6 of my Favorite Dates I've Been on This Winter

This December and January, I enjoyed nearly a month of break off school. During that time, I had the wonderful pleasure of enjoying the holidays and wintry weather with some the greatest company possible-- my closest friends, family, and boyfriend :)

This past month, I was lucky to go on several really fun outings, as well as stay in for some fun, too. Because of that, I would love to share what my loved ones and I got up-to! The following "dates" that I mention range from group dates to one-on-one time with my boyfriend. The things I chose to mention, just like in my post about my 5 best fall dates, were definitely the stand-out afternoons for me. I did all of these following things this past season, and I certainly enjoyed every moment. These are things that anyone can try (young or old), and none of them should break the bank... since they were all experienced on a college kid's budget. And so, here are my list of 6 favorite winter dates that I personally experienced this year:

6. Hiking

In December, my boyfriend and I headed to what the locals call "Pocket" for a hike. Last time we had done this was on our very third date, so at least this time I felt comfortable grabbing for his hand whenever I felt like I was about to fall, trip, or lose my balance. Personally, I enjoyed getting outside and seeing something new. I like the peacefulness of the hiking trail we took, and it was much more bearable in December compared to August. However, hiking is just a little scary for me. Obviously, I recommend this date to anyone in-tune with the outdoors. It's peaceful and encourages conversation... unlike a loud restaurant. But for someone like me, hiking can be a bit nerve wracking. So, I definitely say do it a couple times for the experience, and be done with it.

I had an enjoyable time, overall, so I still listed the date here. We packed our lunches (I packed tomato soup in a thermos, grapes, water, and a ciabatta bread roll; he made a sandwich), and sat to eat it by the creek (which was the best part, to me). Still, the idea of going back multiple times to hike does not totally appeal to me. And that's okay.

5. Gingerbread decorating party

One of the things I did this Christmas was made my first-ever gingerbread cookies from scratch! I found a wonderful chai spice gingerbread recipe on one of my favorite recipe blogs. They were so easy to make, and they turned out perfectly for decorating. So, I naturally had the roommate over, as well as my boyfriend and his sister. We decorated the cookies and then watched a Christmas movie. Though this was not a "date" date, it was still an event that I really looked forward to having, and it was a lot of fun.

Also-- I highly recommend cookie baking and decorating at Christmas time. I really loved trying a new recipe and seeing it come out totally right! I baked up all the cookies the night before, to be ready to decorate the next day. I can't say anything more, except that it was great!

4. New Year's Eve Hang-out

This is another example of a date with friends, but I had to include the New Year's Eve countdown on my list. This was my first year ever where I went out on New Years, and so that was very exciting, by way of milestone.

No offense to my parents, but hanging with friends to watch the ball drop was a really great way to kick off the new year.

It was a last-minute idea on the night of New Year's Eve Eve to do this at all; my best friend and I planned a little party for ourselves and our boyfriends. We had sparkling grape juice, pizza, cake-- yeah, we definitely overdid it on the food. Still, it was a lot of fun. I am really glad and thankful that I had a chance to spend New Year's Eve this way.

3. Movie Date, West Side Story

Another friend outing, my sister and our close friend went to see the remake of West Side Story in theaters. WOW-- what a long film.

Aside from the 2 1/2 hour runtime, this movie was a pleasant surprise for all of us. While I had technically seen a brief commercial before seeing the movie, I essentially went in with no idea about the plot or quality of the remake. All I knew about the movie was that it should be a modern rendition of Romeo and Juliet, placed along the backdrop of a 50s Manhattan gang war.

Now, I do not want to go off-track by talking extensively about the movie, so I will just say that I think it was a really good film, and it was a lot of fun to see with a couple of my girlfriends. The music was exciting and different. The Romeo and Juliet storyline was very evident (again, I had never seen the original), so I was overall very happy.

We were some of the only people in the theater, so that was kind of nice, too. Afterwards, we went and grabbed some delicious Gyros. It was probably one of my favorite days spent, during all of break.

I highly recommend capitalizing on the warm movie theater during the cold weather. Find a movie that looks promising, and see if it surprises you. I know I was sure surprised!

2. Birthday Dinner

Sooooo my first official night of Christmas break actually happened to be on the day after my birthday. It also happened to be on a Friday, which is weekly date night for me, if you did not know that already.

Without being cheesy or awkward, I do want to express how much I appreciate the effort my boyfriend put in for me on this night. He made me, from scratch, homemade pumpkin ravioli. (There was also a butter sauce on them, and bit of sage).

Yeah.

When I tell you that those were some of the best ravioli I have ever eaten, I'm not lying, or simply trying to boost his ego. They were really good. Yeah, maybe a little misshapen, but they were so delicious.

There is something so meaningful about receiving food that someone else makes for you. I have always been a lover of pastas and especially raviolis, so you know how special this gesture was for me. And... pumpkin is like my obsession for several long months out of the year, so he did right by making pumpkin pasta for me. (I am spoiled, at this point).

I am also not sure that anything I ever do for him will come up to that, but overwhelming him with my molasses cookies is my best bet at repaying him. Seriously, this was an incredibly comfy and cozy and special and delicious night. :)

1. The Nutcracker Ballet

Last but not least, my favorite "date" I went on this winter break was to see the Nutcracker Ballet and Chattanooga Symphony. For my birthday, I just decided to go crazy and buy some nice seats at the ballet for my best friend, my sister, my boyfriend, and me to go watch the Nutcracker. You see, I have always been enchanted by the story of the nutcracker-- since childhood, I've even collected Christmas ornaments of the characters (like Clara, Drosselmeyer, and the Sugar Plum Fairy). The story just feels like Christmas, to me. There is the element of family, gifts, candy, and cold. So every year, I long to go see one of my favorite christmas stories come together with some of my favorite music and dance.

As you know from my fall dates post, I highly recommend planning a date around supporting the arts. This was my second time of the year seeing the CSO perform, and they did fantastic with the Nutcracker's music. And then, of course, the Chattanooga Ballet put on a great show alongside of the CSO (with lots of cute little kids)!

My group and I got all dressed-up for this venue, too. It was surprisingly easy to find the theater, parking, and our seats, which I was so thankful for. It was ultimately a stress-free afternoon, and we all just sat back and enjoyed the show.

After that, we actually went to Cici's pizza buffet to eat. It was a very un-bougie end to the afternoon, but I think I ate like 10 cinnamon rolls, so I cannot complain, at all.

This was my favorite thing I have done in a long time (and yeah, I paid for it), but the experience was so worth it. I'm so glad I had the chance to spend my winter break in such a way.

So, that's all I've got for this post!

I think I fully capitalized on my time with friends this winter, and it shows in my list of top 6 favorite dates. I certainly recommend that anyone can try some of these things for themselves. I certainly know I'm glad that I did!

- Maeve