It seems the stress of coping with the separating during New Year’s Eve carried us away, and I just realized that another important occasion for all us lovers is just around the corner!

I haven’t had an opportunity to celebrate Valentine’s day with my partner yet (it’s going to be our fourth one)! I think I’ve had enough time to persuade myself that spending special occasions apart shouldn’t cause any sadness to both of you (I actually succeeded in it). It’s just another opportunity to demonstrate our creativity and attention.

There is not much time left until the Valentine’s day, so I came up with few easy, fast to execute, nearly free and (most importantly) creative ideas on how to make this Lovers Day special and unforgettable … without actually making Love 🙂

IN ADVANCE:

• First of all, agree to celebrate Valentine’s day in person the next time you meet and do something romantic (I know the fact that you’ll be meeting is already exciting, but do a bit of planning anyways – it will just feel better knowing that you are not canceling your celebration, only postponing it).
• Check out this website and create them a Love Book! This idea needs a bit of time for preparation, but you might receive it on time if you hurry. I think this gift is totally worth the money- anyone would feel extraordinary getting it, and they can read it whenever they miss you.
• If you like DIY gifts and are on a budget, prepare the Love Book yourself. All you need is to get a beautiful notebook and make sure you can spend couple of nights preparing it.

ON THE VALENTINE’S DAY MORNING:

• Make sure to wake up your bae with a call right when their alarm clock goes off (double check the timing if you have a time difference between you two). Waking up next to your love is the best feeling ever, and waking up to their voice is quite close to that.

DURING THE DAY:

Fill the day with gestures reminding why you love your hun:

• Make a special love note (or many notes) for them and ask someone to take a picture of you holding it in an unexpected set-up — if it’s snowing or raining, go outside! Otherwise, get into a busy metro station/street/shopping mall. Also, you can ask random people to hold your love notes and take pictures of them. Trust me, this will remembered for years!
• Upgrade it to a next level if you both like traveling: talk to people from different states/countries and ask them to hold your created love notes and take pictures of themselves. The CouchSurfing community will come in handy here. The forum of this community has plenty of people asking for similar favors quite often and the community is really willing to help! Don’t forget, this might need a bit of time to prepare, so get on it!
• What about getting people from different parts of the world say “I love you, my Marshmallow” in their language? Check out the video below, this idea is simply amazing- imagine all the people saying personalized phrase in their languages! I have never done it, but I think I should 🙂 As with the previous one, this idea needs time to prepare,  but it definitely would turn out into a touching present!

• Sing to them! I have done that so many times and it never failed – I always made sure to hit the top of our favorite songs chart and turned singing and performing to each other into a regular activity at home. Come up with your own lyrics, sing it out, and send the record to your favorite person. Don’t be shy- there is no way this will fail to get them laughing.
• An alternative for those who can’t get over being shy: send them the lyrics of the song which makes you think of them.
• Get them a subscription of the magazine they like.
• Buy a computer game they like in Steam.
• Ask them to send a baby picture of themselves and make it the desktop picture in your office. And show it to them 🙂
• Send them a never ending “I love you” card. Here’s how to prepare it:

IN THE EVENING:

• Of course, an online date is mandatory, but the main rule is to make it unique – don’t spend it catching up about your day. My honest advice: every time you celebrate something, make sure to do something different. The activity should depend on how you two feel about the holiday. We believe that we should show appreciation for each other every day, and Valentine’s day isn’t that important for us, so simply doing something offbeat works for us.
• Prepare for the date accordingly: set up a dummy/replica of your partner so you feel … SPECIAL. Here’s an example of my friend’s casual date set-up (thank you, Sonia):Sprinkle some rose petals around and turn it into a Valentine’s day arrangement!
• Prepare a personal quiz, followed by an award ceremony. Come up with a set of (10-15) questions about you as a couple and yourself personally. Don’t be afraid to talk about the weaknesses or involve the situations which occur when living together- it will also help to get to know each other better.

Before you start, introduce your partner to the prizes. Possible prizes: 1-5 correct answers guarantee 5 naked Skype sessions, 5-10 answers wins  public play the next time you meet, erotic massage, and a virtual sex session. 10-15 could be a virtual striptease, your special performance etc. Come up with your own ideas, but make sure to motivate your bae to do their best and fight for the first award.

Few ideas for the questions:

What drives me nuts:

• When you don’t wash the dishes
• When you leave dirty socks on the floor
• When you don’t write “good night” message (because you fall asleep while writing)

What is the fastest way to make me happy again:

• Chocolate
• Sex
• Chocolate & sex

Of course, you can always send chocolates, flowers, books, order their favorite food for home delivery, gift a cooking class/skydiving/massage coupon or anything else that’s available in the area your partner lives. However, I believe that preparing a personalized gift always works wonders. Don’t worry about emptying your wallet – go and practice the song you’ll sing 🙂

I’d love to hear your plans/gifts you are preparing for this Valentine’s day!