It’s November 1st ladies! Halloween is officially over and do you know what that means? It’s Christmastime! Some of you maybe think it is way too early to be obsessing about Christmas. Newsflash: it is never too early. We all know that as soon as November hits, all the retail stores and supermarkets get all decked out for everyone’s favorite season. If you’re like me, you already have multiple winter-y date nights for you and your S.O. Here are my favorite holiday-inspired dates that I plan on doing this season.
1. “Friendsgiving”
Friendsgiving, for those of you who are not familiar with the term, means having Thanksgiving dinner with friends. You and your beau can invite your closest friends over and have a special Thanksgiving for friends. Who doesn’t want to have twice the amount of good food? I recommend organizing your friendsgiving potluck-style. Tell each person to bring a different dish and you will have yourself a feast!
Note: you don’t have to go crazy and bake a ginormous turkey, or have a turkey at all for that matter! I usually cheat and buy a rotisserie chicken from the deli…
2. Black Friday shopping
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If your S.O. is like mine then they HATE shopping…unless it’s for the newest gaming systems on the market. A great way to bribe them into going shopping with you is by telling them they can go to the Apple store, Microsoft store, etc. This date is clearly more for you than it is for them, I mean, you HAVE to get the best deals at your fave stores. Just try to not make it too obvious!
3. Cookie decorating
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Who doesn’t love this Christmas tradition? When you were little you probably cut out Christmas cookies and decorated them with your siblings and grandparents. But adding your S.O. to the mix is so much fun! Cookie decorating around the holidays is a great way for your S.O. to bond with your family while feeding your sugar tooth at the same time…or just eating the dough because we all know that it tastes way better than the final product!
4. Driving through Christmas light displays
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This was always one of my favorite holiday activities to do when I was little…and it still is! You and your beau can go out to a nice dinner, grab some salted caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks and head to the closest light display. Along with the light show, there is usually a special radio station that you can tune into that plays Christmas music. Seeing the lights really gets you into the holiday spirit!
5. Binge watching Christmas movies
The best part of every holiday, besides the food, is the movies! You and bae could have a date night every night and watch whatever movie is on Freeform’s “25 Days of Christmas”. The classics are the Santa Claus series, the Home Alone series, and everyone’s favorite, Elf! If you’re like me and my S.O., you can quote the entire movie. For a lazy Saturday night, start a fire, make some hot chocolate and cuddle up with your mans on the couch.
6. Making a gingerbread house together
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Let’s be honest: no one actually ever eats the gingerbread house you make every year. But it’s the fun that counts! They’re pretty cheap; you can find a gingerbread house kit at Walmart for less than $20. You can even make a competition out of this date and see who can make the better house. Props to you if you actually can keep your house from falling over. The icing is crappy and never keeps mine standing, so I always lose!
7. Go to the Big Apple
New York City at Christmastime is an unbelievable sight. 10/10 would recommend going to NYC during the holidays. Bryant Park is full of pop-up Christmas shops and Rockefeller Center is famous for ice skating. Everywhere you turn is full of Christmas spirit! Another popular NYC Christmas activity is attending the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. This is definitely one of the things on my bucket list!
8. Go Sledding
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Step one: Buy or make a sled big enough for two people.
Step two: Go to the biggest hill you can find.
…and you’re golden!
Make it a competition and race your S.O. down the hill! If you’re from Rhode Island the perfect place to go sledding is Yawgoo Valley. They have your typical hills for skiing and snowboarding, BUT they also have snow tubing…Another winter activity on my bucket list!