Christmas may have been and gone, but winter is still here for a while and, depending on how much cold weather you get, can present some pretty unique opportunities for romance. Snowy and icy weather allows for some great activities that aren’t available during the rest of the year, while the low temperatures outside can also make cozy, warm evenings indoors all the more appealing.
Read on for a few of Primer’s favorite ways to spend time with that special someone during the cold winter months.
Hot Springs
Following on from fine Scandinavian tradition, hot springs offer the best of both worlds: cold, wintry air and hot, luxurious water. It goes without saying that you need to be somewhere that has hot springs for this to work – although an outdoor hot tub would always make a pretty good substitute.
If there aren’t any hot springs near you, as is probably true for most of us, then take it as an excuse to make a relaxing trip away for a weekend. The contrast between the cold air and the hot water is both comforting and refreshing, and this serves one of the few great excuses for a cold drink in winter – especially a nice bottle of chilled champagne.
Snowboarding Class
If you can’t spare the money or time for a whole snowboarding or skiing trip, consider signing up for an afternoon class together for a diverting winter activity. Of course, this works best if you’re near some good mountains, but there are a surprising number of indoor ski and snowboard centers out there which are brilliant for a one off session.
Whether you opt for snowboarding, skiing or something else, try to pick something you’re both beginners at so that you can learn together and have some fun as you get the hang of things. And who knows, if it goes well it may serve as inspiration for your next vacation together.
Movie Marathon
This is perhaps the ultimate in comfort dates, ideal for when it’s so cold outside that neither of you want to leave the house at all. Instead just bundle up, grab a blanket to share and line up some great movies to watch in the warmth.
Try and pick your films in advance to avoid wasting time picking them (and potentially arguing) on the day. Either make sure that you’re both fans of everything you watch, or try and have some fun with it by having each of you pick a film that you want the other to watch for a good excuse to share your tastes with each other. Keep comfort foods on hand (and a couple of bottles of wine) and consider ordering takeout – this date is meant to be the utmost in comfort, not sophistication, so you don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen all night.
Whiskey Tasting
When it’s freezing outside, sometimes there’s little more appealing than staying inside with a nice warm drink. With that in mind, next time the temperature drops see if you can get along to a whiskey tasting for the ultimate in warming winter beverages.
Whiskey’s one of those drinks that almost everyone wishes they knew more about than they do, so it’s a great excuse to educate yourself on a classic spirit while keeping the cold away – and you can both get a bit tipsy to boot. If either of you don’t much see the appeal of a night of whiskey, just swap in your spirit of choice, or opt for wine or craft beer instead.
Snowshoeing
Snowshoeing is another great way to take advantage of the weather. It’s much like walking, but slower and more cumbersome, yet there’s an undeniable appeal to strapping a couple of wannabe tennis rackets to your feet and heading out into the cold.
In all seriousness, snowshoeing is a novel twist on simply heading out for a walk together, and gives you a good chance to see some of your local countryside or parks in a way that you normally never would. Of course, this is likely only much of an option if you get some pretty serious snow, but if you do then it’s fun excuse to wrap up warm and spend some time together.
Photo Credit: Thomas van de Vosse
Ice Skating
No list of great winter dates would be complete without ice skating. As countless Hollywood productions have shown us, there are few winter activities more romantic than hitting the ice together. This is great if you live in a city with big outdoor rinks, but even better if you can find a secluded spot somewhere for extra privacy.
If you fancy yourself a bit of a skater, this is a great way to show off your skills. On the other hand, if you’ve got all the grace of a baby elephant when there are skates on your feet, you can just have fun and prove that you’ve got a sense of humor about yourself. Win/win.
Horse-Drawn Carriage
This is classic winter date as brought to us by innumerable romantic movies. Made famous chiefly by the horse-drawn carriages in Central Park, New York, it’s actually often an option in plenty of places over the winter.
Wrap up warm, grab a couple of thermoses of mulled wine and cuddle up on the seat as you look down on those lowly mortals not being pulled around by horses. The ride won’t last all night, so this needs to be paired up with another activity – either as a follow-up to a romantic dinner, or maybe as a trip to take you towards somewhere you can go ice skating.
These are just a few of our favorite ways to spend winter, but there’s plenty more you can do. Just focus on either making the most of the snow and cold weather or on bundling up inside and staying warm and cozy and you can’t go far wrong. Don’t use the cold weather as an excuse to not do anything – take advantage of it while you wait for spring and the sun to roll around again.
