Bring Your Own Bliss

Some people are of the belief (my husband included, by the way) that Valentine’s Day is just a bogus holiday created by the greeting card and candy manufacturing companies to boost up product sales.  In a way you can’t blame people for thinking this way, especially if you’ve ever tried to make dinner reservations or buy your sweetie a dozen roses on February 14th.  It seems like every merchant is trying to take advantage of you and your wallet…kind of ironic for a day that’s supposed to celebrate love and friendship!

Whatever your views on Valentine’s Day are, you cannot argue the fact that any day is a good day to show or tell your loved ones just how much you care.  Having a specific day singled out on our calendars just makes it easier to remember to do what we don’t do often enough - show our appreciation to those who mean the most to us.

So in our house Valentine’s Day is a special day, but it is not a day to go out to dinner (bad service and outrageous prices,) it is not a day to buy flowers (never fresh and overpriced,) nor a day to buy candy (neither of us has a sweet tooth and who needs the extra calories?)  What we do is plan something special, something out of the ordinary.  Sometimes just abandoning your daily routine is fulfillment enough.  We buy each other romantic cards that express our feelings towards each other, we prepare a home cooked meal of our favorite foods, open up a good bottle of wine or champagne and set aside plenty of alone time. If you want to splurge, spend a bit more on your menu items or maybe buy some sexy lingerie.  The point is to stretch the dollar to get more value for your money, and use the savings on yourselves!

Let’s all seize control of this holiday and make it uniquely our own. I guarantee you it will be more intimate, more meaningful and will make you feel so proud you did not fall into the dreaded V-Day trap!