Christmas Day sex: tips to ensure you enjoy some sexy time without feeling shattered

Christmas Day sex can be easier to squeeze in than you think, if you follow this expert advice...

couple's feet intertwined in bed under the cover, with a multi-colored border around the image
(Image credit: Future/Getty Images)

Christmas Day sex doesn't have to be too tiring or impossible to squeeze in during your hectic festive celebrations—especially if you follow these expert sex tips on how to mark the 25th of December with a 'bang' (literally).

Christmas, for many, is a time of celebration—to rejoice and relax and have a few days to switch off and spend time with our significant other. And of course, it's also a day for exchanging the best Christmas gifts with our partners—whether we're searching for Christmas gifts for our boyfriends or Christmas gifts for our girlfriends (some of the best sex toys can make for a great option...)

But it's also one of the best times of the year for intimacy and closeness, particularly in the bedroom. "Mistletoe and mulled wine can definitely put us in the mood for love, but it can be tricky to find the right time for a spot of festive fun between the sheets," says Johanna Rief, head of Sexual Empowerment at We-Vibe. Of course, there is absolutely no obligation to do it just because it's Christmas. However, if you do want to heat things up in the bedroom, there are a few things you can do to make sure you can be intimate without getting too worn out...

8 Christmas Day sex tips

Making time sex around the festive season can be fraught; rarely in the rest of the year do we have so many social obligations, chores to finish off, presents to buy and family to see—and for many people, it's one of the busiest times at work too. So to help your prioritize intimacy in your life, here are a few handy tips to bear in mind.

1. Embrace sex for breakfast

Midsection Of Woman - stock photo

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Why not start Christmas day as you mean to go on? If you're in for a hectic day ahead, full of in-laws and a lot of food, why not start the day with a very merry roll around the sack? We reckon it's the perfect time to squeeze in a quickie on 25 December anyway, as it will help to melt away all that Christmas stress, and leave you feeling very satisfied for the rest of the day. Plus, you won't yet have eaten everything in sight, so you'll probably be at your least bloated and lethargic of the whole day in the morning.

2. Think outside the bedroom

Intimacy doesn’t have to be exclusive to the bedroom, and it doesn’t need to just be about sex either. If you want to maintain the intimacy in your relationship over the festive season but just don't have the capacity to think about penetrative sex, smaller gestures such as a kiss, holding hands, or cuddling can show your partner how you feel about them, and also provide feelings of love and reassurance in what can often be a very stressful period.. 

And if you want things to get a bit more cheeky (but you don't quite have the energy for sex), why not excite each other with a spot of foreplay, dirty talk, or even mutual masturbation? The best app-controlled vibrators can be brilliant for a bit of partnered play.

3. Break out of the routine

naked man and woman hugging in shower cabin

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Just as there are no rules about having sex at Christmas, there are also no rules about sex happening at night and in bed only. Perhaps you enjoy the sensuality of a steamy hot shower—so why not try getting it on in there together before bed? Don’t be afraid to think outside of the bedroom and find moments of intimacy that work best for you and that won’t leave you falling asleep at the breakfast table in the morning.

Relationship expert and psychotherapist Charisse Cooke also suggests spicing up the location, obviously as long as you don't have guests staying for the festive season! The staircase for example can be exciting for some—or you could underneath the Christmas tree, next to a roaring fire, to make your private time extra festive. Just try somewhere you don't usually do it, so it all feels new and exciting.

4. Gift your partner a sex toy to get things started

If you're keen to spice things up around December, gifting your partner a sex toy as an early Christmas present is a great way to do so, as it can add a fun extra layer to your intimate time that you may not have experienced.

If you want something to enjoy together, a couple's toy such as the We-Vibe Chorus is the perfect plaything to add extra buzz to the bedroom. For heterosexual couples, it is worn by the woman during sex, and it can stimulate both partners at the same time. With ten vibration patterns, in addition to the app control, the product also has a squeeze remote control, which guarantees intuitive control by a simple squeeze of your hand. 

Alternatively, you can browse our round-up of the best sex toys for couples, or best sex toys for beginners if you've never used one before.

5. Use the festive food as a sex tool

Christmas is everyone's favorite foodie holiday, which means there's no better time to lick chocolate off your partner—or some whipped cream from your hot chocolate for that matter. Perhaps choose your least favorite from the selection box and don't be afraid to melt it over your partner's body. Besides, with all those leftovers, it would be almost wasteful not to!

6. Be sure to share the festive workload

No one wants to have sex when they’re tired and Christmas—as enjoyable as it is—can be the most tiring time of all. From buying food and presents, to wrapping late into the evening, and trying to squeeze as much joy out of the day as possible, sometimes when our head hits the pillow, all we can think about is sleep.

In this instance, it’s important to share the festive workload between you and your partner if you're planning Christmas Day sex. Stress is a passion-killer, so help each other with the household chores and Christmas tasks, and not only will they be done in half the time, leaving you more time for each other, but you’ll feel less tired when it comes to enjoying a spot of alone time too. It'll also zap any potential resentment from the person who normally dos the lion's share—which would kill any buzz!

7. Or, try sex and then shut eye

couple holding hands in bed during sex

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If you've not been able to fit in a sex sesh before the festive day is through, just before bedtime is still a great time to get down to it. It might not be your most energetic round to date, but it will make for a relaxed and restful night of sleep. Plus it's quiet, private, and cozy! Utilize night time sessions for more slow, relaxed, and passionate love-making—it doesn't need to be wild and crazy just before sleep.

8. Remember, sex isn't essential over Christmas

Though it might feel necessary, it's also vital to bear in mind that you don't have to have sex over the festive period—in fact, you should never ever feel forced into having sex when you don't want it, or just because it's Valentine's Day or Christmas Day. It's one of the biggest sex myths that we automatically feel up for it on a special day!

Johanna Rief said, "It’s important to remember that just because it’s Christmas (or any significant time of year for that matter), it does not mean you must be intimate with your partner. There’s no hard and fast rules around Christmas and sex, and so every couple should do what feels and works best for them."

Selina Maycock

Selina is a Senior Entertainment Writer with more than 14 years of experience in newspapers and magazines. She currently looks after all things Entertainment for GoodtoKnow, Woman&Home and My Imperfect Life.

Before joining Future Publishing, Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism. She is fully NCTJ and NCE qualified and has 100wpm shorthand. Having spent the start of her career working on local newspapers and online, Selina spent six years as Acting News Editor and Entertainment Reporter at the Scunthorpe Telegraph where she dug into hard news stories, conducted interviews, covered court reporting, features, and entertainment, whilst going to gigs in her spare time.

Whilst at the paper she was awarded an O2 Media Judges' Special Award for helping a terminally ill cancer sufferer realise his dying wish and marry his childhood sweetheart through a successful newspaper campaign. Things like this are close to her heart when it comes to using journalism to make a positive difference in people's lives.

Selina later branched further into all things celebrity to became a Showbiz Writer at Heat magazine, covering red carpet events, showbiz parties, and various launches before going freelance for two years. One of her biggest celebrity achievements - aside from generating celebrity exclusives - was interviewing Take That (including Robbie Williams) and bumping into Simon Cowell so much at events she told him 'I'm calling you my showbiz dad!'

In 2017 she joined TI Media as a senior reporter on Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, Woman's Weekly celebrity desk before branching online in 2020 when Future gave her the opportunity to focus on digital-first.

When she's not interviewing celebrities you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories.