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| Curt and I in our carriage on our wedding day! |
"Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry."
— Tom Mullen
Some people don't believe in Valentine's Day. They say you should show your Valentine you love them everyday. (I call them Valentine Scrooges.) Yes, in an ideal world you should and in ways we do. But in reality, I think it's wonderful to have one day to do something special for your spouse. Why not use Valentine's to do something extra special? Why not break out the fine china or plan a special evening? And I'm not talking about just going out to eat, really put some time and effort into creating a custom evening for just the two of you.
We usually celebrate fairly simply (I know you're surprised right?). I'm not a jewelry/flower kind of girl. My husband knows the real way to my heart-chocolate covered strawberries ;) The first year we were married I came home from work and he'd made chocolate covered strawberries himself with white and milk chocolate. He'd arranged them in a heart on the table with a card and single rose. I loved it and I guess he thought-"Why mess up a good thing?" So chocolate covered strawberries have kind of been a tradition since then. I don't always get them the same way or even on Valentine's Day but somewhere around there he'll dip them himself and leave them somewhere, usually along with a little something else (card, flowers, DVD, book, etc).
My gift to him is to prepare a dinner for us. Most years I go all out and plan it somewhere special with music, lighting, etc.. For example, one year we got in the car and I didn't tell him where we were going but we went to the beach area at Lake Guntersville and had a picnic. I had a special CD of "our songs" made, candlelight, etc. Another year I transformed our backyard at the time. It was a small, fenced in area and I hung lights all around the fence, white tablecloth, etc.
Like I said nothing that costs too much-it's really more about the extra effort and time spent with each other. Sure, he could just stop and buy me something but to me it means so much more knowing he took the time to hand dip each of those chocolate strawberries!
Now I'm trying to come up with something for this year. Maybe just a picnic under the stars in our own backyard? Any ideas? Just curious how do you and your Valentine celebrate?
I've been thinking about this too. Since Valentine's Day is on a school night this year, Gary and I can't do anything just the two of us. I thought about surprising Gary and the girls with a meal at the table on real dishes (we usually use paper plates...lol)and a special dessert. I just want them all to know how much I love them! Gary has only put effort into doing something for me for Valentine's Day one time. It was our first one after we were married. He cooked for me. He made spaghetti, macaroni and cheese (my absolute favorite) and green beans...what a combination! We ate by candlelight (which I found out quickly after we were married he didn't like to do)and it is my favorite meal we have ever shared :) I look back and wonder where all the time has gone. Why don't we put effort into each other like we did back then? I am going to work harder and try to put more effort into us :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Anna, I'm not a jewelry/fancy kind of girl. We aren't big on giving gifts but I do try to make our meal special. I have no idea what I will do this year though! You have given me some ideas, I just need to get it planned before Tuesday night!
ReplyDeleteJess-I like the idea to include the whole family. I read on someone's blog that they did that and did an all red theme. For example, spaghetti, red velvet cake, and even sparkling red grape juice. We may do a dinner with all of us then dessert for just me and Curt later. :)
ReplyDeleteAbby-You're right! I've got to finish planning ours soon too!
I am surprising them with spaghetti and meatballs (Kenni has been asking for that). I like the idea of saving dessert for me and Gary after the girls go to bed. Thanks for the idea!
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