Making Valentine’s Day Memorable

As we near the end of January (how did that happen so fast?!) it’s time to start thinking about the next big holiday.

Valentine’s Day

(cue the horror music)

photo by Whipped Bakeshop on flickr

CandyMan and I have never been very good at making Valentine’s Day special. In fact, my most memorable….no, my only memorable Valentine’s Day was the one several years ago when CandyMan and I were on a date, eating a peaceful dinner without the kids and he asked me, “Oh. Did I tell you that we’re both speaking in church tomorrow?”

He hadn’t.

It wasn’t my best Valentine’s Day.

I did a little searching around the internet for some fun ideas to make this Valentine’s Day a little big more memorable. In a good way. I found lists to make HIS Valentine’s special and lists to make HER Valentine’s special. I also found blogs talking about foods with aphrodisiac qualities. I think I’ll stay away from the oysters and stick with the chocolates.

Here are a few things that I’ve come up with:

No matter what you do or where you go, spend some time alone. Get a babysitter and head out or make it a special night in (with candles and dessert) after the kids go to bed.

Let your Valentine know that you love them. You should already be reminding them every day, but on Valentine’s Day in particular, let them know a few extra times. In fact, knowing my husband’s love for languages, I am going to practice saying I love you in a few different languages:

• • Italian – Ti amo
  • Greek – S’agapo
  • Mandarin Chinese – Wo ai ni
  • Hawaiian – Aloha wau ia oi
  • German – Ich liebe dich
  • Spanish – Te quiero / Te amo
  • Russian – Ya tebya liubliu
  • Urdu – mai aap say pyaar karta hoo
  • Pig Latin – Iay ovlay ouyay

Gifts don’t have to cost a lot of money. In fact, a hand-written love letter with some reasons why you are happy to be together can be more meaningful than an expensive present.

Pull out the lotion and offer to give each other foot massages. At the risk of everyone laughing at me here, I am going to share something slightly embarrassing. CandyMan and I used to love to do Mary Kay’s Satin Feet together after date night. There’s nothing quite like going to bed with silky feet. I think I might have to pull that out of the closet…

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Ladies, cook him something special, and make it a big production. Can’t cook worth beans? Order something special.

Men, I might be speaking from my own experience here, but I think all women just want to be pampered.

Know your spouse. What makes them tick? Again, it doesn’t have to be about money, but about the thought and effort that you put into showing them that you care.

Speaking of care, Care.com is running a HUGE Valentine’s Day giveaway that I thought I’d share:

Valentine’s Day Giveaway:

One lucky Grand Prize winner will receive a trip for two to Los Angeles, including round-trip airfare, a two-night hotel stay at the luxury SLS Hotel with dinner for two at SLS’s Bazaar restaurant and a private VIP tour of the Warner Bros. Studio lot, where the new movie “Valentine’s Day” was filmed.  Twelve finalists will each receive two tickets to see the film.  In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, Care.com will also provide the winners with a free one-month premium membership to find that perfect babysitter.

How to enter:

Visit Care.com on Facebook and tell them your most romantic or funniest Valentine’s Day memory. All entries should be rated PG.  The twelve finalists will be selected during the months of January and February 2010.  One Grand Prize Winner will be selected from among the 12 finalists in February.  Three Finalists will be selected by a panel of judges on or around each of the following dates: January 23, 2010, January 30, 2010, February 6, 2010, and February 13, 2010. One Grand Prize Winner will be selected from among the 12 Finalists on or around February 13, 2010.

About Care.com:

Founded in 2006, Care.com is the largest and fastest growing service used by families to find high-quality caregivers, providing a trusted place to easily connect, share caregiving experiences, and get advice.  Care.com addresses the unique lifecycle of care needs that each family goes through-child care, special needs care, tutoring and lessons, senior care, pet care, housekeeping, and more.  Care.com helps families find and select the best care possible based on detailed profiles, background checks, and references for hundreds of thousands of mom-reviewed providers who seek to share their services.  Through its Care.com for Recruiters service, Care.com also enables companies to find high-quality caregiving employees.

What do you do to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Do you go all out, or do you keep it simple? Have either of you ever forgotten the holiday?

© 2010 – 2015, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

About Lolli

Lolli has written 3738 post in this blog.

I became a mom in 1996, and in 2005 I had my fifth. Yes, 5 kids. In 2007, this blog was born (my 6th baby that will never grow up) and I've been sharing recipes, photography tricks, parenting tips, and everything in between. (Formerly Better in Bulk)

• View all posts by Lolli →
• Blog
• Twitter
• Facebook