Well, it’s that time of year again, so I thought it would be nice to share stories or ideas of cool things you’ve done for your Valentine. Whether it’s for your spouse, SO, or Friend With Benefits, heh heh, what are you planning on doing this year? Or did you do something in a previous year that they loved?
Share!
I am going to be following this. I have nothing to share but am hoping that someone can include suggestions for a relatively new (2-1/2 months by V Day) but very happy relationship.
One that I didn’t know about! Congratulations!
I have no idea what I’m doing this year. She doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it. Her birthday, however, is coming up this weekend, and that will be a big deal.
I’ll still do something nice for her, though. Since it falls on a Saturday this year, I’m thinking that flowers are going to be uber-expensive if they can be found at all. Maybe I’ll get her some chocolates from a fancy gourmet store, a piece of jewelry, and I’ll cook for her – dinner and breakfast. For her kids, too, as they’ll be around.
Since finances are on the brain this year, a few inexpensive ideas:
–a romantic picnic somewhere quiet
–give a coupon book, with coupons for things like a massage, making dinner, going to a chick flick (or a guy flick), doing household chores, etc.
–a nice framed photo of the two of you
–a mix CD (don’t laugh, I love getting these!)
–instead of going to a fancy restaurant, dress to the nines and make a romantic dinner at home
–volunteer for a local charity together.
A co-worker years ago walked into her building and followed a trail of rose petals up to the 4th floor, into her condo, through the living room and into the bedroom where there sat a bottle of chilled champagne and her boyfriend, on one knee, tears in his eyes and holding a 3-carat diamond ring, professing his undying love for her.
Since V-Day is a Saturday this year, all the good restaurants booked up really quickly (and will probably be putting an insane markup on everything anyways). So we’re still going to get all dressed up and go for a fancy dinner, but we’re going to postpone it to later this month.
What he doesn’t know is that I’m still planning on taking him out on the day of. Weather permitting, we’re following the same route as one of our first dates: lunch at our favourite dim sum place, gallery-hopping downtown, and then coffee and pear tart at a little french cafe.
I’ve always liked the idea of things being romantic because they’re part of special moments in our relationship, like things we’ve done and places we’ve been, so I always try to incorporate a little bit of that into gifts for anniversaries and v-day. Like a couple of years ago… The Boy had moved into my apartment just a week before V-Day and was in the middle of a big project at work, so we decided to take it easy. Instead, I decided to make him a romantic candlelight dinner at home using the exact same dishes we had eaten the first time we cooked a meal together. He was absolutely floored that I’d remembered all those details.
Nice gifts don’t have to be expensive to be special… just thoughtful.
Mahna Mahna has a great idea: Dinner on a V-day Saturday is pricey as all hell. Go out to a fancy lunch.
The first meal I ever made for my husband was pot roast and homemade noodles. Hmmm.
That’s not the only good idea she had.
Our first date was lunch at a tapas restaurant, followed by a walk around the park. Weather permitting, we could do that again. It would be hard to surprise her with that, though. Parking around there sucks and needs planning.
[post=5770518]Do not go to a strip club.[/post]
Other than that, I have no advice.
Stranger
… and then she woke up, to see her husband of 20 years scratching himself and asking for another beer.
what?
Well, I started a Valentine’s Day tradition about five or six years ago, where the women in my life (my wife, my two daughters and my mother-in-law) each get to eat whatever they want for dinner. No request is too outlandish, and the kids (now 9 and 13) usually choose to eat something like this: an ice cream sundae, a couple slices of pie and a pudding cup. The adults usually request something a little more sensible, like their favorite Thai dishes, or some such. I like that it falls on Saturday this year, which gives me a lot more time to run around obtaining everything for dinner.
Bless you.
Monday the 9th is a religious holiday, Makha Bucha Day. An official holiday. Saturday the 14th is Valentine’s Day. Take a big guess which day is getting all the attention in Thailand. (Hint: It’s NOT Makha Bucha Day.)
Taking my sweetie out for Italian food on Valentine’s Day. Giving her a BIG box of Belgian chocolates, same as every year. She’ll get me expensive cologne, same as every year. (We have Valentine’s Day down to a fine art.)
You may find this interesting: Each year in Thailand, there is a problem with high-school girls giving up their virginity to their boyfriends on Valentine’s Day. Short-time hotels in Thailand, especially in Bangkok, do a booming business in high-school students each February 14. The students pick this day to “do it” for the first time. It’s gotten so bad, if you want to call it bad, that the authorities in at least one recent year threatened to stake out short-time hotels and expose the students on TV. Sort of surprise them suddenly. Not sure if they ever carried the threat through.
We’re going to be in Montreal visiting my family over the weekend, and it seemed silly to make reservations or get a hotel for that night, since I’ll only have three days with my family. So we’ll be having a Valentine’s Day brunch with my Mom, my brother, and my 94-year-old Grandmaman instead of any of the fancy romantic stuff. Which is ok with me, really. I’ve never really gotten into the hype of Valentine’s day like some of my friends, probably because I never had a boyfriend to share it with until my mid-twenties. As long as he remembers to tell me he loves me at least a couple times during the day, and maybe gives me a card, I’ll be fine.
In past years, he’s always gotten me flowers, even when we were miles apart. Tulips, because he knows I like the spring flowers best.
I got him a present this year. I made a photo book on Shutterfly - pictures of us from the start of our relationship 4 years ago when we were just getting to know each other online, to my moving here to be with him, and all of our adventures together. It’s silly and sentimental, but I really like it and I think he will too. I also added “Volume 1” to the title, because I know we’ve got more ahead.