Christmas has always been my favorite holiday season. Ever since I was a child, I loved the music and the movies, the decorations and food, the thrill of finding (and receiving!) the perfect gift, and all of the beautiful Christmas traditions that I grew up with. A lot of holiday traditions tend to center around families with kids, so I wanted to share a few of my favorite, fun Christmas traditions for couples without kids.
I have affectionally dubbed this holiday bucket list of Christmas traditions for childless couples as “The 12 Dates of Christmas,” because they also make great date ideas. From cozy nights at home to new experiences abroad, there are so many fun Christmas traditions for adults! If you love the magic of the holiday season, taking the time to establish new Christmas traditions as a couple is a meaningful way to create fond memories together and strengthen your relationship.
How to Spend Christmas as a Couple
In my opinion, Christmas is actually a pretty romantic time. It’s cozy, intimate, and full of beauty. While I love spending time with my extended family over the holidays, I genuinely enjoy celebrating Christmas with just my husband. Because we are childfree, we can focus more on ourselves and each other, which helps me to slow down and savor the season. It’s the perfect way to close out the year and spend some quality time together.
Even if you enjoy spending Christmas with your whole family (like me), I still think it’s important to choose a few fun Christmas traditions to start as a couple. These yearly rituals bring you closer together, create warm memories, and give you something to look forward to each year. They carve out time for one another during a season that can easily become hectic and busy.
In short, Christmas traditions for couples make the season merry, bright, and meaningful. Over the years, Brady and I have adopted several childfree Christmas traditions, and I’m excited to share those with you here!
I know that being childless during the holidays can sometimes feel a little weird, especially if you have anyone in your life pressuring you to have kids. But the truth is, you don’t need kids to start Christmas traditions of your own. In fact, holidays without kids can be just as special as holidays with kids, and there are plenty of fun Christmas traditions for adults!
The 12 Dates of Christmas
If you are looking for fun Christmas traditions to start with your spouse, look no further. I have twelve Christmas tradition ideas for couples which I fondly refer to as the 12 Dates of Christmas. Pick the ones that resonate with you, and remember to intentionally get these on the calendar. It’s so easy for the holiday season to slip by before you realize it, so purposefully planning time with your partner is important!
1. Take a Walk Through Christmas Lights
Taking a stroll through the holiday lights is a perfect Christmas tradition for couples! Walk around your neighborhood to scope out lights, or look into nearby holiday festivals/parks/installations, like Sacramento’s Enchant Christmas Village. Although looking at holiday lights is also a family friendly activity, it’s even better for childfree couples. You can walk along at your leisure, sip a thermos of spiked cider, and you don’t have to deal with overexcited (or worse, cranky!) kids.
2. Decorate the Christmas Tree Together
Decorating the Christmas tree is one of those unexpectedly romantic traditions for couples. Pick a quiet evening, pop a bottle of bubbly or mix a few festive cocktails, throw on the Christmas tunes, and decorate the Christmas tree together. This is especially fun if you both have ornaments from your childhood, or if you’ve collected some ornaments together over the years as a couple. Brady and I make it a point to collect Christmas ornaments when we travel, and it’s so fun and special to revisit those memories as we decorate the tree.
3. Decorate Christmas Cookies Together
Icing Christmas cookies as an adult is way more relaxing and a lot less messy than when you’re a kid! Although decorating Christmas cookies is fun for couples, it’s also a great idea for a holiday get together with friends and neighbors. From icing sugar cookies to decorating a gingerbread house, this sweet tradition is definitely something to add to your Christmas traditions list.
4. Attend a Christmas Concert or Play
One of my favorite ways to get into the holiday spirit is to attend a Christmas performance. Check out a local Christmas concert (symphony or choir), go see the Nutcracker Ballet (my personal favorite), or get tickets to a stage production of A Christmas Carol. Get dressed up in your holiday best and go out for dinner and drinks beforehand to make a whole night of it.
5. Go ice skating.
I mean, is there a more classic holiday date idea than ice skating? I don’t think so. Lots of cities across the United States set up ice skating rinks for the holidays, even in cities that don’t see snow (like San Antonio and Sacramento). If you’ve never tried it, ice skating is actually really fun, and I can guarantee you’ll have a lot of laughs.
6. Watch Your Favorite Christmas Movies.
Crack a nice bottle or wine or make some spiked hot cocoa and curl up on the couch together for a holiday movie marathon! There are so many great holiday movies, from the super cheesy Netflix/Hallmark films to classics like Home Alone. My personal all-time favorite Christmas movie is A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott (who also stars in my favorite spooky movie), which Brady and I always save for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
7. Go for a Fancy Cocktail on Christmas Eve.
If you are looking for romantic things to do on Christmas Eve, go for a fancy cocktail at a festive bar or restaurant. One of the best perks of a child free holiday is that you don’t really have all the obligations that parents do, and there is something absolutely dreamy and romantic about grabbing a classy cocktail on Christmas Eve. In fact, this is one of my favorite Christmas Eve ideas for couples!
I highly recommend finding a place with the right ambience, including cozy Christmas decorations and a roaring fireplace.
8. Buy Gifts for Each Other and Open Them One at a Time.
For some reason, it’s pretty common for couples to stop buying gifts for each other since “they can just buy whatever whenever they want.” I think this is lame, unless you both truly dislike getting or giving gifts. Brady and I make it a point to buy each other Christmas gifts, because opening presents is one of the quintessential holiday traditions! It’s very special to come home on Christmas Eve (after our Christmas cocktail), put on some holiday music, and open gifts together.
Growing up, my family always opened gifts one at a time rather than all at once. The youngest (me) picked the first gift, then the recipient picked the next gift, and so on. This way, everyone was able to see and enjoy all of the presents– not just our own.
Exchanging gifts is one of my favorite Christmas eve traditions for adults, and even though it’s just me and Brady, we still take turns opening them.
9. Sneak Stocking Stuffers from Santa Before Christmas Morning.
Who says Santa Claus only visits kids? One of my favorite Christmas morning traditions for couples is to sneak gifts from Santa Claus for each other to find. Since Brady and I open our gifts on Christmas Eve, we are always trying to sneak a final gift or two from Santa that we can enjoy on Christmas morning. This usually involves both of us trying to hide a present in each other’s stocking between the time we go to sleep and the time we wake up. It’s fun and silly, and it’s the perfect way to relax on Christmas morning without any kids to disrupt your peace.
10. Volunteer.
Volunteering is a very rewarding Christmas tradition for couples, and you can totally make a date of it. There are so many ways to lend a hand to your community: donate food to a foodbank, volunteer at a homeless shelter, or even foster an animal in need over the holidays. ‘Tis the season of giving, after all!
One of the perks of being childfree is enjoying a more flexibile life. You tend to have a little more time, money, and emotional bandwidth than parents. While no one is obligated to volunteer that time, money, and bandwidth, I, personally, find that giving back leaves me feeling very fulfilled and happy. It is one of the many ways that childfree people can have a positive impact on the world around them, and it makes for a wonderful Christmas tradition for couples!
11. Painting with a Twist.
Painting with a Twist is a fun and creative activity where you learn to paint with friends over a glass of wine, no art skills required! Although you can do Painting With a Twist at any time of year, there is something extra fun about painting a holiday-themed picture. Plus, you end up with a Christmas decoration that has a whole story behind it.
You can find a nearby Painting with a Twist class here, or opt for the at-home experience with Painting to Gogh.
12. Take a trip to a different country for Christmas.
Yeah, traveling over the holidays can be loco, and this is not your typical date idea, but hear me out! Spending Christmas is a different country is a pretty frickin’ cool experience, okay? In 2018, Brady and I, along with some friends, spent Christmas in Iceland and New Years in Amsterdam. It was magical.
Not only was Rekjavik a picture-perfect Christmas village, but we also got to enjoy some new-to-us Christmas traditions like the Yule Lads. Although I did miss my family, experiencing different Christmas cultures was really special.
