Hey guys and gals! Who’s been thinking about Valentine’s Day…
Valentine’s Day brings out two kinds of people. On February 14th my Facebook feed looks like the “Blue & Black Dress Fiasco” that divided the entire country (universe?). There are either a bunch of cute statuses and pictures of couples, or it’s a bunch of people hating on the holiday, creating memes as to why they hate it so much. Some go on and on about how V Day is a Hallmark holiday, and we should all boycott it, and others are so obsessed that they want a million presents and go balls-to-the-wall all out V Day style.
If you are a Valentine’s Day celebrator, there are also two types of people: 1. As with the other holidays/birthdays, you are a crazy planner that is literally finished planning a month before (<<typically me) or 2. You remember at 10pm the night before and think “oh sh** I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to plan an awesome V Day tomorrow”. I feel like there’s never a happy medium.
Before I continue, let me say what this blog post is not…this is not a “Gift Guide” or “Valentine’s Day Wish List”, and this is not a “How To Drop Hints To Make You Hubby Buy You What You Want” or a “Best Places To Shop Guide”.
We Do Things A Little Different
Matt & I like to shake it up a bit. We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day in your oh-so-typical “He went to Jared” style. We actually have yet to get each other any presents on Valentine’s Day. We are more into experiences and adventures.
Now I am not hating on anyone that goes balls-to-the-wall all out for V Day, you go girl! I’m just saying this is what we do.
I like Valentine’s Day because of what it organically represents (I’m not talking heart shaped candies and chocolates). I’m talking about appreciating your significant other. Taking a moment from your busy, chaotic lives to remember why you fell in love and how your love has grown. That is what I think the ol’ V Day is about. Sorry, I’m getting super sappy here. But seriously. Love isn’t expressed through presents. Love is expressed through emotion, compassion, positive energy, intangible things.
A big reason why we want presents on Valentine’s Day is because our culture has taught us to treat presents as a measurable way of love. You can measure your waist size, how old you are, you have measurable goals at work, but how do you measure love?? Presents of course!! (Said every consumer product company in the world). I think differently. You don’t measure love. You don’t say “you loved me this much yesterday, therefor you must love me more tomorrow. That’s not how this works, that’s not how any of this works (cue ESurance commercial).
Spend Valentine’s Day With Experiences
Yup. This is what we love. Spend it connecting with each other and just having fun.
Cook A Sexy Dinner At Home
I did this last year, and I actually did it the day before Valentine’s Day. Matt totally wasn’t expecting it. I cleaned the entire apartment, set up candles (<on sale!), candies, flowers, got super dressed up (<favorite & on sale!!), and cooked an amazing meal at home. We sat out on our candle lit balcony and just spent the entire evening talking, laughing, and enjoying each others company. **Ladies it’s not always about us, take the pressure of planning V Day off your man and treat him. Guys deserve to be spoiled too!
Go Out To Dinner With No Phones
Seriously. Leave them at home or in the car. This is sometimes hard to do, but it feels AMAZING!! Absolutely no distractions, no checking the time, no googling answers when you are having a conversation and can’t agree on something, no taking pics of how yummy your dinner looks, no snap chatting. Just you and you, boo.
Explore A New Part Of Town
Put on a cute outfit (<<the cutest sweater on sale!) and explore a part of town you have been dying to go to, like a quiet beach town, cultural district, China Town, Little Italy. Try restaurants off the beaten path, hold hands, walk around, and have fun not having a set plan.
Plan An Indoor Or Outdoor Activity
This is totally depending on the weather, but go on a hike, try paddleboarding or kayaking, go skiing, find a park and a giant hill to go sledding, go wine/beer/whiskey tasting, try out an indoor trampoline park. There are tons of ideas for new stuff in your area on Groupon or Living Social, check those out.
Go Out For Coffee & Dessert
Typically tea in my case, but find a cute dessert spot, get dressed up (<<cute with wedges or boots & on sale!), leave your phone in the car and indulge a bit. Split a slice of chocolate cake, HEC, don’t split it! Matt & I had a date night in Little Italy a while back, where we found the cutest Italian pastry shop, called Cafe ZuccherO. We picked out some coffee & tiny desserts, found a cozy table outside and just spent time together while enjoying some yummy desserts. Afterwards we went for a long walk around Little Italy just enjoying the night and each other(and walking off those delish chocolate desserts).
Presents
The only “present” I really like on Valentine’s Day is a card. A card is important to me because it puts feelings into words. I can save it to then read it anytime I want. I have saved every card Matt has ever given me. Ummm and if I’m being totally honest, I kinda sorta really love flowers. I get it, they die in like a week, this is a total preference thing. But I just really love them. I don’t want 1000x red roses (ew) I like different flowers. Colorful pinks, purples, greens, and yellows. Maybe some succulents in there? (die over succulents).
I hope this gives you some perspective on Valentine’s Day and helps you think of some fun ideas to do with your babe.
**WARNING: With all that said, just make sure you and your bf/gf/hubby/wife are on the same page! If not, that’s when feelings get hurt and turns Valentine’s Day into “I can’t wait for this stupid holiday to end” Day.
Ladies, I of course included some sexy dresses to wear on V Day below. How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day or Valentine’s Day??