Valentine’s Day is only less than a month away! Are you wanting you and your partner to have a very romantic and an amazing Valentine’s Day this year? Are you feeling unprepared for Valentine’s Day this year?
Well, you have nothing to worry about because now, you found this article! I’m sure that you’re worried about how stressful the preparation and planning is going to be. If you’re thinking of there being too many things to do, too many things to plan, and most importantly too much money to spend, then by the end of this article, I hope you end up not worrying too much and feeling a lot better about this year’s holiday of love!
There are so many ways to spend your Valentine’s Day with your partner, some ways allow you to spend some money, but it is also possible to spend Valentine’s Day without spending too much money because unlike holidays like Christmas, Valentine’s Day is all about showing love and appreciation to one another. Sure, you can show love by spending money on gifts and dates, but there are also more affordable and creative ways to show your partner how much you love and appreciate them.
Of course, everything depends on the personal tastes of both you, your partner and your relationship. Valentine’s Day is all about you, your partner and your relationship, therefore, it is 100% up to you and your partner on how you want to celebrate your Valentine’s Day with each other! However, you can use this article to get a few ideas and help yourself with preparing and planning for Valentine’s Day without worrying too much.
What Are You Supposed To Do Before Valentine’s Day?
- Plan Ahead
I always love planning ahead for a great Valentine’s Day with my partner. Planning ahead involves knowing how you want to spend your day, the gifts you are planning to give, doing your finances, setting up a day out, picking a place, etc. It is always good to plan ahead as it stresses you out less as you get closer to the special day, and because Valentine's Day is a very popular day, a lot of people celebrating it can limit your day with your partner. For example, if you don’t make a dinner reservation early, it is quite difficult to get a reservation later, as the place you had on your mind can end up having a lot of bookings.
So always plan ahead if you are wanting a quality and a stress-free Valentine’s Day with your partner!
- Gifts To Show Your Love
The first thing that comes to your mind at the mention of gifts is probably money being spent. However, this totally depends on your partner and the relationship between you and your partner. Not to worry though, a good gift does not always equate to gifting your partner a Chanel bag or a fancy trip to Europe. A good gift is when you put a lot of thought and effort into showing your partner how much you love them, and it does not require you causing a huge dent on your bank account.
I’ll give you an example of last year’s Valentine’s Day when me and my partner just started a relationship, and he was always talking about playing a lot of Foosball (or Table Football), and for our third date earlier last year, we played Foosball together at a local pub. I was awful at it as I was expecting, but we still managed to have an amazing time. That little memory means so much to me because that was when I realized that I really wanted to be with him. Skipping to planning a Valentine’s Day gift for him, I knew I could not afford an actual Foosball table since they were all over $150, but when I went shopping for a gift, I luckily found a mini Foosball set which was around $12, because I knew he could use a mini Foosball table to play while watching Youtube on his bed. I gift wrapped it with other little gifts like candies and a handwritten card. He loved the present that day and he got me a set of 20 colored pens (which was also around $12) since I used to love writing my notes with different colored pens back then.
All around, it was a lovely start to our Valentine’s Day and I still use my colored pens, even to label things in my kitchen. I still appreciate the colored pens my partner gifted for Valentine’s Day last year, and the thought that he put into it as well, and it took both of us around $12 each to show our love and appreciation for each other.
So whether it be an expensive bracelet or a few colored pens, make sure to note that it is not about the money you spend on a gift, but it is the thought, effort and love that you put into it.
- Create a Romantic Background
If you are wanting to be the ultimate romance queen or king this Valentine’s Day, then nothing gets better than adding an extra romantic touch for your partner. A romantic background or atmosphere is what sets the mood for your partner to feel appreciated. Not only that, but a romantic background also sets the mood for an intimate time with your partner throughout the day.
This works especially if you want to plan on spending your Valentine’s Day in the house. Spending Valentine’s Day staying in is a great idea not only financially, but also because you and your partner have a lot of privacy and freedom to spend the best day ever! If you’re still wondering how to create a romantic background, then don’t worry, I have a few ideas from my Valentine’s Day last year for you.
Last Valentine’s Day, my partner setup lavender and tonka scented diffusers around his flat. For the purpose of romance, I would suggest scented candles instead of diffusers as they are more romantic and traditional, however, our situation was that his smoke alarm was a bit too sensitive, therefore, he ended up using diffusers, which are not too disruptive as they don’t trigger the smoke alarm and resulted in us having our privacy. He also bought a Blue Iris flower bouquet and laid each flower near his bed as he knew that they were my favorite flowers. Most importantly, he turned the main lights off and switched on his LED lights, which just gave the day such a romantic and intimate feel.
It was also a surprise, and I absolutely loved it, there wasn’t just so much effort in paying attention to every detail, but also, the fact that he wanted to surprise me to make sure I feel appreciated and loved on the one day that everyone deserves a bit of love.
One thing that my experience had missed was a good romantic playlist, which could have any songs! Could include a classic romantic song like Something by The Beatles, or/and songs that you and your partner share fantastic memories with! To appreciate the playlist of your relationship and your love, you and your partner could dance together or sing along as well. This really defines an amazing quality day together, and helps you and your partner grow closer.
What is the Most Important Thing To Do When Planning a Valentine’s Date?
- Make Reservations for a Romantic Dinner
If you feel hesitant about celebrating Valentine’s Day with just gifts and staying in, and want to properly go out with your partner, a dinner date is one of the most romantic ways to spend your evening on Valentine’s Day. The dinner date does not necessarily have to be fancy, but one thing you have to make sure is that the food is good. Now this completely depends on you and your partner’s personal taste, however, a slightly fancier place for dinner can show a bit of love, appreciation and respect. Classic romantic dinners also include a candlelight table, so a slightly fancier place could be your perfect place to have dinner during Valentine’s Day!
To plan ahead, make sure that once you choose a good restaurant, you are making a reservation as soon as possible, because a lot of good restaurants get booked during this special day, so I suggest that you find a place, and make your reservation for a perfect evening.
- Personal Grooming Before The Special Day
An entire romantic day with your partner also involves you feeling like you’re at your best, and nothing helps more with confidence than personal grooming before the special day. So you can go for a nice haircut, shave any extra hair on your body, and take a nice shower on Valentine’s Day. I always use a nice scented body cream or body lotion, and a nice fragrance to smell sexy and seductive for the pheromones. My partner loves my date-night perfume, so when I used that for Valentine’s Day after also layering it on a scented body lotion, it drove him crazy!
You could also plan an outfit for the special day, of course, it depends on how you are spending your day, but even if you are spending your Valentine’s Day at home, a nice and impressive outfit could make your day a lot better as it shows effort. And if you are planning to have your Valentine’s Day at a fancy restaurant, then I’d suggest you wear a slightly formal outfit.
- Plan a Fun Day Out
If you are wanting to spend the whole day out with your partner instead of just a dinner, then you have so much you could choose from! A fun day out for me would be going to a beach with my partner, and staying the night at a hotel. But if you are wanting something more fun then there’s always amusement parks or theme parks to visit, there’s so much you and your partner could do at amusement or theme parks.
If you and your partner prefer something more adventurous, then you could always go hiking or a camping night together. If you and your partner want to just have a relaxing day out, then walking around visiting different cafes and shops could be fun, I would also suggest a spa day together as nothing can get more relaxing than a spa day with your favorite person. Anything that helps you and your partner get closer and feel romantic with each other.
- Get Insight From Your Partner
No matter what you are planning and deciding on doing for this year’s Valentine’s Day, it is important to remember that the day is about you and your partner, so you should consider their ideas and plans to celebrate the holiday of love as well. Surprises are romantic and fun to an extent, but if your partner is wanting to plan a day out hiking or a lazy day in, then it is important to consider that. Valentine’s Day is all about you and your partner and how you want to spend it together.
About the Author
Ridhi Yemireddy is a Content Coordinator for the Couply app. Couply was created to help couples improve their relationships. Couply has over 300,000 words of relationship quizzes, questions, couples games and date ideas and helps over 400,000 people.
Ridhi is also a Psychology Student, and studying at University of Stirling.
You can connect with Ridhi on Linkedin here and Instagram here.
