We don’t really have the disposable income to fuck around with St. Valentine. When we lived in CA, I would go to Trader Joes and get something special for dinner. Maybe some good cuts of steak and the cheese cake (mmmmmmmmmmm). Even if we had the money, I don’t really like flowers, I never wear jewelry, except for my wedding ring, and I just started a diet, so if he showed up with a box of chocolates, I’d probably start crying and wonder why he hates me so much.
We’ll go out to dinner, but not on Valentine’s Day itself because we both hate crowds. Some years we’ve exchanged gifts, others he’s gotten flowers- it’s varied a lot, but we tend to discuss what we’re doing beforehand so unspoken expectations don’t really come into it much.
Exciting, huh?
My husband & I don’t really do Valentine’s Day, neither of us are into it. If we do anything, we both prefer to spend the money on a nice dinner than on presents, though.
My cats eat flowers, and I don’t really like most Valentine’s day candy, anyway. When we’ve done presents in the past, it’s more fun stuff than traditional. Last year, he got me a mug that said “Fuck Off, I’m Knitting” on it. Which I love and use all the time.
I’m not a Valentine’s Day fan, and he’s not that big of one either. If anything, the “tradition” for us is that I pick up some Chinese food on my walk home from the train station, and maybe a teeny dessert from the bakery up the street.
Flowers are overpriced for the holiday, we’re dieting and I’m not big into chocolates anyway, and I really don’t like jewelry. A few years ago his coworkers browbeat him into buying me flowers, a card, and a necklace; some were women who were mad at him for not getting anything and had the stereotypical expectations for what women should get, others were men who were afraid that I didn’t mean it when I said “don’t get me anything” and expected I was playing games. I was on a business trip and he was going to pick me up at the airport. He met me just past security and gave me those things. I was really, really confused until he admitted that he’d caved in to their criticism. I told him I love him, that I honestly did appreciate the gifts, and he was to not doubt himself again about whether or not he really knows me. (Later on I added the caveat that he could tell them I said they should f*ck off and not hassle him about giving me stuff.)
We haven’t made reservations for dinner. I did consider going to Charlie Trotter’s for Valentine’s lunch (normally they don’t serve lunch, but they’re having a special prix fixe lunch menu that day), but he works Saturday. So, it might be Chinese takeout again, I’m not really sure.
We rarely do anything for Valentine’s Day. My birthday is a week after Valentine’s Day, so that would end up being a little expensive. We frequently do cards, and maybe flowers or a nice dinner at home, but this year my husband is working Saturday night and I have things on Saturday morning, so we’re pretty much doing nothing. We’ll do something nice for my birthday, and that’s fine with me.
'Atta girl.
When we were still dating, my wife flew out to the East coast for the Val Day weekend. Earlier in the week I, a poor student at the time, asked her what she wanted to do to celebrate Valentine’s Day. She said, “you know what I really want? I’d like to get a six-pack and a pizza and watch a movie. Whaddaya think?”
I pretty much knew at that point that I wanted to marry this girl.
I don’t do Valentine’s Day, so I would expect nothing. I’d far rather we gave each other random acts of romance throughout the rest of the year. And that would involve doing nice things for each other, rather than purchases. Although I do like flowers.
It’s nice to get something on Valentine’s Day - heck it’s nice to feel special any day - but Valentine’s Day festivities are certainly optional and I don’t hold it against my husband if it doesn’t happen.
This Valentine’s Day, I’m getting something wonderful - a couple of friends are coming over, all our kids will be babysat for the evening and we’ll eat junk food, tell raunchy jokes and enjoy a drink or two. As an added bonus, I took the day off today. The only thing that could possibly make the day better is having sex with my husband, which is also a possibility.
So, no, flowers, candy, jewelry and dinner aren’t necessities.
I prefer to not get cards - they’re sooo expensive and I just want to recycle them anyway - they just get in the way!!!
But I got a brand new laptop for Valentine’s this year!!! Yay me! Hubby just thought it was a good idea… and he gave it to me early so I could take it to Toy Fair in NYC tomorrow morning. He’s so sweet.
I’m always in NYC for Toy Fair on Valentine’s so we never do anything - Mom and I have reservations for Ruths Chris steakhouse and a $250 gift certificate from American Express, so we won’t be going without tomorrow night! 
Both our hubbies will be at home by themselves, though… 
You know what my wife expects? Nothing. I got her flowers or a small stuffed bear or something while we were dating and she looked at me like I was nuts. She said that Valentine’s Day was supposed to be for the girl to get something for the guy. (She’s from another country and I guess that’s what she had learned about V-Day).
Who am I to pick an argument with my wife?
(I do get her a card; but it’s generally a day where I can pretty much relax and just rake in the love )
We’ll end up going to the bar and having a few beers and just hanging out.
He already gave me my Valentine’s Day Gift - a new tensioner and serpentine belt for my van that blew up on Tuesday while I was on my way home from work! After the cost of the parts and the tools he needed as well as the cab fare and train fare for me to get home Tuesday night, borrowing his mom’s car Wednesday so we could get to where it was broken down, the three hours he spent in the rain working on it, the bar tab afterwards since we were both frazzled, along with the fact that I won’t be PAID by work for that day, this has been a mighty expensive valentine’s day! Ah - romance!!!
I don’t expect anything on Valentine’s Day. I would much rather lounge on the sofa with my SO and watch him play Halo than be flooded with jewelry, flowers, candy, etc.
As it is, he’s taking us out to a steak dinner, and then I’m treating us to a movie. We feel like if we’re going to do something on Valentine’s Day, it should be about us, as a couple, not one-sided, with me getting all the attention.
We’ve been married 25 years. We’ve pretty much ignored Valentine’s day for the duration. It suits us.
Nope, I don’t expect anything. I picked up a bag of the conversation heart candy, and I’m going to spend some time placing sugar hearts that say “Be mine”, “True Love” and “XOXO” on his keyboard, toothbrush and in his underwear drawer.
That and I got him a new squirt gun, because he obviously needs it.
I’d be happy with snuggling on the sofa, watching a movie, drinking spiked hot chocolate.
I do have to add that sometimes we do other quirky things for Valentine’s Day. One year he got us a game for our PlayStation - the Area 52 shooter and two light guns. 
That was an awesome gift, and one we could play together.
No flowers, because the cat cannot resist eating them, and then he cannot resist barfing. Getting out of the bed the day after Valentine’s Day and stepping in cat hurl is not very romantic (or maybe I’m just vanilla like that).
A card is nice. A little candy or chocolate is nice. Maybe a fancy Red Velvet Cupcake from the bakery. Anything that’s more than a single serving feels like too much.
For my giving, I go with the card and will probably make a favorite dessert that we both enjoy.
No expectations here. We’re going out to dinner tomorrow night, and I’ve been told that I have a treat waiting for me at home. I will pick His Nibs up some cookies or something sweet at a local bakery on the way home, but we’re not getting each other gifts or anything.
We’re not exchanging gifts, but are going out to dinner. That’s about it.
I’m not very sentimental about so-called “Hallmark Holidays,” and when you couple it with the fact that I don’t like traditional “girly” gifts like flowers (though I’ll never say no to candy!), usually what happens is we end up going out to dinner on some night near Valentine’s Day but not the actual day (the restaurants all jack up the prices, change to those stupid “price fixe” menus, and it’s crowded as heck on the day itself) and maybe watch a movie or go out window-shopping or something.
As it happens, this year my WoW guild has a raid on Saturday night (I think his does too) so that’s another reason not to do anything on the day. We might be going out Sunday evening this year.
BTW, married 20 years and both of us like non-conventional sentimentality–we get each other little gifts and such when the spirit moves us, not because some holiday says we have to. No offense intended to those who like the holiday–I know we’re the weirdos in that regard. But it works for us.