40 winter date ideas for couples: cozy nights in, snowy days out, warm food and dates for when you're apart. Most are free or cheap.
Riley Tonkin
Founder, Amora
The best winter dates are warm, slow and planned a little ahead. Try a blanket fort movie night, a soup cook-off, a night walk to see the lights, ice skating then hot chocolate, or a board game tournament. If you're apart, watch the same film in sync and cook the same recipe on video. Most of these 40 ideas cost little or nothing.
Winter makes going out harder and staying in easier. That is good news for date night: the best winter dates are warm, slow, and planned just enough that they feel like a night out even when you never leave the sofa.
Winter holidays are when a lot of couples are apart, visiting family or living in different cities. These still feel like dates.
For more ideas for nights apart, here are 50 long distance date ideas.
For more, try these date night questions, or browse 25 date night ideas at home.
The big dates are what you remember. The small daily things are what keep you close the rest of the week: one good question, answered by both of you. That is what Amora does every day, and it gives you something to talk about on the next cold night in.
What ten seconds of us would you replay if you could?
A blanket fort movie night, a soup cook-off, a hot chocolate bar, a board game tournament, a puzzle with a playlist, or an at-home spa night. Plan it ahead so it feels like a date and not just another evening.
A night walk to see the lights, sledding, building a snow couple, baking bread, a living room picnic or reading to each other. Most cost nothing beyond what's already in your kitchen.
Cook something warm together, start a new series, play a long board game or plan a summer trip. Warmth and something to do together matter more than the activity itself.
Watch the same film in sync on a video call, cook the same winter recipe on video, open gifts together on a call, or swap a snow photo every day. A set time makes it feel like a real date.
Riley is the founder of Amora. He built the app after experiencing the challenges of staying connected in his own long-distance relationship, and reviews relationship psychology research from Dr. John Gottman, Dr. Sue Johnson, and others to inform every guide and question on the site.
