Going Out on the Big Night: Make it Romantic, Not Commercial

It seems that Valentine’s Day has become another holiday that is all about commercialism. Retailers anticipate the event and decorate their windows with hearts, cupids, and other memorabilia, while flower shops make sure that they have thousands of roses and other types of flowers ready for sale. But it’s possible to bring the romance back to this holiday when you head out for the big date and still make it one of the most memorable ever.

One way to make the holiday more romantic without having all the added commercialism is to have a picnic. Depending on where you live in the country, it may not be possible to have the picnic outdoors as it will be right in the middle of winter. But plan a picnic indoors somewhere, such as at your house or at his. You can decorate the surroundings to look like the place you met, or where you went on your first date. For example, if your first date was at the beach, bring in some sand and lay it around on a blanket in the living room.

Another great way to spend Valentine’s Day without buying into all the marketing is to go to a museum. There are many cities that have museums that will have “Free” nights one day a week. Find out which museum is holding one of these nights on Valentine’s Day and go check it out. Not only will it be something that you can do for free, but also it will give you quality time with your date and add some variety to the old “going out for dinner” routine on Valentine’s Day.

To make Valentine’s Day even more thoughtful and romantic, tell your date that you will not buy each other gifts. This does not mean that you can’t exchange gifts; you just can’t buy them. Promise each other that if you do give gifts, they will be something from the heart that each of you have made. These could include things like heart-shaped cookies or chocolates, a love letter, poems, or a mixed tape filled with romantic love songs.

Along with making your own gifts, be sure to make your own cards as well. This is easy enough to do with any word processing software. Many of these programs include greeting card templates and they can have clip art, photos, and romantic verses and poems inserted into them. To make it really special, find a picture of the two of you and have this be the face of the card. If you’re not especially computer literate, or you want the entire work to be done by your hand, make the card from construction paper just as you used to in elementary school. It makes it that much more fun and special!

Celebrating Valentine’s Day in a way that brings in the romance and leaves out the commercialism may take a little more thought than just buying flowers and going out for dinner. But it will most certainly be one of the more memorable Valentine’s Day and it is a whole lot more fun too!