Valentine's Day

[Chewbacca]

Lets talk about it!

What do you ladies do on Valentine's Day? Have you always/ever celebrated it? Do you give/receive Valentine's? Do you decorate? Any stories to share? What are you doing this year?


For me: Valentine's is a bit of a nonevent in this country. Some retailers put cards and chocolates out, but not many. I've never heard of kids distributing Valentines to classmates like they do in movies/TV! I don't think I've ever received anything, which isn't out of the ordinary.

I have given SO small gifts a few times, and for the last couple of years I've put up paper heart decorations and made a pink/red breakfast. I MIGHT have worn a themed outfit once or twice. I enjoy having something 'festive' to do, what can I say, I love 'holidays'!

This year I think will be much of the same - red and pink theme as much stuff as I possibly can! I will definitely be eating whipped strawberry butter on um, everything.

 

[maple2012]

Lets talk about it!

What do you ladies do on Valentine's Day? Have you always/ever celebrated it? Do you give/receive Valentine's? Do you decorate? Any stories to share? What are you doing this year?


For me: Valentine's is a bit of a nonevent in this country. Some retailers put cards and chocolates out, but not many. I've never heard of kids distributing Valentines to classmates like they do in movies/TV! I don't think I've ever received anything, which isn't out of the ordinary.

I have given SO small gifts a few times, and for the last couple of years I've put up paper heart decorations and made a pink/red breakfast. I MIGHT have worn a themed outfit once or twice. I enjoy having something 'festive' to do, what can I say, I love 'holidays'!

This year I think will be much of the same - red and pink theme as much stuff as I possibly can! I will definitely be eating whipped strawberry butter on um, everything.

Great topic! Out of curiosity Chewbacca, what country are you from? I might have missed it if you mentioned it before. I actually bought a heart pancake shape cutter... and it's still in the wrapper! I'm so bad with cooking..

For valentines, SO orders me flowers at work and we do a low key dinner at a medium priced restaurant... nothing too fancy however. I usually pick him up some cupcakes at a fancy shop downtown or a big cookie and a card for him. We will keep the gifts small this year as he needs to be saving for my ring!

Valentines just also happens to be the anniversary of when we moved we moved in together... it will be 3 years this valentines!

Oh... and one more cute thing that SO does every year... as I've mentioned before he's a police officer and just happens to work night shift in a bad part of town where the only thing open at 3am is 7-11. So every Valentines day morning I always get a big ugly stuffed animal from 7-11...!!! It's turned into a tradition and I LOVE it. I'm hoping to get a small collection going so I can decorate our baby's room whenever we decide to to have little ones.... with stuffed animals from the 7-11. Horrible, I know. But the idea is so cute and makes me so happy.

 

[Chewbacca]

maple - I'm from NZ, we don't get any of the fun stuff here. Your Valentine's sounds so nice! I love the stuffed toy tradition, its very sweet!

 

[MBKRH]

We usually dont do anything. This year, I made him (yes, im already done with it) one of those "52 reason I love you" as seen on Pinterest. I will post pics after vday, just in case he's been lurking.

Just as I typed that, he jokingly peeked over my shoulder. Lol.

Im trying to be good with money, so im into making him stuff for gifts. I made him a no-sew fleece blanket for Christmas, and he uses it every night. He told me it was his favorite Christmas gift, because it was made by me. That statment was enough to encourage me to make the 52 things book.

I should have known he was like that. He has saved every note I've left for him, and every occasion card. I love that about him.

 

[maple2012]

We usually dont do anything. This year, I made him (yes, im already done with it) one of those "52 reason I love you" as seen on Pinterest. I will post pics after vday, just in case he's been lurking.

Just as I typed that, he jokingly peeked over my shoulder. Lol.

Im trying to be good with money, so im into making him stuff for gifts. I made him a no-sew fleece blanket for Christmas, and he uses it every night. He told me it was his favorite Christmas gift, because it was made by me. That statment was enough to encourage me to make the 52 things book.

I should have known he was like that. He has saved every note I've left for him, and every occasion card. I love that about him.

He's saved every note and occasion card??? That is sooo cute and romantic. Love it! I hadn't heard of the "52 reasons I love you" but will google search once I'm done typing this.

My SO use to write me poems when we first met... but then he was done and over with that after I moved in.

 

[maple2012]

maple - I'm from NZ, we don't get any of the fun stuff here. Your Valentine's sounds so nice! I love the stuffed toy tradition, its very sweet!

I wonder if crazy amounts of Valentines decorations is more of a USA thing? I lived in Spain for a while and was suprised that when Valentines rolled around there wasn't any decorations at the shops like we have at our stores. I kind of missed it to be honest.

 

[misscuppycake]

I live in Canada and it's hugely commercial here (I'd say the same as the States), but SO and I have never celebrated. We go out for dinner every weekend, so if it happens to land on Valentine's Day, then we'll "celebrate" but we don't exchange gifts or even really acknowledge the day. I don't know, it's never really been that important to me. For me, holidays are more "important" or "special" when we actually get time off (ie. Christmas, NYE, etc.).

 

[pandabee]

Since it falls on a weekday this year and we are both on clinical rotations (and with him being out of town) we will be celebrating on Saturday after the actual day. This is great because all the chocolate will be on sale by then!! Last year because of our schedules I think, we went out to dinner the day before Valentine's day and it worked out great as well (not too crowded). The year before I cooked dinner so we stayed in to avoid the crowds. So far I think all these plans are great! I don't really have a desire to be around a bunch of other couples I don't know and share our loveydoveyness in public

I was going to buy him some new cologne, as he has been searching for a good scent. Sephora had some sampler kits for the holiday season but I only found out about this amazing deal (buy the sampler kit and you get a voucher for a free full size of one of those fragrances!!) too late and all the men's kits were already sold out. sooooo instead I am going to splurge and get some boudoir shots done! I know many people usually save these for a wedding present, but I thought it would be nice as we are going to have to do the semi-long distance thing for a few more months at least, and then neither of us know what will happen after graduation yet so we may have to end up working in different cities too. I'm pretty excited about it and I think he'll definitely appreciate these!!!

 

[pandabee]

maple - I'm from NZ, we don't get any of the fun stuff here. Your Valentine's sounds so nice! I love the stuffed toy tradition, its very sweet!

I wonder if crazy amounts of Valentines decorations is more of a USA thing? I lived in Spain for a while and was suprised that when Valentines rolled around there wasn't any decorations at the shops like we have at our stores. I kind of missed it to be honest.

I'm sure it is. Every single holiday is so commercialized in the US! I find it pretty overwhelming tbh.

 

[teacup]

SO and I usually do something small. Last year I made him his favorite cupcakes and he took me to a nice dinner. We actually went out the day after last year, which was perfect. I'm not sure if we're doing anything this year; I wouldn't be upset if we didn't, but SO usually takes this opportunity to make me something romantic and creative. One year he made me a gorgeous wooden ring and a wooden ring box to go with it.

 

[star sparkle]

I always enjoy doing something for Valentine's day, and I'm super excited because this year it will be like we get TWO Valentine's days! We will wake up on Feb 14 in Fiji, the last day of our honeymoon. We'll do something nice and romantic in the morning and early afternoon (though I don't know what yet, but I'm sure we can figure something out in Fiji ), and then head to the airport around 2pm. Our flight leaves around 4pm, and we fly to Los Angeles where we will be landing at noon local time on Feb 14! We'll go to our hotel in Hollywood, then we're getting dressed up and going out for a fancy dinner in Beverly Hills. We scheduled dinner a bit on the early side so that if we're super exhausted we can just go back to our hotel and crash, but if we're still feeling good we can roam around Beverly Hills and have a fun Valentine's evening.

I'm so excited!

 

[teacup]

star sparkle, that sounds amazing! I'm insanely jealous!

 

[princesss]

I dont' think we're doing anything - I brought it up to BF because I had completely forgotten that he was going to be here for it (I was more focused on him being here for his birthday), and he said he had a lot of little stuff planned, so we could do Valentines week if I really want to. Of course, now I feel like I have to get him something and ugh ugh ugh.

But then, we're not the most occassion-y people. We gave each other an anniversary thumbs up for our 1 year anniversary and didn't do any Christmas gifts. Frankly, though, with the amount we spend on airfare, that's good enough for me.

 

[princesss]

Oh! I forgot to mention, I am planning a movie night and indoor picnic - set the fireplace up, spread out a blanket and have dinner and then use the blanket to make a fort for movie night.

 

[LoveLikeCrazy]

We didn't do anything last valentines day. I had said no gifts, and he took that as legit no gifts...even though in girl lingo "no gifts" means I better at least get flowers haha. I hope he doesn't make that mistake again lol

On that note....we have not discussed valentines day. His bday is a few weeks after v day so I was thinking about getting him a bottle of his fave scotch. We work pop shifts and I'm in school so I really won't even see him on valentines day (even though we live together). I've decided if he gives me a gift, he gets the scotch...no git and I'll hold it till his bday and give it then...so we shall see...

 

[MayFlowers]

We don't usually do anything too special. We did gifts one year, which ended up being one of the best gifts I have ever gotten from BF. He surprised me with diamond studs. I seriously had no idea and I LOVED that it was a surprise. Since then, we haven't really done gifts. BF will usually get me flowers or he might take me out to dinner. But, it's not anything too exciting usually.

We haven't talked about this year yet. I doubt we will do gifts. We will probably just go out for dinner, but not on Valentine's Day. It's always too busy.

 

[Chewbacca]

I remembered something this weekend, and I had to come back to this thread to give SO some credit! For our first Valentine's Day, he took me snorkeling and made our dinner on a gas cooker overlooking the beach.



I'm allowing myself to decorate on February 1st, only a few days to go!

 

[teacup]

I remembered something this weekend, and I had to come back to this thread to give SO some credit! For our first Valentine's Day, he took me snorkeling and made our dinner on a gas cooker overlooking the beach.



I'm allowing myself to decorate on February 1st, only a few days to go!

Your first V-day sounds amazing! I love that he did something really unique.

 

[Impudent_Crumpet]

The Dude and I have talked about it, and we have actively decided not to do anything special on Valentine's Day. We will just order a pizza and watch a ridiculous movie or something, as per usual for a Thursday night. He also has a huge exam that Tuesday, so if we celebrate anything, it will be him passing that *fingers crossed* and me finishing up another successful day in the clinic.

However, I will be celebrating my parents' anniversary of their first date! They couldn't figure out why all the restaurants in town were booked up... until they both realized they were going on a date on Valentine's Day and just hadn't noticed. So now they go to Chili's every VDay, since that was their first date locale. My parents are dorks.

 

[antiquesparkler]

Last year SO and I got a heart shaped pizza and watched a cute movie with my daughter. We exchanged cards and he got her a Valentine and a treat (love him!) but we don’t do anything huge. Not to mention, our anniversary is just a few days after that and we usually go out for a fancy meal then.

We will probably do pizza and movie night again this V-day. Maybe some heart shaped pancakes in the morning if I feel like getting up early…

I am going to check out the ’52 things’ books because I think that is a lovely idea. SO would melt- thanks!!!

 

[luckyerialc]

Last year my SO and I didn't go all out exchanging gifts. He sent me an edible arrangement at work (YUM - so much better than flowers!) and I bought him a very nice bottle of whiskey that he would typically never justify buying himself. We typically will cook dinner at home and try to avoid all of the crowded prix-fixe restaurants around us. I remember our first year living trogether he made me breakfast before work (pancakes). That was a nice treat

 

[luckyerialc]

The Dude and I have talked about it, and we have actively decided not to do anything special on Valentine's Day. We will just order a pizza and watch a ridiculous movie or something, as per usual for a Thursday night. He also has a huge exam that Tuesday, so if we celebrate anything, it will be him passing that *fingers crossed* and me finishing up another successful day in the clinic.

However, I will be celebrating my parents' anniversary of their first date! They couldn't figure out why all the restaurants in town were booked up... until they both realized they were going on a date on Valentine's Day and just hadn't noticed. So now they go to Chili's every VDay, since that was their first date locale. My parents are dorks.

Aww, I love your parent's story! It's nice to hear that they are still keep the romance alive!

 

[Impudent_Crumpet]

Aww, I love your parent's story! It's nice to hear that they are still keep the romance alive!

Yeah, my parents are awesome. They are definitely more in love than any other couple I know, and they've been together for almost 30 years. It does mean I find Valentine's Day a little ridiculous though, since I spent every VDay for a LONG time going to Chili's.

 

[antiquesparkler]

Aww, I love your parent's story! It's nice to hear that they are still keep the romance alive!

Yeah, my parents are awesome. They are definitely more in love than any other couple I know, and they've been together for almost 30 years. It does mean I find Valentine's Day a little ridiculous though, since I spent every VDay for a LONG time going to Chili's.

That is so stinkin' cute! Love it.

I just got all the supplies to make SO a '52 Reasons I Love You Book..." I will try and post some pics when its all done.

 

[MBKRH]

Okay ladies, it's close enough to v-day.... here is M's present.

It was QUITE time consuming. Granted, many of the same things on Pinterest didn't involve doing double sides, using construction paper, etc. I wanted to make it a bit more special than just writing on the card with a sharpie.

So.... I alternated red, white, and pink construction paper for each reason. On the back of each reason, I scoured the 'net for cute/sweet/thoughtful love quotes. Some of my reasons are funny, some are serious. I had a nice mixture so it wasn't overly sappy.

The final page (4th pic), I can't take credit for what I wrote. Someone else posted it online and I unfortunately cannot remember where. But I thought it was a nice way to end the card. The front card, and back of the last card have black card stock for a bit more durability.

I embellished with stickers, "sticker lace" for some of the borders, and puffy numbers for the front. I had my friend who orders our office supplies at work order the book rings for me (yeah, too lazy to go to Staples or Office Max, lol) and then I gave her the money for them.

Hmmm, I think that's about it! If you have any other questions about it, I'll be happy to answer them.

I still might spruce it up a bit before v-day.
Being a perfectionist Virgo, I feel like I could do more with it.

 

[MBKRH]

Aww, I love your parent's story! It's nice to hear that they are still keep the romance alive!

Yeah, my parents are awesome. They are definitely more in love than any other couple I know, and they've been together for almost 30 years. It does mean I find Valentine's Day a little ridiculous though, since I spent every VDay for a LONG time going to Chili's.

That is so stinkin' cute! Love it.

I just got all the supplies to make SO a '52 Reasons I Love You Book..." I will try and post some pics when its all done.

Make sure you sand the cards!!! Otherwise, the paper you glue to it will not stick (if you go the same route I did. If you're just writing on it with a Sharpie... disregard my advice).

I can't wait to see how it turned out!

 

[antiquesparkler]

Okay ladies, it's close enough to v-day.... here is M's present.

It was QUITE time consuming. Granted, many of the same things on Pinterest didn't involve doing double sides, using construction paper, etc. I wanted to make it a bit more special than just writing on the card with a sharpie.

So.... I alternated red, white, and pink construction paper for each reason. On the back of each reason, I scoured the 'net for cute/sweet/thoughtful love quotes. Some of my reasons are funny, some are serious. I had a nice mixture so it wasn't overly sappy.

The final page (4th pic), I can't take credit for what I wrote. Someone else posted it online and I unfortunately cannot remember where. But I thought it was a nice way to end the card. The front card, and back of the last card have black card stock for a bit more durability.

I embellished with stickers, "sticker lace" for some of the borders, and puffy numbers for the front. I had my friend who orders our office supplies at work order the book rings for me (yeah, too lazy to go to Staples or Office Max, lol) and then I gave her the money for them.

Hmmm, I think that's about it! If you have any other questions about it, I'll be happy to answer them.

I still might spruce it up a bit before v-day.
Being a perfectionist Virgo, I feel like I could do more with it.

OMG! It’s amazing!! I love it and… nevermind, I am not posting pictures of mine. Lol!

I bought the glue dots to stick the paper to the cards. My friend used them and it worked well. Do you have quotes on the back of each of your reasons?! Wow!

I love the box you have for it as well. I think I might just tie his with a cute ribbon and hand it over to him with his card and some chocolates.

 

[teacup]

Okay ladies, it's close enough to v-day.... here is M's present.

It was QUITE time consuming. Granted, many of the same things on Pinterest didn't involve doing double sides, using construction paper, etc. I wanted to make it a bit more special than just writing on the card with a sharpie.

So.... I alternated red, white, and pink construction paper for each reason. On the back of each reason, I scoured the 'net for cute/sweet/thoughtful love quotes. Some of my reasons are funny, some are serious. I had a nice mixture so it wasn't overly sappy.

The final page (4th pic), I can't take credit for what I wrote. Someone else posted it online and I unfortunately cannot remember where. But I thought it was a nice way to end the card. The front card, and back of the last card have black card stock for a bit more durability.

I embellished with stickers, "sticker lace" for some of the borders, and puffy numbers for the front. I had my friend who orders our office supplies at work order the book rings for me (yeah, too lazy to go to Staples or Office Max, lol) and then I gave her the money for them.

Hmmm, I think that's about it! If you have any other questions about it, I'll be happy to answer them.

I still might spruce it up a bit before v-day.
Being a perfectionist Virgo, I feel like I could do more with it.

I love it!!! Now I kind of want to make one for SO.

 

[MBKRH]

antiquesparkler Oh girl, your still have to post pictures!!! Come on And yes, I have quotes on the back of all the reasons. I went above and beyond the original "52 reasons" idea.
I got the box at Dollar Tree. And it fits the gift perfectly.

I like your idea of tying it with a ribbon. I probably would have gone that route, except all the extras (construction paper on both sides of the card, sticker, etc) have added weight to it, so I knew I needed something a bit stronger. I think I will get some chocolates to go with it though. That's a good idea.



teacup, it was actually kind of fun. I say "kind of" because by card #38, I was cursing out loud and just wanted to be done already. I had to work on it after work, and before M got home. So that gave me around 2.5 - 3 hours, for about 4 days a week.
It took a long time- probably between 18-24 hours total. No joke. But, I wanted it to turn out great, so I made sure I sanded the cards really well, let the glue dry, etc.... But, I'm pretty proud of the end result. I really hope M likes it.

You should definitely give it a go, though!

 

[pandabee]

H I don't think I replied yet but it looks amazing!!!! The reasons are hard to come up with...I had a hard time already with SO's birthday and I only did half the amount you did!