The Perfect Valentine’s Day

Okay, don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Valentine’s Day is only eight days away, so avoid the unimaginative mad dash to the supermarket flower aisle and the CVS boxed chocolate section next Tuesday and come up with your holiday strategy in advance.

This year consumer spending is up nationally and experts forecast a banner year for retailers. Holiday spending is also expected to be above average with retail studies showing that folks expect to spend, on average, 8 to 10 percent more this Valentine’s Day than last year. More people are looking at expensive gifts such as jewelry for the holiday than in the last five years.

This only fuels the fire of Valentine’s Day naysayers who hold that this holiday is a commercial creation with no meaning other than a push to get us into the local stores to frivolously spend hard-earned dollars.

“I think it’s crazy that we would be told there is a special day to say 'I love you' to our spouses or partners. My husband and I don’t buy into this holiday at all,” Vivianne Rattet said.

I have a different approach to the holiday. Life has many tough things we can't avoid—illness, small and large stressors, death, not to mention our local sore point: taxes—so any excuse to celebrate and have some extra fun are welcome and I’m going to make the most of every one.

We have many friends of the same mindset who take inexpensive small steps to make it a fun day. One couple are attorneys; she will wear a bright red suit to the office on Valentines Day and he will wear a matching tie and they give their office workers a little box of valentine’s chocolates, which makes for a fun office day. Another girlfriend thought the holiday was the perfect excuse for her husband of thirty years to finally sleep with a redhead, so she donned a red wig and met him at the door appropriately costumed and, lets just say, it was a Valentine’s Day that he always remembers with a smile.

When it comes to giving gifts to my husband, I decided that if he wants or needs something badly enough, he would buy it for himself. So birthdays and holidays are an excuse for fun, creative gift giving. Instead of material gifts, I look for experiences he has never had that make for holidays to remember. He has received a weekend at a NASA sponsored adult space camp, a zero-gravity experience where a 747 nosedives from great heights to make passengers float in air similar to a moon walk and a ‘Dream Car’ rally where he drove all the hottest and latest Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bugattis and Maybach’s on a day-long cross-country rally. It’s fun, it adds excitement to everyday life and they make for fun conversations and memories for a long time after.

And a memorable holiday doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Simply thinking whom the person is and what you know about them can create a day to remember. One of my favorite Valentine’s Day gifts was when my husband came home from work early and set up a table in front of the fireplace. He had bought five small courses of my favorite foods and set it out on the table with flowers and a candle. In front of a crackling fire we sat at our makeshift picnic table and for every course he gave me a handwritten card or a small gift that showed he knew me and what I loved and had spent time thinking about it in the midst of his crazy work schedule.

So go on, use any and every excuse available, including the commercially driven Valentine’s Day, to have more fun and create good memories whether its by cooking a favorite meal, donning a wig, sharing a fun experience or writing a special card.

Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.