Ideas For Valentine's Day Even Cupid Would Recommend

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner love is in the air, or at least on the brain. All the stores are lined with candy hearts and boxes of chocolates. Every florist has placed their extra orders of roses and carnations in preparation for this wonderful day. Yet still we ask the age old question, how do we show the one we love just how much we love them?

Love is big business, sparking over 17 billion dollars in sales. Is it a wonder that flowers, greeting cards and chocolates are at the top of the list? Let's not forget jewelry which is a timeless classic, but no matter what you decide to get there's a perfect gift just for you.

So, what is the perfect gift or gesture to show your loved ones just how much you love them this year? Is there a perfect recipe for love? I think I can speak for a lot of women when I say that I love getting a beautiful bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates. Jewelry, too, is among the list of big sellers. What woman wouldn’t like to get a piece of jewelry, and with so many ads and commercials bombarding our minds picking out the perfect gift shouldn’t be so difficult. But I thought maybe it would be fun to come up with some different ways to express our love this year. Here are a few of my favorite recipes for love.

1. Breakfast in bed with a Valentine’s Day twist

Don’t just make them breakfast in bed. Add a little dash of Valentines with these simple ideas. Get a metal heart shaped cookie cutter and make heart shaped pancakes with whip cream and strawberries or make scrambled eggs, heart shaped toast and heart shaped fruit. Watermelons, mango and strawberries work well. Serve with a red or pink juice. I like Tree Top’s new strawberry apple juice.

2. Balloon Surprise

Thinking about getting some balloons for your lover? Why not fill up the car with balloons for a nice surprise. I’ve done this one and it’s much more memorable than just getting balloons.

3. Try this for dinner plans

Instead of going out to dinner have a picnic in your living room. Set the mood with candles and soft music. Lay out a blanket and prepare a nice meal or just some appetizer but think Valentines, i.e. Heart shaped sandwiches, steak with pink mash potatoes (use a little food coloring) make heart shaped cookies or get a fondue set and make chocolate dipped strawberries and don’t forget the pink bubbly.

4. Give the gift of… Coupons?

That’s right, you heard me correctly. Slip a handmade coupon into their greeting card offering your time or a chore, i.e. a coupon for vacuuming the house or doing 2 loads of laundry. You get the point.

5. Duly Noted

Write a love note and then mail it to them, either to their work or to the house. If there isn’t enough time then slip it in their lunch or write it on the mirror. Be creative.

6. Have a scavenger hunt…seriously!

If you’re planning on getting something for your loved one, whether it’s flower or chocolates or jewelry, make a scavenger hunt out of it. Leave cute little clues all over the house leading them to their gift or it could lead them to you waiting in a bubble bath lined with rose petals and candle lit. Have fun with it.

7. Be a Poet for a day.

Write a poem for them. You don’t have to be an expert to be effective. Be funny if you want. Once I wrote something cute for my husband and at the end I wrote “Will you be my boyfriend?” and made 2 check boxes, yes or no. He got a real kick out of it.

In closing Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be at all conventional. It’s a day to celebrate love which, when thinking back to those first days of your relationship, didn’t feel the least bit conventional. New love felt exhilarating and intoxicating; it felt titillating. So, let us all go back and revisit that feeling, remember it and celebrate it because without those lustful beginning we wouldn’t be celebrating this wonderful day.