All we want for Christmas is cute festive date ideas, and at what’s quite possibly the most romantic time of the year in London, winter is the season to truly impress your date. Think twinkling lights, crisp winter air, cosy blankets, and candlelit corners. Add some mulled wine and fondue to the mix and you’ve got the perfect winter date recipe.
Whether it’s a brand new Bumble date or five-year anniversary, these are our favourite winter date ideas to spark some serious romance.
16 Romantic Things To Do In London In December
Explore Christmas At Kew
The nights have well and truly drawn in, but rather than heading straight home to curl up under the duvet, head over to Kew Gardens and explore their Christmas light trail. Every year, the gorgeous gardens are illuminated by a gloriously Instagrammable light show guiding you and your date around the gardens, lakes and glittering fairy light tunnels.
It’s a truly magical experience and will no doubt spark up the perfect opportunity for a cheeky kiss as you wander hand-in-hand.
Where: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Website:www.kew.org
Feast On Fondue
With no ski trip booked until the spring, where better to get your alpine fix than indulging in fondue at a London restaurant?
From Champagne + Fromage’s entire melted cheese menu, to The Cheese Bar’s fondue with new potatoes, cornichons and Coombeshead sourdough, there’s no better dish to indulge in for some cheesy winter romance. Here’s where to get yours.
Get Cosy On A Festive Winter Terrace
Dress to impress and cosy up in style this winter on one of London’s twinkling festive terraces. Whether you’re snuggling up with your date under your faux-fur blanket or roasting marshmallows on an open fire under the stars, it’s the perfect romantic experience.
Check out a few of our favourite festive terraces and winter rooftop bars.
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Indulge In Wine And Cheese By Candelight
No matter the time of year, a bottle of vino and a huge platter of meat and cheese is always a fantastic option for date night. But London’s wine bars really come into their own as the winter nights set in, providing romantic, cosy, and candlelit shelter from the winter weather outside.
Check out some of our favourite spots.
Wine and cheese is the perfect winter date recipe.
Show Off Your Winter Sporting Skills At The Curling Club
Ready to impress? Book a lane at The Curling Club this winter for the ultimate fun date idea. The game’s easy to learn, so it’s a perfect ice-breaker activity for a first or second date, and is even more fun in a group if you have coupled up friends to double-date with.
The on-site bar means that wine and festive cocktails are never too far away, and food-wise, there’s alpine burgers, bratwurst and raclette fries to keep you going.
Where: Under Hungerford Bridge, Belvedere Rd SE1 8XX
Website: www.thecurlingclub.com
See A Spectacular Christmas Light Display
The city gets more festive by the day at this time of year. Think chocolates lining supermarket shelves, iconic window displays, and London’s most spectacular streets lighting up for Christmas.
From Oxford Street to Carnaby Street, Marylebone Village to Covent Garden, take your date to see the most spectacular light displays this year when London is at its most magical.
Go Christmas Tree Shopping Together
You haven’t spent Christmas together until you’ve put up a tree, had an argument about where it should go, had very differing opinions about how it should be decorated, blasted some Mariah Carey on the speakers, and blown a few bulbs on the fairy lights along the way. Romance, am I right?
The best part of all of this is picking out the perfect tree for your living room, and there are loads of fir-filled places in London where you can do just that, from Richmond to Greenwich. Just make sure to do it with a warm mulled wine in hand and that your transport is sorted before you go fully festive and buy a six-foot fir…
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Take A Winter Weekend Getaway
A UK winter break is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together sipping mulled wine at a UK Christmas market, curling up with cake in a traditional tea room, or rambling the beautifully frosty countryside before retreating to a cosy hotel room. What could be more romantic?
Wondering where to go this winter? These are the best places for you and your date to visit and stay for a winter’s escape.
Cosy Up At A Festive Cinema Pop-Up
Sit back, cuddle up, and get ready to enjoy some of your favourite films as London’s best pop-up cinemas are back with an epic winter line up. Head to Battersea Arts Centre or Kensington Palace, where The Luna Cinema will be showing festive film favourites like Elf, The Holiday, The Santa Clause, and Love Actually.
No need to worry about you and your date getting peckish as there’s plenty of delicious grub up for grabs too.
Where: Battersea & Kensington
Website:www.thelunacinema.com
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Wander Around A Gingerbread City
The Museum of Architecture’s hugely popular annual exhibition The Gingerbread City returns this year, bringing with it a brilliantly festive (and very edible) display of five miniature cities made from gingerbread. Don’t expect this to be a bunch of gingerbread houses stuck in a row though – there’ll be skyscrapers, cars, windmills, clouds, bridges and much more, built not just from gingerbread but plenty of other sweet treats like marshmallows, strawberry laces and candy floss. At past exhibitions, there’s even been models of famous landmarks like Battersea Power Station, the Tate Modern and 2020’s venue Somerset House.
Want a more hands-on experience for you and your date? Join one of their festive gingerbread house-making workshops taking place every day during the exhibition.
Where: 6-7 Motcomb Street, SW1X 8JU
Website:www.thegingerbreadcity.com
Get Your Skates On At An Open Air Ice-Skating Rink
Nothing screams romance like gliding round an ice rink under the twinkling stars, hand-in-hand with your loved one… until one of you falls flat on your face.
Whether you’re someone who clings onto the handrail or whizzes around the rink without a care in the world, ice-skating together is always a bundle of laughs.
Here’s where you can skate under the stars.
Think twinkling lights and sweeping city views.
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Experience A Magical Festive Theatre Show
There’s no doubt the weather outside will be frightful, so why not have a jolly ol’ time at one of London’s festive theatrical performances hitting the stage this winter? Walk through the air with your loved one as you glide into the Peacock Theatre to watch The Snowman, or book into A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic to watch the classic retelling of Scrooge and his spirits come to life. For a magical performance, try The Nutcracker and see over 100 dancers and musicians perform in front of what’s set to be a sold-out audience.
Book these shows for a magical theatre date to remember.
Go On A Hot Chocolate Crawl Through London
Instead of a pub crawl, guarantee a fun winter’s date in the chillier months by making your way through Central London’s finest hot chocolate establishments.
From Melt’s so-thick-you-could-eat-it-with-a-spoon hot chocolate, to Dark Sugars’ creamy concoctions, it’s perfect for a walking-and-talking date, and so much more delicious than your average pub crawl.
Here’s where to find London’s best hot chocolates.
Winter is the season to truly impress your date.
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Book A Sunday Roast For Two
‘Tis the season for roasties and gravy and, quite frankly, we can’t think of a better way to spend a winter date. Cosy vibes? Check. Bottle of wine? Check. Crispy roasties? Check, check and check.
From menus perfect for sharing to posh pubs where the food outdoes the drinks, here are our top Sunday roast picks that make fantastic wholesome date spots.
Escape To Europe For A Romantic Festive Treat
Europe really does it best when it comes to Christmas markets, so live out your Christmas rom-com dreams and head abroad to a European city for a romantic Christmas escape.
Lined with festive foliage, baubles, trinkets, and snow-capped mountains in the background, there really couldn’t be anything more romantic.
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Drink Mulled Wine At A London Christmas Market
If you’re a little strapped for cash this Christmas and can’t afford to be whizzing off to Europe, you’re in luck because London is brimming with festive market options of its own. Wooden cabins will be decorated with seasonal wreaths, snowy rooftops and a whole lot of festive trinkets to splash the cash on to impress your date.
Check out our pick of London’s best Christmas markets.
The cutest festive date idea.
