The holiday season brings many things. It’s such a magical time of year, a total whirlwind of time that goes by in an instant. For some, the holidays bring an abundant amount of happiness, while others find themselves stressing over where to go, what to buy, and everything in between. (If you’re in need of some gift inspiration, check out the Flawless World gift guide here.) While being around one family may be enough to deal with for some, trying to work around the schedule or two families is even more difficult. You and your partner may find yourselves losing the holiday spirit if you’re caught up in running back and forth to different houses because you want to keep traditions alive. The joy of the holidays shouldn’t be lost on either one of you, which is why in this post I’m breaking down all the ways you and your S.O can make the holidays more special—just for the two of you.
Do things for yourselves
A lot of us have certain traditions embedded in us because of how we spent the holidays growing up, and it’s not uncommon to want to keep those traditions alive as adults. Last year my boyfriend and I spent a lot of time driving on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and we found ourselves tired and annoyed from all of the running around. Nobody deserves to feel like that on the holidays.
If you’re unsure or stressed about what you should do, try to do things for yourselves. You and your partner have every right to start new traditions on your own.
Exchange presents privately
My parents aren’t particularly romantic, but one thing they always kept for just the two of them was exchanging presents on Christmas. I personally think that’s so romantic and makes gift giving that much more special. Now, my boyfriend and I do this tradition ourselves. Every Christmas night we exchange presents and open a bottle of champagne. A little bit of privacy can really heat up the holidays.
Write each other letters
I love a good, thoughtful card at all times, but for some reason writing a sweet letter on the holidays gives it a sense of magic. I love exchanging letters with presents because it almost represents a reflection on the year you and your S.O have had together. Write something out for each other and keep it so you can look back on it years later.
spend the night alone
If you’re able to, try to spend some time alone together, and when I say alone I don’t mean in a room in house filled with other family members, in-laws, or so on—I mean truly alone, just the two of you. Last Christmas was (surprisingly) the first Christmas night my boyfriend and I spent by ourselves without the presence of family. After Christmas dinner at my aunts, we went off on our own to exchange presents and start our own traditions. It was one of my favorite Christmases ever because having that one-on-one time made it much more special.
Spending a holiday night alone not only takes your relationship to the next level, it brings the two of you closer together.
