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Valentine’s, A Day For Lovers
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Valentine’s Day–it’s just a few weeks away, and I know it has already crossed your mind. What are you going to do for your special loved one for Valentine’s Day?
I tend to like sweet and simple ideas (ones from the heart that actually mean something) better than the over-the-top too expensive things that leave you (as a couple) feeling like you just wasted a lot of money. Let’s face it, Valentine’s Day is just one day, and usually it falls on a weekday, which makes it hard to celebrate elaborately anyway.
This year, it does fall on a Friday, so it would be a perfect time to take advantage of a little weekend getaway, but remember, prices will be over-inflated. I would rather wait on that getaway until the prices were back to normal and be able to spend more on sight-seeing, food, or entertainment. The most important thing about Valentine’s Day is spending alone time with your loved one, and no boat-load of money is required to make that time special, romantic, and memorable.
So, I’ve put together eight easy and inexpensive ways to share your love.
1. 14 Days of Love Notes
Sometimes, anticipation can play a big part in the over-all experience of a date. Why not try leaving your Valentine a special note each day of February leading up to the big day. Need some fun and flirty inspiration or free printables? Click here.
2. Bursting with Love
Get a bag of balloons. Write little love notes (things you love about your loved one, things you’d miss about them, things you forgot to thank them for), roll the strips of paper and stuff each note inside the balloons. Inflate the balloons; and then, as your Valentine pops each balloon, it will burst with love.
3. Love is Blind Restaurant Hop
Let fate decide where you dine for Valentine’s Day. Every time you come to a stop sign or get stopped at a light, flip a coin. If it’s heads–turn right, tails–turn left. Stop at the first restaurant you come to for appetizers. Continue on doing the same thing until you come to the next restaurant for your meal. Flip the coin again until you arrive somewhere for dessert. If you don’t have that much time, you could always stay at the first restaurant for the entire meal. And who knows, maybe you will want to have dessert at home…
4. Come Away With Me
Clip pictures from a magazine or print some off the internet of someplace your Valentine has always dreamed of going. Maybe even purchase a few things to reflect the customs or ethnicity to give your evening the feeling of being at that special place. Make a playlist of music from that country or place, and prepare a meal with at least one dish that your sweetheart would love to try from your dream region. Talk about the things you would like to do if you were there, or maybe even plan your dream trip.
5. Picnic at Home in Front of the Fire
You just want to stay put and be home-bodies? No problem, make yourself a cozy indoor picnic. Throw some blankets and pillows on the floor, and settle in front of the fire for a romantic evening. Move the furniture around a little to give you more space if needed, and light candles all around the room. Listen to the crackle of the fire and feed each other tasty tidbits from your picnic. Put on a romantic playlist and do a little slow dancing.
6. Special Dates Road Trip
Every couple has dates that are special to them–your anniversary, first date, birthdays, Valentine’s Day. Find out where your significant dates will take you. Leave your house and get out to the main road, roll the dice: 1 or 4 = left, 2 or 5 = right, and 3 or 6 = straight ahead (only use stop signs and lights for changing directions). Use your date (month-day-year) to tell you how many stops or lights you will travel before changing direction. (You may want to use just the last digit in the day or year if it is too large a number). When you get to your location, look around and see what there is to do–eat dinner, play pub trivia, listen to a band, get a cup of coffee, go for a walk, maybe even go bowling or play miniature golf. Then you can move on to another special date if you want.
Change this date up a bit by going for a bike ride or walking. Instead of stop signs and street lights, ride for minutes before changing directions at the next intersection. This adventure may lead you to new discoveries within your own neighborhood.
7. Romantic Candlelight Movie
Light some candles, lay out some snacks, and cuddle-up with your love-bunny to watch a romantic movie. Who knows, a little playful kissing or flirting may set a nice tone for after the movie.
8. Chocolate-covered Strawberries and Champagne
Whether you have these pre-made or make them together, chocolate-covered strawberries are a decadent treat. Couple them with a bottle of champagne, and let the romance begin. Movie, dancing, bubble bath…
Take these 8 Great Date Ideas for Valentine’s Day and add your own creative twist, or mix and mingle them together. Add your own emotions and love, and let them carry you where they will. Whatever you do, have fun, relax and enjoy each other!
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Do you have any creative ideas to share?
What will you be doing this Valentine’s Day?
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~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai 
Oh too funny! The balloon thing I could see with me having my hands over my ears…so romantic! I like the idea of the restaurant hop, that is fun! I think my daughters would like that with their boyfriends. And who doesn’t want chocolate dipped berries…yum. I prefer mine dark chocolate with a red wine! Thanks for the creative ideas. I hope you and Luke have a great holiday. 😉
Mmm… dark chocolate with red wine sounds heavenly too! 🙂 I’m not sure what Luke and I will be doing just yet, but whatever it is, we will have a great holiday. Enjoy yours, Brandi . 😉
I did the 14 days of love notes last year, and my husband really loved it! He got to the point where he was looking for his note every day (I would hide them!) But I like your #6 idea, too!
I love the idea of hiding the notes! I always do a little “treasure hunt” for the kids on St. Nicholas Day where they have to search for the nest clue to find their little treasure. It is always fun. Hmmm… such possibilities! 😉
GREAT list! Pinning and sharing! Thanks!
Glad you like it… thanks for the pin! 🙂
We love road trips, simple and fun, go and see places or just travel roads we haven’t traveled before. Using dices should be even more fun ;).
It seems you never take the time to really explore your own area and see what’s there. This would be a fun thing to do any time of the year. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this list! I might do the 14 days of Love Notes this year!
You can have a lot of fun with those! 😉 Enjoy…
I’m fond of idea number 6. It sounds like a little adventure. Overall, fantastic suggestions for people who might be stumped!
It would be a fun adventure, wouldn’t it? Love it too. 🙂
Great ideas, Lorelai! We tend to keep it pretty low key, as well – romantic, but low key.
Maybe one of these ideas will be perfect for your low-key romantic evening. 😉
Such a great post! I pinned this to my “parenting” board on Pinterest so all the weary parents can get an idea of what to do since they haven’t thought of anything to do…
Thanks for the pin! I’m so glad you enjoyed these ideas. 🙂
Loving that Restaurant Hop idea! We did a restaurant hop with the parents of the groom while searching for the rehearsal dinner location for my daughter’s wedding. It was so much fun! Pinning this to my Valentine’s board.
What a fun thing to do for a rehearsal dinner. Thanks for the pin! 🙂
These are all great ideas! I never thought of the notes in the balloon. That’s cute. We usually celebrate after the holiday to avoid crowds. My favorite of your list, though, is number 8, by far! I love chocolate covered strawberries and it reminds me how my husband went out of his way to get me some when we were dating because he knew how much I enjoyed them. Thanks for these ideas!
It’s those special little memories that mean the most… enjoy your Valentine’s Day celebrations 🙂
Sounds like so much fun! I love the picnic idea!
The fireplace picnic sounds so cozy and cuddly. I like that idea too. 🙂
Wow! Great ideas….I like the balloon one and the dream trip…in fact, I like them all! I am pinning this!
I’m so glad you love these ideas! Thanks for the Pin. 🙂
What great ideas! I know my SO would vote for the movie and cuddles, but the restaurant hop sounds fun too! Thanks for the reminder- I gotta get to planning!
Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday this year… get an early enough start to go on a restaurant hop and finish up the evening at home with a movie and cuddles! 🙂
Dinner, candy and flowers are on my agenda…don’t know about him – lol!!!
That can always be a big question… LOL 🙂
Love the balloon idea for kids, I may add some confetti in there too for my grandsons. I how my daughter just loves to vacuum! Dinner on blankets in front of the fire sound just perfect on a cold snowy day like we’re having now. Best Valentines Day we had was a day we played hookie, picked up lunch together and parked on a quiet road by a nearby lake and ate in the car to soft music. It was all so spontaneous, it was perfect. I am definitely going to save #6 for a spring/summer adventure. Sounds like so much fun!
I love the playing hookie date! What a fun idea. And I’m sure your daughter will love you all the more! 🙂 LOL
My Hubs is healing from a knee replacement so we will most likely sit at home a watch TV. He may not even remember it is Valentines day… and thats okay.
Sometimes other things have to take precedence. It’s all part of being in a loving relationship, and that is GREAT. 🙂
These are great ideas! My favourite is the picnic in front of the tv 🙂 My hubby would so go for that! And it would be so much fun (now to find a babysitter!!)
Good luck with the babysitter, and have FUN! Or, you could always wear the kids out during the day and put them to bed a little early. 😉
Very special list. It’s so easy to over the look the people we love the most.
It is easy to take them for granted. Try doing small things for each other all the time, not just on Valentine’s day. It’s amazing how even small thins can make you feel loved and special. For example, When I go home from Luke’s, he often pulls a the petals off an almost bloom out rose or two and throws them across my windshield. It’s fun to watch them as the fly off, but it’s even more fun to see how many actually make it home. Then when I go out to my truck the next morning, I am remind of his love again when I see those little petals. Simple but lovely.
what wonderful and romantic ideas for celebrating valentine days wonder if hubby wuld mind if I slipped him this list
Plan it together! Why should the responsibility of a great Valentine’s Day fall on just one partner? Seems to me that just leads to hurt feelings and disappointment. Of course, little things can be added to your plans as a surprise, or room left for spontaneity. 🙂
I love your list. My husband and I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, but these ideas are great for anytime 🙂
Yes, they are! And what a special night it would be. 🙂
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http://journeysaremydiary.blogspot.co.uk/
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Hi, Belinda! Thanks for following me. I will definitely be following back and look forward to getting to know you and your blog better. 🙂
These are great ideas to improve your date night! After 15 years of Valentine’s day, going out can be a chore or very repetitive!! I love your ideas, especially the flip a coin. What a great way to spend the night!
Sounds like great fun to me… spending time exploring and discovering! 🙂
The road trip idea sounds like a lot of fun!
It really could be exciting. 🙂
Love those ideas – we turn off all the phones and computers and have a meal and some film time 🙂 x
Turning off phones and computers is a great idea. 🙂
These are such great ideas. My husband used to write love letters to me all the time when we were dating
Oh, how sweet. Maybe you can incorporate pieces of those love letters into some of these ideas (like the balloons), and have fun reminiscing those days. 🙂
Super cute ideas! We are low key on Valentine’s Day, so I like the picnic in front of the fireplace idea!
I love that idea too, and as cold as it’s been this year across most of the country, it would be a warm one to do. 🙂
Lot of great ideas for any date not just Valentine’s Day. My hubby is not usually at home that time of the year.
You’re right, these ideas would be fun anytime of the year. 🙂
I love them all!! I always have a hard time figuring out what to do for V-Day. This is our 18th year so it’s hard to figure out after that long 🙂 ~ Renee
Well, here’s to a happy 18th-year Valentine;s day! 🙂
Woo hooo.. What an incredible list of date ideas. They are everlasting and great alternatives for couples in the coming Valentine’s Day. Thank you very much for sharing, Lorelai. I enjoy it a lot. Happy Valentine Day.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you to, Adelien. The greatest thing about these dates is that they are inexpensive and you can do them at anytime… you gotta love it! 🙂