When I was single, I had a love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day. Love/hate because while I fantasized about all the VDay clichés, at times February the 14th also seemed to rub salt into the wounds of my singleness.
So when I became attached, my excitement was revived during my first Valentine’s Day with my now-bf. I got surprised with flowers and wined & dined for the evening. I do enjoy eating out, so it gives me something to look forward to!
Now that the novelty has worn off a bit, which I think is normal 🙂 , we’ll catch a sappy movie, if there’s anything playing, and go out for dinner, but NOT on Valentine’s Day itself.
There are waaay too many people out, plus restaurants love to throw in some special prix fixe menu which is more expensive than their usual offerings. My bf has cooled it on the bouquets ’cause I’ve told him that I think that they’re a waste of money since they die soo quickly!
So I’m curious if Valentine’s Day is something that you still celebrate OR is it just another day for you & your partner/family?
I think it’s BS how people do a complete 180 on their feelings for singles awareness day the minute they get into a relationship.
& it would be nice to be able to visit at least ONE website today without being reminded of our relationship status (or lack thereof)
My DH gets a card, and DD gets a card and chocolate, and a small heart-themed treat.
This year DD got 2 boxes of candy and a heart-shaped glow wand.
Next year, DS will be included. 🙂
I’m guessing the people who are celebrating probably aren’t on smart canucks today.
Oh my….I hate Valentines day. I think it has exploded over the years into a day of ridiculous consumerism. I told my husband when we started dating that if he got my anything, ever, on Valentines day, I would be offended. It means more to me for him to bring home flowers out of the blue than on Valentines day. He does things throughout the year to show me his love and affection towards me and that is how a relationship should be. Not an expectation that one day a year, you get me a crappy stuffed animal from Hallmark, some high sugar/fattening chocolates, and some jacked up priced roses. No thank you….but thank you for showing me your true feelings 365 days a year otherwise.
I agree that it means more to me to get flowers for no reason than it does on Valentines Day. But my boyfriend and I are romantic every day. We don’t need a reminder to appreciate each other. But I know a lot of couples who do… And if you are in love, why not celebrate? It takes a lot of work to make a relationship successful!
I like to think of Vday as just another “date night”. No flowers, or fancy restauarnts. Sometimes we order in from one of the inexpensive restaurants we like, and enjoy a movie together. You can get pretty decents boxes of chocolate at all those after xmass sales that go on for weeks and weeks, which we do and don’t open them till vday 🙂 We dont do anything really fancy, because my birthday is a week later, and we celebrate then 🙂
We don’t really celebrate Hallmark day, our anniversary of being together is next week, and its a big one! 10 years! Well go out for dinner or something. As or v day meh, we never have done much.
P.s. I’d rather be randomly surprised with flowers throughout the year.
I thought I was the only one who feels a little guilty getting flowers (anytime, not just V-day). They are beautiful, so I feel sad/guilty when they start to die. My husband often buys lovely potted plants instead. For Valentine’s day we let my sons miss hockey practice (a HUGE treat in our house) and I surprised the three boys and dad with giant ice cream sundaes. It was a huge hit and we had a lot of fun, until we started homework.
@ Joline… I couldn’t have said it any better myself!!
good food. that’s it! i like any old excuse to cook something special.
no cards, no gifts. just a specially made meal:-)
why not get random surprises throughout the year AND celebrate v day…that’s what we do! we don’t go out, but we might get each other some fair trade chocolates and stay home with a nice homemade meal. today we spent the holiday with some single family members, and it was fantastic. i just can’t ignore all the <3 in the air 🙂
seems like theres more money in the air rather than love…
just another marketing gimmick. everyday we should share love with everyone not just a spouse or close relation…
since my birthday is only 5 days before Valentines day we don’t make a big deal about Valentines day. My hubby got me a card, a movie and a stuffed animal. He unexpectedly got sent home early from work so we decided to go out for dinner. I would prefer to just have a nice card and spend some time alone with my husband. I told him not to buy me flowers anymore cause they jack up the price for Valentines day and it’s just not worth it. I would rather have flowers for no reason then for Valentines days
200% agree to Joline.
Everyday SHOULD feel like valentines Rey hit realistically it doesnt! now that is pressure ! Just go out and do something nice for someone you love whether that is yourself, your partner, your friend , your parents or your pet!! Happy Valentine’s day!
Lol should read DAY AND BUT!
I always celebrate it – single or not. To me, it’s about love – period. Love for my friends, my home, what I do, for myself. I don’t know about anyone else, but I can always use a little more love in my life!
Agreed;)
It’s a good reminder day for those that didn’t do anything sweet and spontaneous all year I guess. For myself it’s like Christmas, Easter etc. – blown out of proportion, Bah Humbug… It’s fun for the kids.
They are still blindsighted by the marketing so it might be a magical time for some. I give myself random flower gifts and chocolate when the budget is in good standing, coupon or not. LOL 😉
we stay in and make tacos. a weird tradition i started a few years ago. no gifts, no cards, just tacos!
We don’t need a “special” day to profess our love for each other, if you don’t do nice and romantic things or even tell your significant other that you love them every day during the year, why is this holiday supposed to make up for it???
Save the money, go on a trip and really celebrate your love!
I had the perfect valentine’s day. My BF came over and we went to a $5 Tuesday movie in our track pants.
My guy makes me feel special every single day. My idea of romance is washing my dishes, knowing how I take my coffee and rubbing my back when I’m about to doze off to sleep.
i think it creates alot of pressure for most people whether they are single or attached.
Yes, the Hallmark days are too blown up. Why give a card to someone when they are right in front of your face? Say those words of meaning right to them with eye contact. Means a lot more. My 27 yr marriage has always had surprise bouquets brought into my home, and my sweet husband always comes up with a thoughtful token for me. Love it. I made a great family dinner last night,put on a dress and heals, hair done up ,and when the kids went out – we topped it off with Homemade Choc. dipped strawberries while watching comedy on TV. Nice together time instead of $200.00 at an overpriced restaurant. He has heart shaped homemade choc. chip cookies in his lunch for the next few days!
we all wear something red (could even be underpants)…everyone picks one item to have at dinner (has to be homemade)..nothing refused so it can get weird…then we have a ‘movie’ night…lots of hugs & kisses (not just V-day, everyday actually)
it’s all in what you like – some need to do the over the top fancy, others are more subdued, no one is right or wrong – it’s all a matter of opinion.
smile & the world smiles back (most times)…have a gr8 day!
My favourite thing about Valentine’s Day is all the anti-Valentine’s Day people and their logic for why they’re anti.
THere’s those that think it’s a fake holiday, yet they dont’ believe in Jesus and have no problem having holidays for Christmas and Easter.
There’s those that think it’s just a retailer ploy to make money. But we don’t see the same people complaining on St. Patrick’s Day that it was made up by beer manufacturers to make money. We can indulge in beer with no complaints, but can’t indulge in love and chocoalte?
Or then there’s the classic “We shouldn’t need an extra day to do something nice for a loved one”. Do you have the same feelings toward Mother’s and Father’s Day? We shouldn’t need an extra day to appreciate our parents but we all do it on that day.
I’m not a HUGE fan of Valentine’s Day and hate excess commercials trying to have people spend loads of money, but it’s a day about love, it shouldn’t inspire so much negativity. We like to watch the movie we saw on our first date together, big deal!
we sort of did what we usually do anyway, go out for a low key dinner 🙂 nothing fancy, but we since we eat out every other week anyway, it wasn’t anything THAT special
although I insisted on no flowers, the bf-ship got me a small 3 roses in a cute mug arrangement 🙂 and I got him a new shirt for spring
I love getting him small gifts so this was a perfect excuse!
I really like what Mamana said:
“I always celebrate it – single or not. To me, it’s about love – period. Love for my friends, my home, what I do, for myself. I don’t know about anyone else, but I can always use a little more love in my life!”
In fact, that is exactly the approach I took this year. My husband died just over a year ago. Last year, I sat on the floor in the closet and cried. Still felt blue this Valentine’s but I thought about the people I love the most: got my son a gift and a card, letting him know how proud I am of him (do this every year anyway) but I also called my mother and a few special friends.
flowers are nice, but I think they are a waste of money…