Are You Celebrating Valentines?
In case you haven’t already started thinking about it, Valentines Day is this Saturday! This is one holiday that always sneaks up on me.
Valentine’s Day is the second biggest retail holiday of the year. But it appears the economy is forcing some sweethearts to cut back this year. A survey by the National Retail Federation shows Americans spent $17 billion on Valentines in 2008. This year it’s down to $14.7 billion. People plan to spend an average of just over $100 for gifts, about $20 less compared to last year. It looks the the economy is tough on love. Or at least the commercial expression of it.
There is some good news though. 79 percent of people surveyed said their personal financial situation has had no impact on their frequency of sex, according to a separate survey by Consumer Reports. In fact, five percent of the people surveyed said they’re having sex more often. Who knew?
So here’s what I thought we could do today. Let’s create a think tank of great ideas for Valentines Day. I’d love to hear how you guys are celebrating despite the tough economic times.
What are some things you’ve done in the past that weren’t too pricey, but ended up being significant?
Who knows, maybe you’ll stumble on an idea that will work for you! Not that any of us are waiting to the last minute though.
We are not big Valentine’s Day people. But this year we are using a gift card for Flemming’s that we got for Christmas. Thanks Barb! We celebrate our love EVERYDAY, right BJ!:)
About once a year we try to get away for a night without the kids. We’ve got an almost free option of somewhere to stay and an offer to babysit the older kids – the 4-month-old gets to go … this time – so some (mostly) uninterrupted time together is our favorite treat! (And will cost WAY less than the national average!)
Write a heartfelt letter discussing your accomplishments that you achieved together and how your love has grown deeper because of hurdles.
Why, thank you Pete! I’ll be happy to shamelessly self promote my blog post today: What NOT to give for Valentine’s Day
One year I made a coupon book for things he could use like a back massage, a car wash, a run to the ice cream shop (by me of course) to pick up his favorite treat), etc…The coupon book was free to make, of course, the only thing it cost was time to fulfull the redeptions and a little money if it was for something like ice cream. And it showed him I put a lot into making special coupons custom fit for him.
Well this year we’re going out to breakfast and for a hike – we may spend some “quality time” together later
– but we are taking our son out with us for the day. No gifts, that I know of. It’s an odd weekend for us so we’re just focusing on being together.
My biggest hit from the past was to leave a card in my husband’s car telling him to leave work at 4:00 and go to the local state park to a certain location, and follow the trail of rose petals. I was waiting at the end on a little bridge with dinner from his favorite restaurant. I had a friend pick up my car while I was there. He LOVED this – the mystery and anticipation made the whole day fun for him.
@tracie, I’m a big fan of the custom gifts that last year around like that (hint, hint, Brandi
)
I think you should give Brandi a cardboard cutout of you that empties the dishwasher. Just saying…
One year I cleaned out the garage, and we put the TV in there and made a drive-in theater. Since you can’t keep the car running to keep the heater on, you have to find other ways to stay warm.
St Valentine’s Day has a special meaning for us as we got engaged on that day 36years ago! ( we won’t be spending anything like the US average, but my lovely husband has just come in with a lovely bouquet for me) He knows that I like to keep them in a cool place for 24 hours before arranging them!.
We changed Valentines Day to March. My birthday is the same day so we moved it… plus it’s easier to find babysitting.
@Jerri, I love it!
@Shirley, Congrats!
@Brody, I didn’t know you could do that! Thanks for empowering me.
What? There’s a holiday on February 14th?
a small group of friends are going bowling saturday night. we are not couples, but figured a little competition on Valentine’s Day was necessary – Girls vs. Boys AND we are planning a very formal dinner…at the bowling alley!
this is something i am really looking forward to
I usually get my hubby a BIG box of chocolate because it’s his favorite. He always asks what I want and I usually tell him NOT to spend much money so he gets me something that I’d like along with a card where he writes some unbelievable things in. I have them saved from over the years.
This year I’ve been away speaking a lot so when he asked I told him I’d just go and get some new clothes and we’ll call it Valentine’s gifts….LOL. He got off easy this year. Not cheap, but easy:).
Here’s something my dh once did that made a huge impression on me, romantically speaking, although I don’t believe it was V. Day at the time. He made the arrangements for us to go out to a fairly nice restaurant, and while we were waiting for our meals, he whips out of his pocket a list of the 10 most memorable things he felt we had ever done together and proceeded to explain to me why each one of them had been so special and meaningful to him. Specifically, he explained why it had been special for him to have had that experience with me. The trip down memory lane was fun, but what made this so romantic was that his whole purpose was to show me how my presence in his life made things special and better.
We do not go overboard. Marcus is working Saturday night, so tonight we are heading out to eat (just an Olive Garden type place … we don’t do high end) and exchange cards. I did receive roses today, but that was a surprise. I do not expect flowers or jewlery. Truthfully, a hand written “I Love You” would mean just as much.
We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day. Last year we had a Mommy-Daddy beach weekend, but it was more about a bargain than it was the “holiday”. I’ve just finished making cards with Maggie for this year. Glue+glitter+almost 3 year old= big mess…and great cards for the grandparents.
I like to have the kids make a special valentine’s day card for mom. Today, my niece is over so she will make one too.
This year I wrote my wife a love letter, you know, like when we were dating. It wasn’t easy. 14 years of marriage and kids can really hamper the romance.
I came home from work last nite to absolutely clean carpets….I think he did it because last time WE did it I broke my arm…!!
This Valentine’s Day my wife and I are celebrating by me going to the Predators Game with my brother. Nothing says I Love You more than watching grown men fight on the ice.
I’m single, so I haven’t given it too much thought. I think I might bake cookies with my toddler though, and let her decorate them, because she’s been asking to do that anyway. Then maybe she can give them to her friends at church Sunday or something…
Joe usually works on Valentines Day, but not this year. We’re going to a movie, thanks to some Regal Cinemas gift certificates. Normally we just say, “hi, happy valentines day”.
Last night my husband said he “wanted to send our daughters & me out to get a mani-pedi”. When I got past the fact that he knew what a mani-pedi WAS I told him he could save over $100 if he just took us to the store, let us pick out our favorite color nail polish and then HE did them for us. I think we’ve got ourselves a date!?
@Michael, I need some lessons from you. I want to know how you pulled that one off.
What you do the other 364 days a year are what matters. Sorry.
I was never very good at Valentines Day. Good thing for me, my wife wishes not to celebrate V-Day ever. If you can figure out how to work that, then you are golden.
I’m so disappointed. I’d read about the Valentine’s Day White Castle candlelit dinner, featuring flowers and waitress service, in the NY Times but upon calling the main office was told that it was discontinued in TN for lack of interest.
Now what are we gonna do?
Well Pete, first, you have to make sure you have a backup plan for your wife. That means taking the day before off from work and spending it with her. If not, you can bet you probably won’t be part of that 79% that you mentioned.
“What are some things you’ve done in the past that weren’t too pricey, but ended up being significant?”
sex. well, it wasnt pricey at all. really.
Every year I make my own cards out of poster paper and candy. I select candy bars that I can use to express how I feel about the person on my card.
For example: “Dove bar”- I “Dove” your smile.
“Dove” mom.
“Look” bar- “Look” how much you’ve grown…
“Eclipse” gum- The day you were born, there was a total “eclipse” of my heart.
You get the general idea. I write everything out that I want to say on the poster board attaching the candy in place of certain words. My kids and husband absolutely loves it. They do make a “Big Hunk” for the man in your life.
The wife and I will celebrate by having her parents stay with our baby girl who doesn’t always sleep through the night. We will then go to Walgreens, buy a bottle of Tylenol PM and go to the Union Station Hotel downtown and sleep for hours. I hope we wake up in time for breakfast the next morning since it’s paid for.
I’m actually not buying anything, but maybe roses… I usually make things, write letters, and show my love through actions instead of random gifts that won’t mean much in a few months…
I thought this was a good idea… http://vimeo.com/3069765?pg=embed&sec=3069765
Thats what I want to do in the future, for gifts, is get the whole family [my future family] together and give what we can to others, whatever it may be, and enjoy giving together… and understanding we are getting something back that will last forever: knowing the gift you gave someone else is going to alter there lives… maybe we’ll give a child water for the next 20 years…
If my wife can’t enjoy giving with me, then I don’t know if she would be the right now for me… hahahah
anyways, I’d still buy a billion flowers for her though
I’m with @Chris Sullivan on this one, I think it’s much more meaningful when you do it on a day other than Valentiines Day. If you’re someone who wants to do something, then I’d suggest either flowers or chocolate.
But yet again I’m just your run-of-the-mill guy.
we are actually celebrating Christmas! My family is coming to Nashville this weekend to celebrate Christmas, since we haven’t seen them since Thanksgiving. I even have a little red tree set up in our living room with Cupid Elias pictures tucked in the branches.
I am going to make sure and say an extra special prayer for my future wife on that day.
Pete…something that I did for Trisha was typed up 30 things that I loved about her and cut them up into individual strips of paper…had her open them 1 day at a time. Makes Valentine’s day last a little longer.
working.
homework.
hanging out with God.
@Chris Sullivan, I wouldn’t argue with that.
The problem is most guys I know that use that excuse ignore the other 364 days as well. I know I’ve been guilty of that.
While she doesn’t know it yet…I sponsored another child through Compassion in my wife’s honor for Valentine’s Day.
nothing I’m single…therefore I get to save my money WOOO
@ Brandon Smith – that is AWESOME!
being single = babysitting my nieces while my siblings take their spouses out. =)
Everything I do with my wife is significant. An evening out with my wife. Time spent with her. There is no cost that is too great. She’s worth it
I bought a pack of kid Valentine’s last year and left them in various places for hubby to find all day. We had a nice dinner at home and watched an old romantic movie.
He usually gives me a small gift, flowers or perfume, a book or dvd.
We love each other all year.
This year the hubs is playing Nascar Cart on our Wii with his best buds while I go shopping. Oh, and for later that night… a sassy little costume…
A couple years ago we went to Hallmark and spent 10 minutes picking out cards for each other. We traded, read them right there in the store, and then left. Most cards end up in the trash anyway so we saved ourselves the money and still got the warm fuzzies!
Our church has a fundraiser for Valentines. Its always a soldout crowd. We have a catered dinner and local musical entertainment. Its great for couples or singles. The fellowship is great. And it turns out to be a great fundraiser for the church too!!!
We use to get each other a little something but not so much anymore. We still stop by the flowers at the store, we both admire them and then he chooses which ones he would buy me. I thank him and we walk away empty handed!! (Yes people look at us strangely!)
My hubby once rented a massage table and gave me a massage while I watched my favorite movie (: Rascalflatts were playing in the background and he lit candles all around. It was PERCECT!
Pre-kids, I used to buy those little packages of min-cards and leave them around the house the week prior for my hubby to find… long with chocolate, rose petals from the garden, etc…
Now, the girls would find them. So, THEY make cards for Daddy and leave them around the house for him! This year we are headed down to see the in-laws for the weekend, and I think his sis is planning to watch Fireproof. I may not even get dinner out of the weekend! And sleeping on someone else’s living room floor with your kids isn’t as conducive to the best part of all… just sayin’
Last year’s gift was very special: he purchased a hand-made pendant necklace from a website called Julie P’s designs. It has the word for “love” written on it in Chinese. We were still waiting for our Li’l Empress to come home and had just joined the special needs program thru our adoption agency. It was inexpensive, but was a beautiful gesture that made me feel treasured.
On the first VD after we moved to this region, he bought me diamond earrings. It was abnormally extravagant but a very sweet marker of the end of a hard year (losing his job and transplanting our family to pursue a new career): kind of a “thanks for sticking with me” kind of gift.
He’s a keeper, that’s for sure!
I’m a divorced single mom who recently started dating a really great guy after six years of dating others on and off. Valentine’s Day has meant many different things over the years. Here are a few things which have been memorable:
Rated G:
-A week before V.D. I pulled out a piece of posterboard with a big heart drawn on it and a marker attached. We put it in a central location and anyone in the family could write a “love note” to anyone else in the family. Most of them started out “I love ___ because…” or “Thanks, ___, for being…” etc. Years after the divorce it’s
still fun to read the heartfelt thoughts from when we still lived together.
-heart-shaped chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, heart-shaped pizza for lunch, and heart-shaped meatloaf for dinner
-treasure hunts and scavenger hunts
-window paint messages on all the windows and mirrors in the house (It washes off.)
-Post-It “love” notes everywhere!
-limericks about the recipient/s
-making and showing a family movie
Rated PG:
-rose petals dropped in a trail to a special gift
-chocolate fondue for two
-a “little black book” with “Things I Love About You” comments on every page
-making dinner together after the kids have gone to bed and eating it by candlelight
-an original poem
-a pin-up type picture (tastefully done)
-an original book or scrapbook for your love
Rated R+:
-a candlelit bubble bath for two
-silk boxers (Sexy undergarments are not just for women!)
-flavored massage oils
-Um, I think I shall stop there…
I agree that love should be demonstrated 365 days a year, but I do like to do something extra-special for Valentine’s Day.
Since Sam is always gone, we tend to have V-Days all the time. We can’t seem to remember the last time we were together on V-Day and we were totally excited when he had this year off!!
Come to find out, we gotta go to CA for some family business. So spending the day with my parents… not hot monkey lovin’ in their house – ick. Guess that’ll have to wait until we’re home. Hmmmm – unless we send THEM out with our son and we have the house to ourselves? Still ick. Never mind – time to go hit hotels.com!
@kath, I have a friend doing that at his church this year. Sounds fun.
Ok, I’m at the right post now. Anyhoo, my heart goes out to single people, so even though I’m married, my husband and I thought it would be more fun to invite everyone we know, single or otherwise, to our church for wallyball, racquetball, dinner, desserts, movies, etc. I hope everyone has a blast!
We’ve done the: go out for a great dinner…
Stay at home and order in…stay at home and cook…I really like the stay at home options best…
We just love being together…and eating chocolate…
Pete, I have also gone with the “coupon” method, due to cost-containment efforts. I have given Holly 10 free coupons for love-making episodes with me. I put an expiration date of April 1st, 2009. We’ll see how it goes over…perhaps it could become an annual gift idea.
TMI people! TMI!
Since I am gone most weeks 6 days a week We try to get away somewhere. Besides Its hard to forget V-day since it is also our Anniversary. This year will be 21! Our State convention is having a Womens conference the next week so I am surprising her with the trip. Of course I will tag along and some of the other husbands that are going will have some male bonding time. If you live within traveling distance of Indianapolis, IN I recommend it highly. Its not to late to register. http://www.scbi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=134&Itemid=111
A couple years I gave Beloved kisses. One year it was chocolate kisses and another year it was laminated lipstick kisses. I hid them in all the areas that he would frequent around the house.
Last year I gave him a couple of composite photos of myself through the years- one for his desk and one for his wallet. I made it a little artsy in black & white and did a lot of close-ups of my eyes and my smile- areas that don’t show the ravages of time, gravity and indulgence as much as others.
He is famous for roses, chocolate, stuffed animals (especially the kind that sing and dance)and AMAZING cards.
This year I’m planning homemade pizza & peanut butter cookies (one of his favs that I haven’t made in years), with red heart cutouts all over the house.
For myself? While I LOVE that he takes the time to pick out the usual stuff for me (at the last minute, Pete), but this year I would REALLY like the house pressure washed. Or maybe he could detail my car. I’m flexible.
This was a New Year’s gift to me, but anytime of year a woman would cherish it…. My bf wrote out a list of speical things we had done together in the last year…one for each month.
It’s not only Valentine’s Day, but it’s also our anniversary. However, early on my wife figured she was getting shortchanged on that, and I was tired of trekking to restaurants that were overbooked in the middle of snow or slush or freezing rain.
So now we beat the crowds by doing lunch the day before or the day after Feb 14, and we celebrate our anniversary on a six-month offset basis on August 14th when the weather is balmy and we don’t have to dress like penguins to brave the elements.
Not entirely answering your question, but that’s our story. (Consider our lunch idea, it came in handy on Aug 14, 2003 when a late afternoon blackout across the entire northeast would have killed any dinner plans we had…)
My latest blog has what my sweetie did for me this year!
On the actual day, Saturday, we will be fixing a nice lunch for our girls (18 & 15) and eating on the China. Of course, some sort of chocolate dessert will be had, as well.
Hubs HATES the day…I really like the romance of it….causes quite a few fireworks at times but I am learning compromise!!!
Hey Pete…I bought my hubs a journal…actually I guess its for me, but for him. On special occassions, holidays, big events, or just because, I take the time to write something in his journal. So…its a wonderful book over the course of years that truly says how I feel at that time. I think its neat and I kinda like it.
We usually don’t celebrate V-day but I’m changing that this year. I sent my husband an ecard asking him on a date and after the kids are in bed we will enjoy some Triple Chocolate Tart that I am making and a glass of wine.
@Natve VZ, You are so my hero!
You had to bring the ‘sex’ thing into it. The way I see it is that in marriage, sex is free (at least in a healthy marriage anyway). So, basically, I have a no cost Valentines day. My husband could care less about Hallmark…
…you brought it up….
Ignore Katdish….
we’re staying in, grilling steaks, having some chocolate covered strawberries and watching a chic-flick (i know pete’s especially excited about the chic-flick!!! )
brandiandboys’s last blog post..“Support” The Arts?!?!
Bowling!!!
Jody’s last blog post..A-Roid
Pete – I think you need to monitor my husband’s comments.
As hilarious as he is, he actually sent me flowers today (with no coupons attached) – the first time in 14 years!!
holly’s last blog post..What A Difference a Day Makes
Cheap stuff? Love letters and full body massages are great, and have been mentioned.
Here’s one that hasn’t, and I’m not kidding: give each other pedicures.
http://openlibrary.org/b/OL8563951M
I just found your blog, WOW! What a great group of people, just figured I would share my valentine’s day plans… I made for my future wife a sculpture out of crayola air dry clay a scene with two bears sitting under a tree having a picnic, with our initials carved in the tree. It has special meaning in a couple of ways, our names for each other are Momma Bear and Poppa Bear (hopefully a whole bunch of baby bears in the future) and she knows I plan on proposing again, (long story, but i wasn’t before what I am now thanks be to God!) but she doesn’t know that I plan on asking her on a picnic this summer beneath our tree! I sure hope she likes it. I really like the idea of the list of the top 10 memorable times, thanks for the great ideas guys!
I love all these things, and it has given me some good ideas for the future! Ken always sends me tulips instead of roses because they’re my favorite flower and come out for the first time in stores in Feb. We spent Valentine’s weekend together by going to see a “chick-flick” Confessions of a Shopaholic, then had an early dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s which is one of our favorite restaurants. They had a special Valentine’s entree and dessert which we had. Then we had the rest of the evening at home playing games.
Oh, I forgot about our main gift–we’re getting a couples’ massage Friday night, which we’ve done twice before–once on his birthday a few years ago and once on our honeymoon. If you’ve never done that with your beloved, it is fabulous!
being a scrapbooker….I have done a few crafty keepers for Husband.
this year we spent the evening fireside after a good home cooked meal. we have a huge outdoor pit in our back yard (country living! woohoo!)we each pour our favorite drink, this weekend i grabbed the cheese, bread & olive oil and we headed out side where it was quiet, stars, then fog (mystery!) lots of sparks from both the fire and us. love getting out there away from technology and just talking & sharing.
we do this about once a month +/-….the best cheep date we have found.
jane’s last blog post..valentines day….
oh…and Husband’s gift to me: in March he set up a night in Columbia to see one of my FAVORITE bands, for FREE. so we are staying the night in Columbia….and since you brought the s word up….hotel sex will be the BIG bonus! just sayin!!! (we are under the teaching of Perry Noble…need i say more!?!)
jane’s last blog post..valentines day….