It’s a Wonderful Life is one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time. It is a feel-good movie that just leaves you happy and inspired after watching it. Not to mention it teaches a valuable life lesson. Many families’ Christmas traditions involve watching this movie during the holiday season. But don’t let that stop you from watching it any time of year. You could create a whole cheap yet fun date idea around watching this movie.
Start the evening off by making a snowman in the front yard. You could have a snowball fight if you want, wrestle around in the snow, make snow angels, or basically anything that involves fun outside. Of course, this applies to you if you live in a place with snow; if you don’t, go for a walk in your neighborhood and look at the lights. Then go inside, make some hot cocoa, pop some popcorn, and watch the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life. Or you could also combine this idea with any of the other movie date ideas. It is a fun and cheap date. Even if you have to rent the movie or buy it, that won’t cost you very much. I would get it ahead of time, though, because it is a popular movie, especially around the Holidays.
After watching the movie, you could sit around and tell each other why you think your life is wonderful. And it is a great time to tell that person how much you love them.
Brief Synopsis of the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life
It’s A Wonderful Life is about a man named George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart. It takes place in a town called Bedford Falls from 1919 to 1945. George has a lot of problems in life but somehow always manages to do the right thing. He reluctantly takes over the Savings and Loan business and scrapes by all while trying to raise a family. After several things that don’t go as planned one Christmas Eve, 1945, he contemplates ending his own life. An Angel named, Clarence, is sent down to help him. He is given a rare gift, a chance to see what life would have been like if he was never born.
What you need for this It’s a Wonderful Life date idea:
You need snow. If you don’t have it, decorate the house together with Christmas decorations or go on that walk I told you about. You need hot cocoa, popcorn, and the movie. If you are a member of Amazon Prime, currently as of this post, it is available to watch on there.
If you want to combine this idea with any of the other ideas then you will need to plan for the specifics of those ideas as well.
My commentary on this date idea:
In the process of writing some of the Christmas related dates, I thought to myself, “What do I really like about Christmas?” A few ideas came to me: I like making snowmen, I like hot chocolate, I like popcorn, and I like watching It’s a Wonderful Life. Then I thought it would make a cool date to combine those.
If you don’t like the movie choice, choose another Christmas movie to watch, like Elf, The Santa Claus, or something else Christmas-themed, like one of those sappy Hallmark movies that girls love. Okay, I confess I also like those, and I’m man enough to admit it. But back to the date idea—I find it hard to believe that anyone would not like It’s A Wonderful Life.
Several years ago my family got together with my brother and his wife’s family and we went to downtown Palo Alto. They have this old-style movie theater there and every year during the holidays they show, It’s a Wonderful Life. It was so fun to see it in that type of setting. I didn’t mind waiting for an hour in line. There was a street musician that kept us entertained. Who knows maybe something like that is held in where you live?
Do you have experience with this creative date idea? Let me know in the comments how it went and if your date, spouse, significant other liked it. You can buy a copy of the book 101 Creative Dates: ideas, tips, and personal experiences from the life of a hopeless romantic here or visit the shop.
Here are other creative date ideas you might like: