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Cute Winter Date Ideas For Christmas & New Year
Get creative with your date nights this season
By | 5 months ago
With temperatures dropping and the dark nights creeping in, it’s tempting to opt for at-home date nights snuggled on the sofa with a takeaway. Yet winter is arguably the most romantic season in London, with twinkling lights, cosy terraces and festive markets popping up across the city. As you can imagine, there’s plenty to get out and experience – so we’ve teamed up with FOPE to give you our edit of the most perfect winter date ideas (designed to get sparks flying).
Cute Winter Date Ideas For Christmas 2023
Get Crafty At A Wreath Making Workshop
Take a hands-on approach to your next winter date with a wreath making class, courtesy of Islington-based florist Botanique Workshop. Everyone joining will get the chance to make and decorate their own wreath, which you can then take with you afterwards to hang up at home. Matching couples wreaths, anyone?
BOOK: Various dates, workshops are £85pp. botaniqueworkshop.com
Indulge In A Riverside Festive Feast
Keen to grab some Christmas dinner while out and about with your SO? The romantic vibes are strong at this long-standing riverside restaurant, Le Pont De La Tour, which never fails to pull out the stops come festive season – think cosy outdoor dining (with plenty of blankets and heated lamps), twinkling fairy lights and stunning views over the Thames. For dinner, try a more traditional Christmas menu with a French twist, with cured smoked salmon blinis and chicken roast on the menu, or up the ante with the luxurious Prestige Festive Menu, which comes with roast lobster and champagne trifle.
BOOK: £77pp for the Festive Menu or £99pp for the Prestige Festive Menu. lepontdelatour.co.uk
Try Ice Skating With A View
What says ‘winter date’ more than a glide (or elegant wobble) on the ice? Come winter, Tobacco Dock’s Skylight transforms into a cosy winter hangout, complete with its very own rooftop ice rink – the only real-ice rooftop rink in Europe. After a few loops around the ice, head for a warming tipple at the on-site bar – or go all out and book one of the heated igloos. Note that for skating sessions it’s first come, first served and you cannot pre-book tickets.
BOOK: From 10 November–31 December 2023 at Skylight Tobacco Dock (London E1W 2SF). skylightbars.com
See Kew Gardens’ Winter Light Festival
Always a highlight on London’s festive calendar, Christmas at Kew makes the perfect winter date. Stroll through the illuminated trail – featuring glittering archways, dancing waterside reflections and more – before ending at the Palm House Pond finale, which sees Kew’s famous glasshouse spring to life with laser beams and kaleidoscopic projections. Ignited a romance? Carry on the date at nearby pub The Botanist on the Green.
BOOK: 15 November 2023–7 January 2024. kew.org
Unleash Your Inner Artist
The London Art Bar hosts painting workshops throughout the year, hosted by a practising artist – and this winter, the class is being given a festive spin. You’ll have a go at painting various wintery scenes (depicting London and beyond), complete with a themed playlist and prosecco. Afterwards, you can keep the canvas, so if the date goes well it will be one for the memory box.
BOOK: Various dates, from £48.99pp | popuppainting.com
Cuddle Up At A Heated Winter Terrace
There’s nothing more romantic than a tucked away winter garden – Stanley’s is toasty-warm, too, but don’t let that stop you cuddling up with your date. Stanley’s is Chelsea’s not-so-secret garden restaurant, known for its year-round terrace (usually decked out in pretty foliage). For the festive season, the terrace has had a makeover: think pine archways, olive trees, red flowers and plenty of Christmas trees. Sit snuggled together under the sheepskin throws while enjoying cocktails and creative plates from head chef Tomas Kolkus, which include the likes of pork with hispi cabbage and butter sauce, squash with sunflower seed tahini, and smoked haddock and spelt arancini. You can find out more about London’s winter terraces here.
BOOK: 151 Sydney Street, London SW3 5UE. stanleyschelsea.co.uk
Channel Your Inner Diva
Share a love of pop powerhouses? Or simply like singing along to the hits on the radio? Then the V&A’s DIVA exhibition is worth visiting this winter. A celebration of global megastars, from Victoria opera to modern performers (think Whitney Houston, Maria Carey, Britney Spears and more), the V&A brings together iconic fashions, photographs, costumes, music and live performances to show how the diva came to be.
BOOK: Until 7 April 2024 at V&A South Kensington. vam.ac.uk
Swing By The Ballet
The Royal Ballet returns to London this with its performance of The Nutcracker, showing at the Royal Opera House. Set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, this classical production follows Clara and her Nutcracker as they travel to the Land of Sweets. Expect stunning set designs from Julia Trevelyan Oman and choreography by Peter Wright. See more festive shows for 2023 here.
BOOK: 6 December 2023–13 January 2024. roh.org.uk
Enjoy Dinner & Jazz At Louie
If you’re celebrating something special with your other half, or are just really keen to impress someone, book dinner at glitzy restaurant Louie in Covent Garden. There’s an interesting French Creole menu featuring dishes like oysters Rockefeller and Louisiana style crab cakes, and on Tuesday nights there’s live jazz. After dinner, head upstairs and settle into one of the bar’s velvety nooks for a post-dinner cocktail.
BOOK: 13-15 West Street, London WC2H 9NE. louie-london.com
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Putting On The Finishing Touches With FOPE
Have a romantic winter date planned? When it comes to settling the final touches – whether for yourself or for that someone special – look no further than Italian fine jeweller FOPE and its celebration-worthy designs.
Jewellery has long been the ultimate gifting option for lovers, representing the bonds of a special relationship through precious materials and beautiful design – and nothing feels more reflective of this unity than a ring. FOPE unveiled its first collection of rings dedicated to couples in love this season: Souls. A rainbow collection of Flex’it rings in 18 carat white, yellow and rose gold set with a single precious stone. These stones span blue sapphires, rubies, emeralds, black and white diamonds, and can add a thoughtful, personalised touch to your ring of choice.
Worried about finding the right size ring? The flexible gold mesh chain of each ring stretches comfortably around the wearer’s finger, allowing enough give for multiple sizes, and can even be worn on different fingers or stacked together with other rings.
FOPE Souls Collection, from £990, mappinandwebb.com
And when it comes to dressing up on the night, the timeless elegance of FOPE’s Solo collection is the icing on the cake for any outfit. While fans of the label may be familiar with the Solo line of bracelets, rings and earrings crafted with slim gold round mesh chains, this season the focus is on a new addition to the collection: necklaces.
The new flexible Solo necklaces are unisex and feature the line’s classic chain design (available in 18 carat white, yellow or rose gold), with a hidden clasp at the front in the form of a diamond-laden rondel. The black or white diamond, set on the ‘O’ of the FOPE logo, hides a click button that allows the wearer to open the mechanism – meaning the necklace remains uninterrupted by its clasp, and that all-too-familiar awkward shuffling to remove your jewellery remains a thing of the past.
But the real beauty of the FOPE Solo necklace lies in its clever, versatile design; wear your chain short for a choker effect, let it sit neatly along your collarbones or link it up with another Solo chain for an extra long necklace (or even twist it around your wrist for a layered bracelet). Flexible enough to suit any occasion, it should sit at the top of your jewellery checklist when it comes to cuffing season.
FOPE Solo Necklace Collection, from £4,950, mappinandwebb.com
SHOP
Both collections are available to shop from FOPE’s London store on 1A Old Bond Street, as well as at mappinandwebb.com
Featured image: Stanley’s
