together - Pick up your favorite bath bomb or bath salts and set candles out around your bathroom. Climb into the bathtub together and just enjoy being together. We like to grab our fancier glasses and a bottle of sparkling cider to add to the romantic atmosphere that we’ve created.
Watch old family videos - Organize the video clips you’ve saved on your hard drive together. Spend a few hours watching each video together and remembering those moments in your marriage and your family. You could also grab old family movies from your parents and make a movie night out of sharing those moments from your childhood with each other.
Go sledding or tubing - Ask around to find the best sledding hill in the area. Stop by the store or blow up some inner tubes and spend an afternoon outside together. Race down the hill to see who’s the fastest or hold hands and go down the hill together. When you’re finished, grab comfort food at your favorite restaurant and enjoy quality conversation together.
Go ice skating - Most areas have great outdoor skating rinks during the winter, as long as the temperature is cool enough. There’s something so cozy and romantic about bundling up and holding hands while you skate around on the ice. Finish your date with delicious dessert! (I can’t help but think of the movie, Serendipity when I think about this date night idea.)
Take a walk in the freshly fallen snow after dark - Late night walks are quiet and relaxing and a great time to talk and dream together. Put on your warmest clothes and just walk together, enjoying the silence that comes with freshly fallen snow. You may want to wear snow boots or hiking boots so you’re not surprised by slick spots on the sidewalk. Make sure to wear lighter colors or carry a light with you to let cars know you’re there and stay safe!
Try a date night in a box - Date night subscription services are a great option for those winter nights when the family is sick and you can’t go out, but you still want to date each other. They’re planned and prepared dates that are delivered right to your door. Sometimes you have to grab a couple of things to complete a recipe or activity, but for the most part, everything you need is included in the box. Click here to check out a list of all of the date night box companies around and pick the one that fits your budget and style the best.
Related: Date Box Subscriptions
Drive around and look at people’s Christmas lights - You can enjoy this date night activity even after the holidays are over because most people leave their lights up until the snow melts and often turn them on each night at least through January. We get a cup of hot chocolate, turn on Christmas music and drive around talking and looking for the best light displays together. It’s low key and a great opportunity to connect during one of the busier seasons for our family.
I think the best thing to do as part of any winter date night is to curl up together with your coziest blanket and keep each other warm. Enjoy being together and enjoy the things you can do right now that you can’t do any other season, even if you genuinely dislike the winter and the cold, like me.
Happy dating friends!
