Valentine’s Day Tips From an Old Married Couple

Today is Valentime’s Valentine’s Day, and I do believe it will be the 16th that my husband and I have celebrated together. This year will be 13 years that we’ve been married. While that doesn’t necessarily make us an OLD married couple, it does mean that we’ve pretty much run the gamut of the kinds of Valentine’s Day celebrations you can have. We’ve done Valentine’s Day vacations and staycations. We’ve done picnics and fancy restaurants. We’ve made romantic dinners at home – some successful, some EPIC fails (this lemon chicken comes immediately to mind. BLEAH). We’ve bought each other all sorts of presents, and we’ve kept it simple to just a bouquet of flowers. Here’s what I’ve come to believe from trying out a variety of Valentine’s Day celebrations: it’s whatever you make of it.

Valentine’s Day is hyped up into this big huge deal, because it truly is a money maker and a commercial confection for SO many industries. The floral industry. The candy and chocolate industry. Restaurants, with their pricey prix fixe menus. Alcohol brands. And of course fashion and makeup and adult gifts in general. This is the season for spicy deals. Valentine’s Day gets a lot of hype and press and attention, but it really is what YOU make it and what you want it to be. You don’t have to fall into the over the top cliches. Just come correct, come from the heart, and be genuine with your love. Here are 5 Valentine’s Day tips from an old married couple, just in time to hopefully help your celebration this evening go off without a hitch!

1 – Make those reservations well ahead of time. Whoops! Hopefully you DID make reservations. If you didn’t, NOW’s the time to check Open Table. Think intimate and ethnic and you just might strike gold at the 11th hour!

2 – Making Valentine’s dinner at home? Go to a good grocery store and think of what you’d be most likely to order on a prix fixe menu. My husband says, “Get something fancy and nice like what you’d order out — a nice bottle of wine, ask the dude at the store for a recommendation paired with your meal. It isn’t that hard to grill a filet or prepare a lobster with drawn butter. Fingerling potatoes, green beans, a side salad – boom. Don’t over think it with some crazy complicated recipe. Keep it simple.” Wise words.

3 – Don’t drink or eat too much. Valentine’s Day is about love and romance and the things that stoke those fires. In our experience, drinking too much alcohol or eating a ton of heavy, decadent food can bring your evening to an end earlier than you’d like it to. And nobody wants that on Valentine’s Day, right?

4 – Remember the day is about LOVE and enjoying each other’s company. Not expensive jewelry or special flowers or 50 Shades of Grey shenanigans. It’s about what your significant other enjoys and would want. It’s about making each other happy. That’s it, that’s all.

5 – February 14th is a dedicated day to celebrating love, but go BEYOND this one day. Try to find ways to celebrate your love every day. Maybe plan a weekly date night, and make THAT a Valentine’s Day present – a way to make every day the 14th. Word to Andre 3000.

Happy Valentine’s Day! How are you celebrating your love today?