Christmas Bucket List for Couples: 50 Things to Tick Off

6 min read · The Map

A Christmas bucket list for couples is a shared checklist of festive things to do together between late November and New Year, so the season doesn't vanish into exams, shifts and family stuff. Pick 10 to 15 ideas from the 50 below, mix free and paid ones, stick the list on the fridge or in your notes app, and tick one off each week.

If you're making a list together but you're not totally sure what you two are yet, The Map gives you a clear read on where you stand. Find where you stand

How to use a Christmas bucket list

Most people write a Christmas to do list on December 1st and remember it on December 23rd. Here's how not to.

1. Write it together. Each of you picks 7 ideas. Overlap gets starred.
2. Spread it out. About 6 weeks, late November to January 1. One or two a week is plenty.
3. Balance the budget. Aim for half free, a quarter cheap, a quarter "treat."
4. Put dates on the big ones. Ice skating sells out. Lights trails have time slots.
5. Leave space. If you're both doing finals (US) or January exams (UK), keep exam weeks to at-home ideas.

That's it. A holiday bucket list for couples is meant to be fun, not a second job.

50 Christmas bucket list ideas for couples

Below are all 50, grouped so you can grab a balanced mix. These work as a Christmas bucket list for teens, students, and young adults, and most work as a winter bucket list for couples too.

Free festive ideas

1. Walk around the fanciest street in town and rank the lights.
2. Drive (or bus) around looking at houses that went way too hard.
3. Build a blanket fort and watch Elf.
4. Make paper snowflakes for your windows.
5. Make a joint Christmas playlist.
6. Write each other a short Christmas letter.
7. Take a festive photo booth set of selfies with a lamp and tinsel.
8. Go to a free carol service or school concert.
9. Rewatch a childhood Christmas movie each and explain why it matters.
10. Have a snowball fight (or a "rain fight" if you're in the UK).
11. Go window shopping for gifts you'd never buy.
12. Do a festive walk with flasks of hot chocolate.
13. Make a "best moments of the year" list.
14. Volunteer together at a food bank or toy drive.
15. Plan next year's bucket list on New Year's Eve.

Out-and-about ideas (markets, lights, skating)

16. Go ice skating and hold hands so neither of you falls alone.
17. Visit a Christmas market and split a hot pretzel or bratwurst.
18. Do a lights trail at a botanic garden or zoo.
19. See a pantomime (UK) or a Nutcracker show.
20. Try every hot chocolate in town and rate them.
21. Take photos with a giant tree downtown.
22. Go to a holiday pop-up bar or cafe.
23. Do a gingerbread house workshop.
24. Visit a Christmas tree farm, even if you don't buy.
25. Go to the movies on a weeknight.
26. Do a Secret Santa with your friend group.
27. Go to a winter festival or ice sculpture event.
28. Ride a carousel.
29. Eat mince pies (UK) or Christmas cookies (US) from a bakery you've never tried.
30. Catch the first snow together if you're lucky enough to get one.

At-home ideas

31. Bake Christmas cookies and decorate them badly.
32. Wrap presents together while a podcast plays.
33. Make a DIY ornament with the year on it.
34. Have a Christmas movie marathon with a snack board.
35. Do a festive jigsaw puzzle.
36. Swap stockings with $10 / £10 limits.
37. Make a Christmas dinner for two, even if it's pasta.
38. Have a matching pajama night.
39. Play a Christmas trivia game.
40. Write cards to both families.
41. Make hot chocolate bombs.
42. Do a festive at-home spa night.
43. Make a scrapbook page of the year.
44. Decorate a small tree or a plant together.
45. Read "The Night Before Christmas" in silly voices.

The ones that make it feel like yours

46. Start one tradition you'll repeat next year.
47. Swap one gift that costs nothing.
48. Ask each other one big question by the tree.
49. Take the same photo in the same spot every Christmas.
50. Watch the New Year countdown and toast to the next one.

Spending this season apart? Lots of these work over video, and our long distance relationship Christmas ideas has a full Christmas Day plan for that.

Free festive ideas: why they matter more than you think

Here's the thing about cheap Christmas activities for couples: the free ones are usually the ones you remember. A lights walk at 9pm in a hat that doesn't match beats an expensive dinner where you both check your phones.

Free Christmas date ideas also take the money pressure off, which matters if one of you has a part-time job and the other doesn't.

Out-and-about ideas: planning tips

• Ice skating: go on a weekday afternoon. Cheaper, quieter, less falling.
• Christmas markets: set a budget before you go. Mulled wine and churros add up fast.
• Lights trails: book a slot as soon as tickets drop.
• Getting there: if neither of you drives, pick places on a bus or train line and treat the trip as part of the date.

At-home ideas for cozy nights

At-home Christmas things to do with your boyfriend or girlfriend are perfect for exam season and broke weeks. Light a candle, bake something, put a movie on. Done.

The hardest part of a list like this isn't the activities. It's actually noticing how you two are doing between them, and remembering it a week later. The Map gives you one five-minute card each evening to do with your person or about them, then a one-line journal entry, so the little moments don't disappear. Find where you stand

Printable Christmas bucket list

Copy this Christmas bucket list template into your notes app, or paste it into a doc and print it. That's your Christmas bucket list printable (and you can save it as a PDF).

Add your own five at the bottom. A Christmas bucket list for adults or teens looks different, so make it fit your life, not Pinterest's.

Make this Christmas the one you actually remember

You've got the list. Now spend three minutes on the other half: eighteen quick taps about your person put your dot on a map, and a five-minute card each evening keeps you two close all season. Invite them so both dots sit together, while neither of you sees the other's answers.

Find where you stand

FAQ

What should be on a Christmas bucket list for couples?

A mix of free ideas (lights walks, movie nights), out-and-about ideas (markets, skating) and at-home ideas (baking, wrapping). Aim for 10 to 15 total so you actually finish it.

What are cute Christmas ideas for couples on a budget?

Lights walks, homemade hot chocolate, cookie baking, a playlist swap and handwritten letters cost almost nothing. A $10 / £10 stocking swap is a fun cheap upgrade.

Is there a Christmas bucket list printable or PDF?

Yes, copy the table above into a doc and save it as a PDF, or print it straight off. Add your own ideas in the blank rows.

When should you start a Christmas bucket list?

Late November is ideal, which gives you around six weeks. Book anything with tickets, like skating or lights trails, as soon as you write the list.

What's a good Christmas bucket list for teens?

Stick to things you can do without a car or big budget: markets, free concerts, baking, movie nights and Secret Santa with friends. Most of the 50 ideas above work for teens.