Winter Date Ideas: 20 Ideas for Indoors and Outdoors

In winter, dates get canceled easily because it's dark, it's cold and the couch wins. Good winter date ideas flip that around: they make the cold part of the evening, with a hot drink, a blanket or some steam. Here are twenty ideas for outdoors, indoors and for the days when neither of you wants anything at all.

Outdoors: putting up with the cold, with a reward

Being outside in winter works when there's a reward at the end. Dress in layers, bring gloves and plan a destination where you get warm.

A walk in the dark with a thermos. A route you know, with tea or mulled wine in the bag. In the dark, conversation often gets more honest, because nobody is looking at the other the whole time.
A holiday market, but with a plan. A small market instead of the packed city center. Share one portion, walk a lap, leave. If you're shoving through a crowd, you rarely feel like talking.
Ice skating. If one of you can't, all the better. Holding on is allowed.
Sledding. Only with snow and only if you know a hill nearby. The speed makes even adults laugh.
A snow hike or winter walk in the woods. A nice trail with a pub or lodge as the goal. Choose something you can do in two hours so it doesn't turn into an expedition.
Stargazing. Clear winter nights are long. A blanket, a warm drink and a spot away from the streetlights are enough.
A lights walk. In the weeks before the holidays, many streets and houses are decorated. Walk through a neighborhood and look for the prettiest and the tackiest house.
A snowman or snowball contest. Sounds childish, and it is. That's exactly why it works.

Indoors, out and about: when it's too miserable outside

A spa or sauna. One of the best winter ideas there is. Hot water, quiet, no phone. Plan half a day and talk over a meal afterwards.
A museum followed by coffee. Pick a place with a special exhibition you're both interested in. Afterwards each of you names your three favorite pieces.
A movie or the theater. In winter, an evening with a program is worth it. Go for a drink afterwards so you can talk about it.
A cooking class or workshop. Pottery, bread baking, sushi rolling. Something with your hands that you take home.
A board game café. Games are ideal in the cold: you sit for a long time and drift off topic. More in our guide to games for couples.
Bowling, pool or a climbing gym. Movement, a bit of competition and warm air.

Indoors at home: the cozy version

If money is tight or energy is low, the living room is the best winter location. You'll find more in our guide to date night ideas at home. Here are just a few wintry examples:

Fondue or raclette. The food is the program. It takes forever, you sit together, and nobody has to cook.
Hot chocolate from real chocolate. Each of you brings ingredients for your favorite version and presents it. Chili, cinnamon, salt, marshmallows, anything goes.
Candles, blankets and a film from your teens. Each of you picks a movie you loved at fifteen. Expect one of you to blush.
Baking and decorating cookies. It works outside the holiday season too. Whoever makes the ugliest stars wins at decorating.
A puzzle for two. A thousand pieces, music on, tea next to it. A puzzle makes a good date because it leaves room for conversation on the side.
Sorting photos and memories. Pick out the best pictures of the year and tell each other what you were thinking then.

What to pack for going outside

Cold is no reason to cancel a date, but the wrong clothes are. A few things decide whether you turn back after twenty minutes or stay two hours:

Several thin layers instead of one thick jacket. You can adjust when you warm up.
Warm feet. Wool socks and shoes with tread, especially on ice. Cold toes ruin the best mood.
Gloves that work with a touchscreen, or a spare pair for the other person. A hand in your partner's pocket is a solution too.
A thermos and something sweet. A piece of chocolate at the turnaround point works wonders.
A plan for getting back. If you're walking in the dark, know where the bus or train runs or where the car is parked. In snow and ice, turn back earlier.

Also agree beforehand how long you want to stay. If you know tea is waiting at a café after an hour, the cold is easier to bear.

Why winter suits conversation

In summer we're booked, on the move and distracted. In winter the evenings are long, and there's no reason to hurry home. That's a good chance to ask questions there's otherwise hardly room for.

Sit down with a candle, put your phones away and take turns answering a question. Whoever listens without interrupting still learns something new after years together. A few ideas:

What do you think of at the word "winter," and who did you get that thought from?
What was your best winter moment as a kid?
Which tradition from your family do you want to keep, and which can happily end?
What small thing do you absolutely want to experience this year?
What are you looking forward to most in the coming months?
When did we last really laugh at ourselves?
What could I do on gray days to make you feel better?
Where would you go if we could leave tomorrow for a week somewhere warm?

For more good conversation starters, take a look at our questions for couples.

Winter date ideas on a small budget

Not every date needs a ticket. These ideas cost almost nothing:

A walk through an area you've never been to, with a hot drink from home in a thermos.
An evening of board games you already own. If you haven't played in a while, you'll be surprised.
A menu that each of you cooks for the other. One course per person, with a cap on ingredients, say ten dollars or eight pounds.
A mixtape for each other. Each of you puts together ten songs you want to play for the other. Then you listen together and say why.
A library or a bookstore. Each of you picks a book for the other and explains the choice.

And if you're in a long-distance relationship? Then winter is the time for long video evenings with the same film, the same food and the same tea. More tips are in our guide to long distance relationship tips.

When you don't feel like it

Sometimes winter is just sluggish. You're tired, they're tired, and the idea of a date feels like one more appointment. That's normal and not a bad sign for the relationship.

What helps is a very small version. Ten minutes where you drink something warm together and each of you tells how the day went. If there's energy left afterwards, it turns into more. If not, you still did something.

A help so you don't forget: Us2 sends you one question a day that you both answer separately. The other's answer stays hidden until you've answered yourself, and then you chat underneath like in a messaging thread. In the dark months especially, it's a small fixed point, and you don't have to arrange anything.

To take with you

In winter, plan less, but earlier. Pick an evening before the calendar fills up, and give it a name so it doesn't vanish. "Thursday is spa night" lasts longer than "we should do something again sometime."

If you want more inspiration, our general date ideas have suggestions for every season. And if you'd like to try how a daily question for two feels, stop by Us2. The first three days cost nothing.