5 Fun Holiday Date Ideas

Unless you live on Mars (and if you do, you're not likely to be reading this anyway) you've probably begun to notice a distinctly celebratory feel in the air. There's bright lights going up on houses and trees. Shopping malls are doing the whole Bedlam theme. Gingerbread men, if they could, would most likely be running for their lives (in vain, though - just no getting away here). And we love it! Oh, we most definitely LOVE it! There simply isn't anything else like it - it's Christmas! So lift your glass of wassail, grab some frosted cookies, and celebrate your time off from school with some of these fun date ideas.

Make a gingerbread house.

Nothing shouts out "delicious holiday season" like a gingerbread house, with its frosted icicles and gumdrop walkways. Add a row of candy corn along the windows and some white sprinkles on the ground and you've got a confectionery masterpiece that no one could possibly resist. The making of gingerbread houses is believed to have started in Germany, and the Grimm brothers even used the idea for the Hansel and Gretel story. Spend an afternoon with your date making a traditional gingerbread house, or maybe a less traditional gingerbread skyscraper. If you're feeling brave, channel your inner architect with a gingerbread bridge across a gingerbread harbor.

Have a Christmas movie marathon.

Christmas has always inspired amazing art over the ages - from medieval carols and music, to epic stories and folk theatre. With all this wealth of material to draw on, Hollywood has created an almost overwhelming selection of holiday classics. And now that you're on vacation, this is the perfect time to plug into all that cinematic treasure. Well, some of it isn't quite treasure - anyone seen Santa Claus Conquers the Martians? But hey, 'tis the season, so quit being the critic. Grab a plate of fresh gingerbread cookies, drop some marshmallows in hot chocolate, and settle down for a Christmas movie marathon with your date. And if you're brave enough to watch that Santa Martian movie, more power to you. Tell us how it is.

Make snow ice cream.

Snow ice cream is the original thing. Before Baskin Robbins and Ben & Jerry's, before gelato and sorbet, the ancient Persians would pour fruit juice over snow from the mountains and serve it as a treat for the elite. Roman emperor Nero was quite a fan of a dessert made of snow with honey and fruit toppings. And while we don't at all support Nero's alleged tyranny, we think his patronage of ice cream gains him a few bonus points in the annals of history. Who can blame an extravagant personality when it's triggered by dessert! With that history lesson done, try making some snow ice cream with your date - in fact, you can even improve hugely on the original recipe since you have something the ancient Europeans did not - chocolate!!

Decorate for the holidays.

Spend an evening with your date sipping hot apple cider and decorating your apartment before going home for the holidays. Put up a tree (even if it's only a little one). Hang some stockings over the fireplace. If you're short on a fireplace, don't panic. Draw a red brick fireplace with a big roaring fire on a large poster board - it's still fun, and now it's all your creation. String lights along the window, over the mirror, or along the foot of your bed. And don't forget to hang mistletoe in key strategic locations.

Need a date to share the festivities with? Drop by Kikini and we'll introduce you to a ton of fun people!

What are your favorite things to do during the holidays?