We've all had it happen to us before. We watch the calendar as the days approach February 14. We glance at the special Valentine's candies, stuffed animals, and flowers as we run our errands and wonder what special present our man has procured for us. We get a little mushy inside when that diamond earring commercial appears on TV, and we drool over those advertisements for romantic Jamaican vacations that keep popping up all over the internet. But when the day finally comes, we open our Valentine's present only to find car motor oil, an oil-change pan, and an oil-change instruction manual waiting in the box.
The evening ends in tears and hurt feelings and a husband saying "But honey, I thought you'd like it. You said just the other day that your oil needed to be changed, and you know I won't have time to get to it this weekend."
This year, instead of waiting for your man to do all the Valentine's Day work, why don't you take the initiative and do something extra special? Not only will he be pleasantly surprised, but I'd also wager the evening won't end in tears over your oil pan gift.
1. Keep the day about him. Women like flowers, candy, and soft stuffed animals holding big red hearts. But what do men want? I'm not sure any woman can say for certain, but if you've been in a relationship for any length of time, you should have some idea of what YOUR man likes. So follow the it's-better-to-give-than-receive rule and plan the day around his preferences rather than yours.
2. Dress Up. Men are visual beings. They like to look at their woman (or girlfriend) and know that she went through effort to look good for him. This doesn't even need to cost any extra money (though it could if you wanted it to). Look nice, eat your meal by candlelight or firelight, and he'll be a happy man.
3. Cook. You've heard a zillion times that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and it will probably always be true. You don't need to make some elaborate meal as much as make something you know he will appreciate. As for me, I'll be making steak and potatoes, and my husband's favorite desert, peanut butter pie. The pie recipe takes about fifteen minutes and is super simple (I'll share it next week).
4. Plan a weekend getaway. It's February. Just about every hotel in the U.S. is offering deals right now, and you don't even need to go far from home. For our last anniversary, hubby and I drove a whopping hour from our house and got a discounted room with a jacuzzi, in a hotel that also featured a pool, hot tub, and sauna. Really, just the night away from kids was wonderful, and it didn't cost much. Call and make the reservations today, then make up a little personalized gift certificate and stick it in his Valentine's Day card to tell him.
Hopefully these ideas will get you started on creating a special Valentine's Day for your man and showing him how much you love and appreciate him.
On Wednesday, we'll be having a little fun with Valentine's Day. I'll be posting on the Top 10 Worst Valentine's Gifts. Have your bad Valentine's ideas ready! Also, if you haven't entered the giveaway for my novel, visit this post and leave a comment. You have until midnight on Wednesday, February 15.
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