Christmas Gift Ideas for a Couple

Buying for a couple means finding one gift that two different people will both enjoy. The best Christmas gifts for couples are shared ones: something they do together, use together or remember together. Here are 12 ideas for couples at every stage, from newlyweds to parents married 40 years, and our top pick is a song about their story as a couple.

Hear a real Songbond song first

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry their names and your stories.

12 Christmas gift ideas for a couple

1. A song about their love story ($39.90). Share how they met, the song from their wedding and the running joke between them, and Songbond turns it into an original song about the two of them. It suits every kind of couple, and there is nothing to ship.
2. A cooking class for two. Pasta, dumplings, knife skills. They leave with a new dish to make together on a Tuesday. Usually $80 to $200 for two.
3. A two-player game night box. One good game made for two people, a deck of cards, and the snacks they always argue over. Usually $30 to $60.
4. A framed print of where they met. The diner, the college campus, the church, the street corner. An illustrated print of the place starts the story every time a guest asks. Usually $40 to $120.
5. A year of dates in a box. Twelve envelopes, one for each month, each with a date idea inside. Put movie tickets or a coffee gift card in a few of them.
6. A night at a bed and breakfast. Somewhere within an hour's drive, so they actually go. Usually $150 to $350.
7. A bird feeder and a field guide. For the couple who sits with coffee at the same window every morning. Add a notebook so they can keep a list together. Usually $40 to $80.
8. A big throw blanket for the couch. Wide enough for two, heavy enough for January. Usually $50 to $120.
9. Tickets to a show they would not book themselves. A musical, a comedian, the symphony at Christmas. Usually $80 to $250 for the pair.
10. A photo book of their years together. Borrow pictures from their kids or friends and put them in order, from the first date to last summer.
11. A jigsaw puzzle made from their favorite photo. It keeps them busy on the slow days between Christmas and New Year. Usually $30 to $50.
12. Christmas Eve dinner, delivered. Order a full meal from a local restaurant so neither of them has to cook on the busiest night of the year. Usually $60 to $150.

How to choose for a couple

Think about how long they have been together and what they already do as a pair. New couples are still making traditions. Long-married couples have plenty of things and fewer chances to feel celebrated. Busy couples just need an easy evening.

• If they are newlyweds: the cooking class, the year of dates or the song.
• If they have been married for decades: the song, the photo book or the bird feeder.
• If they are hard to buy for: the bed and breakfast, the show tickets or the Christmas Eve dinner.

Getting their story right when it is not your story

When you give a couple a song or a photo book, you are telling their story from the outside, so gather it quietly first. Ask one of their kids or a close friend how they met and what they call each other. Look through old albums at the next family visit. If it is your parents, ask each of them separately about their first date and see where the details differ. The differences are often the best part.

Give them a song for Christmas

Create a Christmas song for a couple. It is ready within 24 hours, and if you are down to the last day, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour, with no shipping and no cutoff date.

Also in the Journal: romantic Christmas songs and anniversary songs for parents.