Love is in the air!
Actually, everyone seems to be holding their breath. I'm seeing a lot of bitterness toward St. Valentine this year. I get it, not everyone is into this Hallmark holiday. I am completely stoked for tomorrow's festivities. Mainly because I love all holidays and any excuse to be festive. Not to mention, I'm a little bit of a hopeless romantic, so I totally get sucked into this rip-off of a holiday. Especially when I have a Valentine.
Valentine's Day hasn't always been a pleasant experience. I don't mean because I was single, crying hysterically repeating, "I'll never have a Noah!" watching The Notebook while drinking wine and eating chocolates that I bought myself (that was only one year). I just mean I've had some interesting experiences actually celebrating Valentine's Day and I'm hoping maybe I can help others to avoid similar situations.
I can't speak for everyone when I say this, but for me, Valentine's Day is not about how much money you spend. I want the romance, the thought. I want to see how well you pay attention. Are you getting the standard Walgreens teddy bear and Russel Stover chocolates? Are you creative enough to think outside the box? Will I be disappointed to wake up and there aren't chocolate chip heart-shaped pancakes? Just throwing that out there (hint, I will be disappointed if I don't get flowers). Anyway, if you want to spend a lot of money on your Valentine, go right ahead, honey! Just make sure you have budgeted. The Sundial is an awesome, slightly cliche, restaurant choice for V-Day. The Sundial is also not cheap, so if you have planned on taking your date there, be aware of the cost. Nothing screams romance like having the bill come and your girlfriend has to cover it because you weren't prepared to spend $100+ (this may or may not have happened to me, a real happy Valentine's Day that was).
Please be prepared. If you aren't going to be home that night, make sure you have your gift(s). Don't wait until you and your date have retired for the evening in your hotel room downtown and you realize you left her gift 45 minutes away and have to leave her there to go get it. This also may or may not have happened to me.
I once got a giant purple bear and miscellaneous "Valentiney" items one year. An ex thought it would be a really sweet gesture to put his cologne on the bear so I could smell him when he wasn't around. At the time, I thought it was really great. Being young and "in love" and now I could have a reminder of him ALL the time. Except I had a weird allergic reaction to it and had to take several oatmeal baths and throw away the bear.
Also, here's a helpful hint: I don't suggest giving a homeless person a ride after a romantic meal. That kind of kills the mood. Yes, this happened to me. I was not at all comfortable.
If you are financially challenged this year and considering a coupon book, don't. As a past recipient of one of these, I will politely decline moving forward. Unless your coupon book consists of awesome things to redeem like, a full car detail, going sky diving or getting me a paid day off from work, I'm not impressed. And not because you didn't spend money, I actually appreciate the thought and effort that goes into making a coupon book, but simply because if I want a back rub from you, I'm going to get it anyway and I haven't been paying for the current ones so why would I now?
If you're single and going out with your single friends, be just that. Single! Don't go to Q100's Bitter Ball then call your crush to come meet you when the selection is slim to none at the party, making your friend third wheel on Valentine's Day. Definitely don't drag her to an "after party" which consists of you, your crush, your crush's fat and smelly friend, and your friend in a hotel room where you plan on spending the majority of this "party" in the bathroom.
As you can see, I haven't had awesome Valentine's experiences. I once thought I had a spectacular Valentine's Day because an ex did everything perfectly. Flowers, gifts, card, dinner, conversation- whole 9. Until later I found out he apparently had another Valentine who he had been conversing with for over 2 hours on our shared phone plan right before celebrating with me. Anyway, not every year has been disastrous, some could easily be labeled as mediocre.
So, cheers to the day of love or singles awareness day. Either way, I hope your day is great and free of disaster! Here's hoping that Cupid brings me a flawless night.
