Taking the time to create Christmas traditions will do wonders for marriage. Here are some great christmas tradition ideas that will give you fond memories to look back on!
Christmas traditions are super important for family unity and bonding, but they are also really important for couples and marital relationships. Marriage isn’t always easy, but taking the time to create traditions and memories—just the two of you—will do wonders for marriage. It will also give you plenty of good memories to look back on.
We have some fun traditions for the Christmas season, for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Christmas Night, and for celebrating Christmas alllllll year!!! Take a look –
If you’re looking to start a new tradition with your spouse, here are a few ideas to get your started:
Christmas Tradition Ideas For Couples
*Make sure you read all the comments below for even more fun ideas from our readers!
Christmas Season Traditions –
- Cider Sippin’. (I actually prefer hot cocoa, but “cider sippin’” sounds cooler!) For this one, you get a babysitter and head out to grab some hot cocoa. While you sip on your cocoa and enjoy the time alone, you can go over your children’s lists and make a plan of attack for the shopping. If you’re feeling up to it, head to the stores and get some of that shopping done!
- The Classics. I love the tradition of watching a holiday movie together. For my husband and I, it is “Elf.” Send the kids to grandma’s, or send them to someone else’s house, or give them an incentive to stay in bed while mom and dad have a date night at home. Put on a favorite Christmas movie while you wrap all of the presents. Make an easy dinner together or grab take out, etc.
- Stocking Stuffers. Get together with another couple that you both enjoy spending time with. Enjoy an activity, dinner, or dessert together and then split up: Guys and Gals. Collaborate together as you search for some fun stocking stuffers for your spouse. Sometimes getting ideas from someone else can be helpful, and having a girl’s and guy’s night is fun too!
Couples Christmas Eve Traditions –
Christmas day will be majorly focused on the kids, so make a tradition the night before for just the two of you. It could be as simple as a special “toast”, followed by sharing your favorite memory from the last year, or maybe you exchange a special gift or letter.
Read all about our 5 Favorite Christmas Eve Traditions, and then start a tradition you love!
Christmas Day Traditions –
Nothing says, “Merry Christmas, I love you!” like a fun, unique stocking!!! My husband and I have been filling each other’s stocking since our first year of marriage. I love seeing what ideas he comes up with year after year! We have a whole post on various couples stocking ideas that are fun and thoughtful!
Christmas Night Traditions –
In our younger days, my husband and I started a tradition of waiting alllllll day to give each other our presents until midnight that night. Now that we can barely say up past 10:30, our tradition is to give each other our presents right before we go to bed. I loooooove having one last gift to look forward to after all the others have been opened. It makes the day so much more exciting!
One gift that got rave reviews from my husband that would make the PERFECT nighttime gift is this Sexy Gift for Him. We’ve had plenty of our readers say how much they loved doing this for their husbands too!
Christmas All Year –
Rather than give each other THINGS for Christmas, give each other date nights to be enjoyed once a month, all year-long! This could be as simple as movie tickets, plays, and sporting events etc. If you can afford it, one of them could be a special weekend away. Here are some details on how to gift these date nights using our 12 Daytz of Christmas.
Now it’s time for you to inspire me!
What are some traditions you enjoy with your spouse?
We go shopping together, usually late at night, a sort of midnight madness shopping trip. We also pick a night and wrap everything together. He turns on a heater in the garage, puts on Christmas music, and we sit at a table with hot chocolate and wrap all the presents. I love those times.
Our reader, Zee, emailed us with her new tradition that we wanted to add to this list:
My boyfriend and I are trying this for the first time this year- we are making a Night Before Christmas Box with just a few fun treats for just us to enjoy together!
Our anniversary is in mid December, so it is hard to get Christmas and anniversary gifts bought! A few years ago we came up with the idea that every year during December we would go see Tran Siberian Orchestra or Manheim Steamroller whichever comes close to us and that would be our gift to each other! It has worked great, gives us a night out and we don’t have to worry about what to get each other! Also, every year in our stockings Santa brings each of one of our family members an ornament to add to our tree, usually reflects an event or interest of that year! While on vacation we also get one, the kids now 15 and 9 still like to get them out and talk about their memories of each trip as they see those ornaments!
My husband & I turn on Elvis’s Christmas CD, sing, work a Chriatmas themed jig saw puzzle, & hammer up candy canes to make peppermint chocolate milkshakes! ; ) sometimes our hammering & singing wakes the kids up… Then they get jealous! ; )
Haha! That is awesome Casey!
These are great ideas that I haven’t heard mentioned anywhere else. I love them!
So, I see I’m a year late, but I still wanted to share.
My husband and I have strawberry shortcake for breakfast on Christmas day.
We buy one special ornament each year signifying something that has happened in the past year. Going all the way back to our engagement.
One year we made little packets with cookies, cocoa mix and mini marshmallows. We then delivered them to his ship for all the sailor who got stuck with the watch on Christmas Eve.
Overall I’m always grateful when my husband isn’t deployed for the holidays. So I generally just spoil him when he is home for Christmas.
Naomi, i just LOVE that 🙂 Sweet, thoughtful things make all the difference. Thanks for stopping by!
In our house, each of us pulls a name out of a hat. Then, each person makes a homemade gift for the person whose name they pulled. My husband and I enjoy this so much that now we do homemade gifts for each other.
On Christmas Eve after the kids have gone to bed my husband and I exchange gifts and drink mulled wine by the Christmas tree. The only lights lit are the Christmas tree. He proposed on Christmas Eve so it is very romantic for us because it takes us back to that magical night.
Our tradition is to read the Christmas story together by the tree on Christmas Eve from Matthew chapter 1. It really reminds us what this season is all about.
we like to ride around and look at lights, and take the grandkids with us!
This is great. I never really thought about doing something special just for us this time of year, other than a present or two. Thank you for sharing this idea.
What a fun list of cute and easily-repeatable ideas. I am actually writing a post on the same topic right now and your ideas are completely, completely different from mine.
My boyfriend and I lay in bed early on Christmas morning, drink a glass of champagne and read each other’s story from our Christmas book. After that we open our gifts from each other before our company comes over!
I love these ideas. Our traditions have always been kid-focused. Now that our children are getting older I would like to start a couple tradition. We don’t exchange gifts but a Christmas stocking with little treats for each other is a wonderful idea!
Thank you for this great post. 🙂
Tammi — http://www.frenchrobindesigns.blogspot.com
Our first Christmas as a married couple had sobering overtones as it was shortly after the Sandy Hook School shootings, so we drove all around the city Christmas Eve, and all day Christmas as well, to find 26 mostly homeless people to give to in honor of the victims. It took a lot more time and effort than we’d planned, but it was far more meaningful to us than anything we could have given to each other. My husband went along with the idea just because he’s a good sport about things in general, but he’s the one who ended up being moved to tears.
I love the idea to get together with another couple for dinner then do the girl’s night/ guy’s night to do shopping for our spouses 🙂 But instead of shopping for christmas presents to open xmas day, it could be a fun night where you set a spending limit and create a stocking for your spouse. Just fun little things that all can fit in the stocking and at the end of the night, everyone meets back up and exchanges the stockings over coffee or hot chocolate 🙂 I think that sounds like a fun tradition to start!
Found your site from Pinterest! Love it! I just moved my whole family to Olympia, WA from Denver, CO. I am looking for new traditions to start with my family and especially my hubby. Thanks for all of the suggestions!
In Lacey there is a tree lighting ceremony every year! Also there is a lot of Christmas light displays.
My husband and I celebrate Christmas for “just the two of us” on Christmas eve morning before we begin our visits to family–or they start showing up. That way we have an intimate Christmas together. We each do a stocking for each other as well as a few presents. We also make a pallet on the floor in front of the Christmas tree and camp out there the night before! The older we get, the harder it is to keep that tradition going. We start out there, but end up in the bed later! Still it’s a good try!
Since Christmas Day is especially busy–bouncing from house to house, family to family–we celebrate on Christmas Eve together. We light our holiday scented candles, throw on a Christmas movie, and exchange gifts. It’s our time to spend some quiet, holiday time together before getting up bright and early to spend a crazy busy day with our families.
My husband and I hang up our “adult” stockings in our bedroom. Only the naughty Santa visits…and delivers naughty presents. Sometimes it’s gifts that give the WHOLE year. And that…is how you keep the Christmas spirit all year.
This is an awesome idea. I hope you don’t mind if I borrow it…I think hubby would get a kick out of it 🙂
Every year during the holiday season, my future husband and I spend a night baking cookies, sitting on the couch with all the lights off and watching the tree. At some point, we usually have a dance party to Christmas Carols in the kitchen. We also have traditions with my future siblings in law and their significant others…we always make gingerbread houses and drive around on Christmas Eve and have a decoration Scavenger Hunt!
Would love more details on the Christmas Eve Decoration Scavenger Hunt. That sounds fun!
We decided to buy an ornament from each place we visited starting with the weekend we got engaged. (Thinking we would take at least one trip each year) Even though it hasn’t happened every year, I can’t wait till we have kids to tell them about each ornament and having them help pick out one each year.
My hubby and I got married last November 10, on our honeymoon we decided that we’d get an ornament for our tree every anniversary. Lots of memories to look back on and reminisce about in the future. I’m looking forward to sitting with our kids someday telling stories about where and why we got each one.
These are great ideas! I love the idea of going somewhere and getting hot cocoa. Its nice to take a few minutes to unwind during the busy times and reflect on what it truly means.
My husband used to be a little bah-humbug when it came to Christmas so every year since we moved in together I wear something naughty while I decorate the tree and make him listen to Christmas music…how can he not enjoy Christmas that way?? lol. Now that we have kids there will have to be some modifications to that plan!
See Shelley’s post below.
When we first got married we were poor collage students so we went to a store we each had 20$ to spend including tax and we buy presents for each other. The goal is for the most we can get that’s sentimental. We do that every year now and I LOVE it! We also enjoy making chocolate turtles with each other during Christmas.
We do that too! We call it “the $20 Challenge” so we can focus on giving to others in need instead of buying each other crap we DON’T need!
Lovely….thank you!
We make a gingerbread house every year together. It is always a fun date.
We always pick out one ornament each together each year and we let grandparents babysit while we go Christmas shopping together!
Every year, we pick out one Christmas ornament together and write the year on the bottom. We don’t buy any other ornaments except the basics, that way, every year our tree gets more special as the years go by.
Wow! These are all so awesome! Thank you for all of your added ideas! 🙂
I love traditions! Especially Christmas traditions. We have a few, one is we always bake special Christmas treats and bring some to neighbors and friends. Another, my family and I growing up always drove around and looked at Christmas lights, so now my husband and I go get hot chocolate and drive around to look at them while listening to Christmas music!
My husband and I have a shopping date night each December while our daughter bakes cookies at Grandma’s. We get all those last minute gifts and the inevitable clear tape. Then, we go to our favorite restaurant for wine and appetizers (enough to make a meal!). We give our server a ginormous tip – it’s a very busy time for wait staff and honestly, tips can decrease as customers are pinching pennies for gifts.
Going shopping during Christmas with my husband is honestly one of my favorite activities (and we actually have a lot of traditions from the few years we’ve been married).
Awesome on you for leaving some server a pleasant surprise. I waitressed for years during college and the holidays really were a bad time for tips. I always try to be generous with my tips, but especially at Christmas time.
On behalf of restaurant employees everywhere, thank you 🙂
My husband and I used to open our Christmas gifts in the nude. That was before we had kids 😉
Lol awesome!
The first good snowfall of the year, we drive around and look at Christmas lights glowing under the snow.
Our favorite Christmas tradition is my husband gets me gift cards for my favorite stores. We go to Vegas the day after Christmas and I get to buy whatever I want (that’s usually on sale). There are a ton of malls within walking distance so it’s the best place in the country to shop. I get him gift certificates for restaurants – most have a bonus card so it’s a great deal. Then we enjoy our presents all year long!
We also love to go to at least one concert – usually a local singer/songwriter with a guitar but one year it was the Rockettes.
Blog on
Janet
My husband and I exchange Christmas ornaments every year! There have been some interesting ones over the years due to his last minutes shopping skills
Hubby and I do this too! But we always try to theme the ornament off of something that happened in the last year that was monumental. Our first year together he got a toolbox because he was “man of the house”, when I finally was healthy enough to work again after a long illness I got a woman with a briefcase. We also collect ornaments as our souvenirs from family vacations. When we’re shopping for something to bring home to remember our travels we get an ornament to add to the tree! Makes our tree that much more special because everything has a memory or story.
Wow! That is such a great idea, its like a giant charm bracelet 🙂
My husband and get a new Christmas ornament for our tree each year as well. Our very first Christmas together it was a pair of frogs called “Leap of Love” and we kept the theme going with animal couples every year. It’s fun to search for something each year that will remind us of what we’ve been doing or where we went.
We have only had 2 Christmases together so far (no kids either) so the only tradition we’ve come up with is opening all our presents on Christmas eve late at night.
Because we’re grown-ups and we can do what we want.
“Because we’re grown-ups and we can do what we want.”
Hahahahahahahaha, I’m dying, that is so great!!!
My hubby and I go out to the mountains to pick and cut down the christmas tree. Later that evening when the kids are asleep, he will put on the Bing Crosby White Christmas CD, make hot chocolate and we string up the lights. The kids decorate the tree the next day.
(Last one…) Our first Christmas together, we had only been together for a short time and we each were a little “off the mark” with our gift. Each year from then on, we buy each other something small that is totally off the wall just to laugh and remember that first Christmas.
Wow. Now that I think of it, we do have a lot of traditions lol.
We also buy each other a gift card/certificate for somewhere that we would like to go during the year. A few years ago, I wanted to go zip-lining, so I bought the gift certificate and gave it to him for Christmas, he wanted to go to a certain restaurant that wasn’t near us and gave it to me. Then, each of us plan to use the certificates and surprise the other one with a trip. It works out great for us.
Love this!! Thanks for sharing!
What an incredibly AWESOME idea! I LOVE, LOVE this idea! Will have to do this with my hubby.
Every year we buy each other something to wear to bed on Christmas Eve…some years one (or both) of us is “naughty” some years it is comfy. We wrap them and leave them on the pillows.
My husband and I will drive around to see christmas lights with no plan in mind, just drive but first we go to starbucks and get our favorite hot beverage 🙂
We love to do that, too! 🙂
My husband likes to listen to me read so I usually find a Christmas story for us to enjoy together.
I love that! What a great way to spend time together!!
I love this idea! My fiance likes to listen to me read him books so i’m going to try this! Thanks