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Advent calendar ideas for couples: 24 ways to fill it with the two of you
An advent calendar for your partner is the perfect excuse to have a little surprise every day of December without spending a fortune. These advent calendar ideas for couples work because what matters isn’t what’s inside each door: it’s knowing someone put it together thinking of you.
Here are ideas to make one at home, mixing memories, plans and small gifts, and how to turn the 24th into the most special moment of the whole month.
How to make an advent calendar for your partner
You don’t need to buy a ready-made one. With 24 envelopes, a few pegs and some string you have the base. What matters is spreading out what goes inside so every day is worth opening.
Memories
An old message from your chat, a printed photo, the ticket from your first gig together. The most moving and the cheapest.
Plans
Vouchers for a dinner, a film of their choice, breakfast in bed, a weekend away.
Little gifts
Their favourite chocolate, Christmas socks, a candle, a mug for hot chocolate. Things under £5.
Ideas with memories of your story
This is what makes an advent calendar yours and not just any calendar. Open your WhatsApp chat and start digging: it’s all in there.
Your very first message
Print it as a chat bubble and save it for day 1. There’s no better way to start.
One message for every month together
Pick the sweetest, funniest or most absurd message from each month and spread them across the calendar.
The photo from your first date
Or the first one you ever took together. Printed on photo paper, with the date on the back.
A voice note you both treasure
That birthday voice note, the 3am one, the one where you can’t stop laughing. Make a QR code that links to it and pop it in the envelope.
our favourite
8. The 24th: your story in a book
After 23 days of little memories, the last envelope can be the big gift: your whole WhatsApp chat turned into a book, with your photos and the voice notes in QR codes.
With a personalised message book you choose the cover, title and dedication, and you see every page before ordering. If December catches you short of time, the PDF version is delivered instantly.
If it’s your first Christmas together, here are more first Christmas gift ideas for couples.
Plans to put in the calendar
A Christmas film night voucher
With a blanket, popcorn and the film picked by whoever opens the envelope.
A walk to see the lights
An evening to see your town’s Christmas lights, with mulled wine or hot chocolate at the end.
Cooking something new together
A recipe for a festive dessert with the ingredients already bought.
What works best
- Mixing memories, plans and little gifts.
- Handwriting the numbers and notes.
- Saving the best for the last few days.
- Making the 24th the big gift.
What to avoid
- Something expensive every day: it’s exhausting and loses the magic.
- Leaving it until 30 November: finding memories takes time.
- Repeating: 24 identical chocolates isn’t a calendar, it’s a box.
Keep reading
- First Christmas together gift ideas
- Christmas gift ideas for your partner
- Gift ideas for your boyfriend
- Gift ideas for your girlfriend
- WhatsApp Wrapped: your chat stats
Frequently asked questions
What do you put in an advent calendar for a couple?
A mix of memories (old messages, photos, tickets), plans (a dinner, a film, a walk) and small gifts under £5. Ideally, save the big present for the 24th.
When should I start making it?
Around mid-November. Finding memories in your chat and photos takes longer than you think, and the calendar needs to be ready on 1 December.
How much does a homemade advent calendar cost?
You can make one for under £30: envelopes, pegs and printed memories cost very little, and the plans cost nothing at all.
What should I give on the last day of the advent calendar?
Something that sums up everything before it. A book of your WhatsApp chat, for example, is the perfect ending to 23 days of little memories.
Twenty-four days to remind them why you chose each other.
