Christmas traditions for couples are a great way to make Christmas time together special and memorable!
In this post, you will find 38 really great ideas for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the entire holiday season.
Christmas is a magical time of year.
And Christmas traditions hold part of that magic.
However, the traditions that most of us are used to usually involve the whole family- kids, friends, extended family members. Romance often takes a backseat all the way until Valentine’s Day rolls around.
But that shouldn’t have to be the case.
Perhaps you are newlyweds hoping to create new traditions for your first Christmas as a married couple.
Maybe you are empty nesters hoping to enjoy a romantic holiday season together.
Or, maybe this year, you simply want to focus on the growth of your relationship by keeping the festivities small, on a budget and intimate.
No matter your situation, don’t let intimacy fall to the wayside this holiday season. Start a few Christmas traditions that the two of you can call your own.
This blog post holds 38 really good ideas of Christmas traditions for couples to start this year!
Pre – Christmas Traditions for Couples
Christmas traditions can start well before Christmas day and can be as simple as taking walks around the neighborhood while listening to Christmas songs or baking cookies together in front of a fire every year.
1. Start the Season with a Holiday Bucket List
Right after Thanksgiving, it’s time to bring in the Christmas spirit! Start off by making a list of holiday-themed things to enjoy as a couple during the whole month of December.
Make sure to add some of the Christmas traditions for couples below to your list!
2. Start Your ‘Date-A-Day‘ Couples Advent Calendar
An advent calendar is a calendar with 24 windows to represent each day in December leading up to Christmas. Traditionally, there is a piece of candy or note behind each window, to be enjoyed on each corresponding day.
These days, they don’t just make advent calendars with chocolates; there are lots of unique versions. Check out this personalized Date-A-Day Couples Countdown to Christmas. A romantic advent is something you can look forward to every year.
3. Hang Mistletoe, and celebrate “Kiss-Mas”
Snag some real mistletoe from your local plant nursery, florist or home improvement store and hang it right above your home door. Even more romantic, hang it above your bedroom door.
Then, commit to a holiday smooch whenever you both find yourselves under the mistletoe.
4. Design Custom Ornaments, that represent the year you just had
Imagine having a unique ornament for every year that you are together. It would be a beautiful and fun way to celebrate the arrival of Christmas year after year.
To partake in this tradition, buy craft ornaments and decorate them together with a theme that represents the year you are in. (Like a sticker of your new city if you moved that year or a small sticker of a mask if you lived through a pandemic lol).
If you’re not the artistic kind, you can also design and order a customized Christmas ornament from Etsy.
related : 20 Best DIY GLITTER ORNAMENTS for your tree this year5. Pick Out a Christmas Tree Together
This is a Christmas tradition that you can do as a couple or as a whole family. Head to your local Christmas tree farm and find a tree to fall in love with and bring home.
6. Make a Christmas Playlist
Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! Jingle all the way!
It’s time to put together the playlist that you’ll be jamming to all season. Include some classics and then make it unique every year by adding new Christmas songs that have come out since the previous year.
7. Dig Out The Matching Christmas Pajamas
Purchase and don those matching plaid pajamas or the red fleece jammies with snowflakes, snowmen or reindeers. Not only will you be all warm and ready for the cold weather, this is a physical representation of your unity this Christmas!
8. Pick a Holiday Candle or Scent
Last Christmas, I specifically went out of my way to buy Christmas Tree-scented Scentsicles from Home Depot, because my husband talked about how much he wanted it to smell like Christmas when he walked through the door. I must admit – it made the season much more festive when we could experience it with all 5 of our senses. It’s a tradition that we’re going to keep!
You can experience Christmas with your sense of smell by sniffing through the candles at HomeGoods or Bath and Body Works to find your holiday scent for the year.
9. Plan a Christmas Trip
The holiday season is a huge season for travel and for good reason. Not only are many people enjoying time off from work and school, there are lots of parties and festivities to attend.
As a couple, taking a Christmas trip can save you the drama of having to decide who to visit for Christmas. Take the opportunity to hit the winter slopes or visit Christmas markets in another country or to cross a destination off of your couple bucket list.
10. Make Care Packages for the Less Fortunate
In the gift giving spirit of the season, many use this opportunity to bless those in need.
Look around – that may include family and friends that have fallen on hard times or that feel isolated due to grief or family troubles.
Or, it can involve making useful care packages for the homeless population, to meet their needs this winter season.
11. Decorate the Tree Together
Now, tread carefully. Tree decoration can be a hot-button subject for some couples. Some people feel very passionate about how the family tree should look!
If y’all can, try collaborating on a Christmas tree design this year and you might be surprised at how great of a bonding time it turns out to be.
12. Decide What to Get Each Family Member
AKA- make the Christmas List together.
This is one of the best Christmas traditions for couples because not only can it be fun to brainstorm together, it can save you both a lot of headache in the long run. By working together, you can discuss your budget for the holiday season and make important decisions, like what gifts to buy the children or what events you want to attend.
13. Tag Team Shop for Gifts on Black Friday & Cyber Monday
Shopping together on Black Friday is another fun Christmas tradition! You can brave it out at your local mall while Christmas music plays in the background, or you can shop together online. Either way, it’s a great Christmas tradition for couples to engage in!
14. Wrap Gifts Together
The gifts aren’t gonna wrap themselves! Do it together, with my freeprintable Christmas gift tags to help you out!
Christmas Eve Ideas for Couples
Christmas Eve traditions are some of the most sentimental of the entire holiday season. People often grow up with very specific day-before-Christmas childhood customs, but now is the opportunity to decide which Christmas Eve activities you would like to keep or implement, as a duo.
15. Exchange Christmas Eve Boxes
Christmas Eve boxes are not just for kids. Making them, giving them and receiving them are exciting traditions that adults can look forward to every year, as well.
One way to make it extra fun for yourselves is to create a different theme for the Christmas Eve box every year.
16. Be Nice and… Naughty 😉
Well, ho…ho…ho… am I right? Lol.
A great Christmas tradition to try is to don some Christmas themed lingerie and get your “jolly”s the night before Christmas. (Ok, that was the last pun I promise lol).
Give yourselves something to look forward to with a new Mrs. Claus teddy every year or one of these super hot ‘Unwrap Me’ babydolls (that you can repurpose for Valentines).
And he can jingle his bells in these holiday boxers. (Lol sorry- I couldn’t help it)
17. Host a Christmas Movie Marathon
With tons of Christmas movies and really only one month of the year when it makes sense to watch them, select a few of your favorite Christmas movies, then pop some popcorn and watch them all in a row! You can also invite other people (or couples) and make it somewhat of a holiday party.
18. Attend Christmas Eve Church Services or Mass
‘Tis the reason for the season. Keep the Christ in Christmas with praising and worshipping at church service.
19. Bake Christmas Cookies
Baking Christmas cookies together is a tasty Christmas tradition for couples! This can be done with the kids if desired, but can also be done by yourselves on Christmas Eve or really any other evening in December. Christmas cookies are an easy way to get into the Christmas spirit.
20. Donate Your Time to A Homeless Shelter
Lend some of the love that you share to your local soup kitchen, food bank and/or homeless shelter. There are so many people in need that can be blessed with simply your time and energy.
21. Open The Christmas Cards
Are you saving the gifts for Christmas Day but itching to open something early? Make a tradition out of opening the Christmas cards the day before! It will scratch that itch and you can start your ‘thank you’ notes early if you like.
22. Romantic Date Night
The night before Christmas…before the craziness that is Christmas morning and after the kids or visitors have gone to bed, take some time to spend some meaningful and intimate moments together. Just the two of you.
You can exchange your gifts to each other at this time or just have an unrelated date night at home for the two of you to enjoy.
Christmas Day Activities for Couples
When we think about Christmas Day, the tradition that comes to mind is unwrapping Christmas gifts, but there are so many other ways to celebrate Christmas with your partner.
Here are some of the best Christmas Day traditions for you to try out.
related: Baby’s First Christmas Traditions (15 Best)
23. Christmas Morning Devotion & Prayer
Stop for a moment to tap in spiritually and offer thanks and blessings.
24. 12 Days of Christmas Gift Theme
You are probably wondering what the12 days of Christmas Gift ideasare. It’s a gift-giving custom in which you choose (or create) 12 gifts that correspond to each of the twelve days of Christmas (referring to the popular Christmas song).
This is a great way to be creative and to give unique gifts to your loved one. You can purchase the gifts or make the experience more heartfelt by creating them yourself.
25. Cruising for Christmas Lights
Christmas lights are a staple of the holiday season. You can take a walk around your neighborhood or drive through neighborhoods where Christmas lights are on display to appreciate the effort that some families have put into making their Christmas decor magical.
This is also a great tradition to do with kids!
26. Christmas Caroling
If you’re looking for Christmas traditions that involve singing, Christmas carols are always an option! Christmas songs can be sung together at home while decorating the Christmas tree, at church, or to your friends and family members at their door.
27. Try to Top Each Others Silly Stocking Stuffers
Make a funny tradition of gifting each other gag gifts for Christmas. It might be best to give these silly gifts with a sincere, non-goofy gift. Either way, this B.S Button and this beer belly fanny pack are pretty funny.
28. Cooking Christmas Dinner Together
You can spend the evening enjoying each other’s company over some festive music playing in the background or the sound of your children or pets happily enjoying their gifts. My song pick for this scenario would be Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You‘ – now that is a sweet Christmas song for couples.
29. Create a Signature Christmas co*cktail
Christen every holiday season with your own designer couple co*cktail. Make sure to give it your own couple-specific name. Here’s a 50+ list of holiday co*cktail recipes to select from.
30. Taking a Walk After Dinner
Walk off the calories and get a breather from all the craziness with a nice walk in the neighborhood. You get to share an intimate moment, catching up on the festivities of the day, and enjoying the Christmas lights and silent night (pun intended).
31. End the Night With Hot Chocolate
Come up with a special hot cocoa recipe for you to enjoy every Christmas night. After all of the festivities have died down, recap the night by the fireplace or under a warm blanket with a mug of gourmet hot chocolate.
Winter Holiday Traditions
Do not limit these rituals of romance to Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or even just the month of December. You can enjoy starting a new tradition all winter long and keep the holiday spirit going way past Christmas.
32. Visit an Open-Air Christmas Market
One of the most popular Christmas traditions for couples that like to travel is to visit a Christmas market. Christmas markets originated in Germany and are open-air street markets held during the 4 weeks of Advent. You can buy unique little gifts, souvenirs, snacks and crafts and enjoy the festive Christmas decor and activities.
33. Go Ice Skating
Ice skating is a favorite holiday season tradition (my favorite growing up, actually) that many couples enjoy. Create a yearly practice of going ice skating hand in hand.
34. Have Your Christmas Portrait Taken
Having your pictures taken is an easy way to remember all of the happy memories from the year and the feeling of being with someone you love! This doesn’t only have to be a Christmas tradition for couples. Many photographers will let you add additional people to make it a yearly Christmas tradition for the whole family!
You can also commission a portrait to be painted for you all (maybe in a cool historical style like these).
35. Compete in Your Own Winter Olympics
Have a good ole fashioned snow ball fight, go sledding and see who is the fastest or play a game of 1-on-1 hockey. Keep tabs on who wins the most snow games and maybe even get a trophy for the winner to “take home” every year.
36. Cozy-fy Your Home
If you haven’t already, it’s time to break out the cozy home decor.
Light the candles, take out the soft flannels, get the fireplace going… there are all kinds of changes that can be made to your home when transitioning to winter. Need some ideas? I’ve got plenty of tips on how to make your home cozy for the winter season.
37. Fireside Chats
This tradition may sound kind of weird but hear me out. As we live our lives, we are all busy. It is important though to connect with our loved ones. This is especially true when you are in a committed relationship.
It is easy to forget to put the same amount of time into your relationship now, as you did when you first got together. Having a list ofquestions to ask your loved onecan keep that spark alive and help you discover new things about them that you did not know before.
38. Pen a Year-End Love Letter
Just one week after Christmas is the first day of a New Year. Use this opportunity to write a romantic letter to your sweetheart expressing your gratitude and sharing memories for the past year. Then, include your hopes, dreams and prayers for the coming year.
After years and years of writing these letters, you will be able to scrapbook them and take a look at your lives together through your own words.
Whether you’re celebrating your first Christmas with someone special or just want to try something new, these festive traditions are for all types of couples.
Try starting one of the customs above and watch how it strengthens your bond this holiday season!
Do you have any other couple-friendly traditions that you look forward to every year? Share them in the comments section below so everyone can enjoy them!
And as always, a very Merry Christmas from my family to yours!
