All The Ways To Ensure Your Sex Life Stays Festive AF Over Christmas

Christmas is a time for fun, family, and lots of festive commitments. Between trips to the pub with friends, buying all the presents you’ll need for the big day, and working out where exactly you’ll be between Christmas and New Year it can feel nearly impossible to fit in normal commitments like spending quality time with your other half. Staying with your family or in-laws can be a bit of a passion killer, so here’s how to keep your sex life alive during Christmas, according to an expert.

While the idea of cooking a full turkey dinner and staying with your family or in-laws may not make you feel really sexy, it would appear hectic festive arrangements aren’t killing that many people’s sex drives. According to a Lovehoney survey 44 percent of women and 50 percent of men found relatives to be a distraction over the festive period. However, two thirds of couples said they still have sex at their in-laws or family's house. Psychosexual relationship therapist Jodie Slee says, “there's the potential to feel shy or awkward having sex whilst staying with your in-laws but by avoiding intimacy you’re missing out on the chance to have some great adrenaline-fuelled sex.”

While being in your childhood bedroom and across the hall from your parents may be a bit too much of a blast from the past and not exactly passion inducing, Slee says that shouldn’t get in your was. She says, “research has shown a significant positive correlation between adrenaline and attraction, which means as levels of adrenaline increased, so did level of attraction. Also adrenaline gets your heart racing and your nervous system activated which replicates the physiological changes that occur during arousal which can make the experience all the more intense." Slee continues:

"One way to increase adrenaline is to have a quickie in a risky situation…like in your partner’s childhood bedroom whilst his relatives are downstairs.”

Adult you and lingerie company Lovehoney spoke to 2,175 people to establish just how hot people feel over the festive season. Christmas Eve was found to be the sexiest day of the Christmas holidays with 60 percent of couples saying they have sex then. It looks like festive anticipation does a lot for people in the bedroom as New Years Eve was a close second. Half of couples said they felt hotter at Christmas because the alcohol is flowing. It would seem that a big dinner does little for your sex drive as only 47 percent of people said they would have sex on Christmas Day. When it comes to having a little bit of alone time Slee says, “build sex into your schedule, you may have to let go of spontaneity over the Christmas period and schedule in time for sex. Wear lingerie under your Christmas jumper so you feel sexy, keep up non-sexual touching like hand holding and kissing so you keep the oxytocin flowing.”

A sexy gift is a great way to spice things up with your partner over the festive period, with 57 percent of couples saying they thought lingerie was the best naughty gift. If you’re thinking of treating a loved or yourself then Lovehoney has launched their new Enchanted and Lustre lingerie collections for Christmas in the festive colours of red and purple. It’s super inclusive as the new pieces come in cup sizes A-F. If you want to get your other half something a little more personal but are unsure of where to start Slee says, “Christmas is a good time of the year to spice things up as it provides so many opportunities for sexual novelty. It's also a great excuse to gift your partner (or yourself) some new lingerie or brand new sex toy, aim for something completely different and slightly out of your regular comfort zone to provide your brain with a heavy dose of dopamine.”

Christmas really is the season to be jolly and by creating time and space to share a little bit of intimacy with your other half may help you get through the festive period. By either investing in a sexy gift for yourself or a loved one or trying something a little new in the bedroom, it can be a great way to create memories and spend special time with your SO. Slee says, “travelling to visit family and friends brings out new and different experiences and so the potential for sex in new places is a potent aphrodisiac.”

Stress and anxiety can be detrimental to your sex drive but cuddling up for a bit of alone time with your partner may be exactly what you need to get through to Jan. 1.