Holiday traditions to start with your spouse

Once you become a parent, the holiday season (and your life) quickly becomes all about the bass babies. And just like in life, you must remember that it’s important to make time for your partner as well. The holidays are the perfect time to make memories with your spouse and show them how much you appreciate and love them.

My husband and I have a holiday tradition that involves watching all our favorite holiday movies together. This means that we watch about 20+ holiday movies between Thanksgiving and Christmas (don’t judge). We also have specific movies we watch on specific nights, like Christmas Eve is always ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘A Christmas Story’.

Here are 9 traditions to start with your spouse this holiday season:

1. Dinner and shopping – during the holidays, it can be hard to find time for a date night (who are we kidding, it’s not easy any time of the year). Find a night to sneak away from the kids (maybe have them make holiday cookies with Grandma) and tackle two birds with one stone. Get your shopping done together sans kiddos and then grab dinner and a drink (or three).
2. Hit up Starbucks and then go light seeing – there’s nothing better than a warm drink and Christmas lights. Turn on some Christmas music and get ready to be super judgy about the light stringing skills of your neighbors.
3. Watch Christmas movies together – I’m not talking the Christmas cartoons you watch with the kids over and over, I’m talking about grown-up Christmas movies. Whether you like comedy (think ‘Christmas Vacation’ and ‘Bad Santa’) or more sentimental classics (‘Family Stone’ and ‘Miracle on 34th St’), make special time to snuggle up with a glass of wine or hot cocoa, just the two of you to share a movie (or like 30 in our case). Bonus, if you decide to watch ‘Christmas Vacation’, here is a fun drinking game to get you in the holiday spirit.
4. Buy your spouse festive PJ’s – buy each other special pajamas for Christmas eve, wrap them up and open them after the kiddos nod off. Maybe they’re naughty, maybe they’re nice. (Looking for the lady in your life? Try some of my favorite cute and cozy pjs)
5. 12 dates of Christmas – if you’re able to get away more often, plan 12 mini-dates for the days leading up to Christmas. Meet for pancakes before work or try fondue for dinner.
6. Be creative with your spouses stocking – try a theme or gag gifts. Here are some stocking ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
7. Holiday love letters – write a love letter to your partner, expressing gratitude for all that they do and other mushy stuff. Exchange them Christmas Eve after the kiddos go to bed.
8. Make their favorite meal or treat – show them you care by making them their favorite meal, cookies, cake, whatever they really love, no matter how much work it means for you (even if it means calling your mother in law to get the recipe). It will mean a lot that you took the time to make something special just for them.
9. Exchange gifts on Christmas Eve – With kids, Christmas morning is usually a blur of toys camera flashes and massive amounts of wrapping paper. Make Christmas Eve about the two of you and exchange gifts after the kids head off to dreamland so your gifts don’t get lost in the rush of Christmas morning.

Already have traditions with your spouse? What’s your favorite?

{Happy holidays}