December Date Ideas

If you’re dating, you won’t be short of ideas because there’s plenty going on before and after Christmas – and here’s our pick of the best!

With a chill in the air and fairy lights everywhere, there’s a certain romance to December – especially when you’re dating. Arm in arm, wrapped up in woollies, you can soak up the ambiance together with these December date ideas taking place before and after the big day.

We’ve also added our seasonal gifts to DatingAgency.com so you can spread some festive cheer to other DatingAgency.com Members. So login and make someone’s day with a scattering of mistletoe magic!

December is the time to….

Visit A Winter Wonderland

With their outdoor ice rinks, Christmas markets and festive entertainment, you and your date can revel in the magic of Christmas as early as you like! The one in Hyde Park spans twenty acres and has free entry, whilst others in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Northumbria and Centre Parks need to be booked. Find out more about Hyde Park at
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, or do a quick search on Google to locate one near you.

See It’s A Wonderful Life

It isn’t Christmas without it! Take you date for some classic feel-good 1940′s cinematic action and watch It’s A Wonderful Life at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall. The screening starts at 1pm on Christmas Eve so there isn’t a better way to start the weekend’s festivities. You can book box seats for £6.50 each or standard tickets for £5.50 each. Telephone 0151 709 3789 or visit Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall website.

Theatre Date: Morecambe

Morecambe and Wise fans can put Eric back into their Christmas agendas with a date to see Morecambe at London’s Duchess Theatre. It’s a biographical play about the comedian’s life with an uncanny portrayal by Bob Golding following his sell out Edinburgh Festival run, which had rave reviews from Ronnie Corbett and Nicholas Parsons. Tickets cost £20 – £37.50 and you can read all about it on the DatingAgency.com Blog.

Cinema: The Avatar

If you and your date are both sci-fi fans, make sure you go and see the Avatar, in cinemas from December 18th. It’s the most ambitious 3D film ever made and will be available in 2D, 3D and in IMAX cinemas. Director James Cameron of Titanic, Terminator and Alien fame, says his inspiration for the script was; “Every single science fiction book I ever read as a kid.” The premise is a paralyzed man controlling an alien body and it stars Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington.

Visit The UK’s Largest Winter Garden

Blow out the cobwebs before New Year on a visit to the seven-acre winter garden at the National Trust property Dunham Massey in Cheshire. With 400 metres of new pathways, 700 plant species, 1,600 shrubs and 200,000 bulbs it’s no wonder it’s the UK’s largest winter garden! December brings the bright yellow of witch hazel and fragrances of mahonia, winter honeysuckle and Christmas Box. You’ll find visitor information on The National Trust website.

Racing At Kempton Park

Get your glad rags on and have a flutter at the races on the 26th and 27th December. Kempton Park’s Winter Festival boasts two days of top quality jump racing featuring the William Hill King George VI Steeple Chase. Will Kauto Star re-write history books and take a fourth successive title? Tickets cost from £8 or you can book the best view of the action at the Panoramic Bar & Restaurant from £49.95 per person. For tickets telephone 01932 753518 or visit Kempton Park.

Visit Yorkshire Sculpture Park

You and your date can walk off some Christmas pud on a trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the only one of its kind in the UK. The permanent collection contains work from Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth; artist Rob Ryan transforms the visitor centre with imaginative paper cuts and screen prints; and there’s sculpture and art in the Underground Gallery from one of Britain’s foremost artists, Peter Randall-Page. It costs £4 to park and entry is free. Visit Yorkshire Sculpture Park for visitor information. (Image of Peter Randall-Page, courtesy of Jonty Wilde).

Star Gazing in Galloway Forest

Take your date to gaze at the stars in the darkest place in the UK, Galloway Forest in Scotland. Set in open farmland, away from light pollution you can stay at Galloway Astronomy Centre and perhaps even catch a glimpse of the partial lunar eclipse taking place on New Year’s Eve! Hot drinks are provided throughout the night although you might want to take your own Champagne! A double room is £28 per person per night. Telephone 01988 500594 or visit Galloway Astronomy Centre for more information.

New Year’s Eve

If you haven’t any plans, see in 2010 with a stay in Allendale, Northumberland where the Flaming Barrels ceremony takes centre stage. This Pagan tradition starts with a colourful procession through the town by a team of local barrel carriers, dressed in fancy costumes and balancing flaming whiskey barrels filled with hot tar on their heads. Once they reach the unlit bonfire shortly before midnight, each man tosses his flaming ‘headgear’ onto the bonfire, setting it ablaze. On the stroke of midnight, everyone joins hands to dance around the fire, singing Auld Lang Syne. For details visit Allendale Tar Barrel Ceremony.