(Please be aware that lingerie catalogs or stores may be a temptation to your husband and that sending romantic things to your husband's place of business may cause problems for him. The moral of this warning is that you need to think things through before you romance your husband. Know your husband and know his work situation.)
HOLLY
For Valentine's Day I am creating a "365 Reasons I Love You" box - it is a cute heart-shaped box I found at WalMart and I plan to put little reasons and scriptures (as applicable) on little pieces of paper like fortune cookie fortunes and put them all in the box. Personal, cheap and hopefully a nice encourager for him.
JENNI
My tip is to have a couple's massage! My husband has always given me massages as gifts, so last summer for our anniversary I got him a couple's massage. He was a little hesitant at first but went along with it, I think because he knew I'd be there with him. It was so nice and relaxing that he has never stopped talking about it! We are going to have another one this Valentine's Day! If money is an issue, you can check and see if there is a local School of Massage in your area, they are cheaper than other massage places. Hope this helps!
ALICIA
Last Valentine's Day I spent little money, but did many little things to show my love. The night before Valentine's Day I ironed my husbands clothes for him. Then I found about 10 love poems on the Internet, printed them and put them in places for him to find. In his shirt pocket, on the car steering wheel, on the shower door, etc... Then that night I made a CD with our favorite love songs and had them playing in the bedroom, I lit candles all around the room, drew him a bath and sprinkled rose pedals all over our bedroom, including the bed and his bath. He was very surprised when he came home from work and walked into our room. It was the first time I had gone all out for him on Valentine's Day and he really appreciated the extra attention and effort.
SUSANNE
As it is a normal working day for most of our husbands, maybe you can make him a special SELFMADE card (hey, buying one - anyone can do that! - be creative! No matter how good you are in that, your husband will love your efforts in it!) and make sure it reaches his office in time for the 14th... Maybe the card could include an invitation for a romantic dinner... just you and him... with his favourite food?
KATIE
Last year for Valentine's Day I cut out 30 construction paper hearts (about 4" size) and wrote love notes and things that I appreciated about him, etc. I hid them in our home and in his office where I knew only he would find them. It was so much fun!! For the first week or so he found about 20 of them, but some took a little longer (like taped to the March page of his calendar) and it would be so fun to see him come home weeks later with a red heart in his hand and a smile on his face, knowing he had found yet another affirmation of my deep love and respect for him.
ANNIKKE
I have made my husband a coupon book, not just for romantic things but also things like his favorite dinner or I will wash the car for him even things like he will be excused from the trash duty one time.
TINA
My husband has a woodworking shop in the backyard. Last Valentine's Day while he was at work I cleaned out a corner of it and set up a romantic table with candle light and chocolate and glasses of nice red wine. I also set up a big cushy air mattress nearby. After the kids went to bed that night, I secretly dressed in some red lingerie, put on my big coat, and went out there to wait for him. I called him on the cell phone and told him I needed him out at the shop. He loved it.
VALARIE
This Valentine's Day I have something special planned. We are short on cash and have two kids under the age of three so I needed to find something to do that didn't involve a sitter or "going out". So this is my plan. I am going to put the kids down with my husband and then ask him nonchalantly to go get me something from the store. While he goes I will throw on a sexy dress and heels, let down my hair and light some candles. I am going to have two slices of cheesecake (which I will hide until this moment) set on the table. When he walks in, he will be so surprised and excited! It won't be much, but it will be soooo sweet and thoughtful.
CORWIN
It is VERY hard to be romantic with resentment and bad feelings filling up the room between me and my husband. BUT, God has the answer.
This Valentine's Day instead of trying to be "fake" gooshy, and lovey dovey, try doing an emotional clean-up heart-to-heart between you and your husband.
PRAY FIRST, for patience, love, forgiveness, and peace.
Then tell your hubby all the things you've done wrong against him, your relationship, and your marriage. "Little" things are the hardest to say I'm sorry for.
Think: "I've been wishing you would just leave me alone, because I'm so annoyed and frustrated with you sometimes. I'm so sorry. I need to be close to you and I want to have you around. Please forgive me for pushing you away, and let's try to stay close, and work through our frustrations with love. I'm committed to it and I pray you are too."
Just focus on cleaning up your own wrongs and resentments. Don't worry if he does the same. God will honor you cleaning up your side of things, and will draw you and your husband closer. And will continue work on his heart.
Romance will bloom when we go to our husbands in humility and ask his forgiveness. God will replace resentment with love and tenderness.
ANDREA
I have a romantic recommendation that I tried one year - my husband was really touched. His birthday is in February, so being Valentine's month, I tried to stay within a theme of hearts. I had some other gifts for him, but I cut out 34 small hearts (blue) and made overlapping cream colored hearts to glue on. I then hole-punched on the corner and tied them together with a blue curl ribbon. Since it was his 33rd birthday, I titled it '33 Reasons Why I Love You' on the first card and then proceeded to list 33 reasons on each heart. I know some people may think it sounds cheesy, but my husband really liked it and since we were on a tight budget at the time, it was virtually free for me to do it. Another thing that seems to be important to my husband is a nice home-cooked meal. I am the primary cook in the house, and I am very busy with work and school so I don't always have time to cook a fabulous meal, so every now and then I like to surprise my husband cook him his favorite meal. Anyway, hope this helps!
JINA
Valentine's Day is just a good time to look into one another's eyes (without distractions) and explain why your spouse has been the BEST lover, friend, confidant...and BE SPECIFIC!! If you can't think and speak very well on your feet, WRITE IT DOWN, he'll love to read and reread your notes!!
DENISE
My romantic Valentine's tip would be to get a pretty box or decorate one. Inside, put coupons that you make. The coupons can be anything from breakfast in bed, kisses on the back of the neck, back rubs, whatever you think your spouse would enjoy. I did this the first Valentine's Day the first year we were married. He still talks about it from time to time. Also, I made a CD of our favorite love songs and cooked his favorite dinner. After dinner we danced in our dining room to the CD.
ALLISON
I did this for our 38th anniversary but it also could be done before and around Valentine's Day: I planned a little surprise for every day for 2 weeks ahead of the actual date. I went to the $1.00 store and bought 15 different love cards. I also bought little gifts, sweet treats, that I knew my husband might enjoy, so that each day he might have at least one surprise. Since three of our grown children are still at home and we do not have much privacy, I set up a card table in our room for romantic dinners. (The table is still there 2 years later, and we try to have a private dinner every so often.) We didn't have a fancy dinner every night, but we did have a lace tablecloth and candlelight and fancy dishes. Some of the cards I hid in his underwear drawer, placed on his pillow right before he came to bed, or taped to his bathroom mirror. One night I had tickets for a production at our local theater as well as dinner out at a nearby restaurant. For that restaurant I bought gift certificates so that he could pay the bill. I wrapped all the little gifts, even if it was a little bag of his favorite candy. On the first card I gave him, I wrote 30 things that I loved about him. I eventually came up with 100 things that I wrote on some of the other cards. All of this took a little thought, but he appreciated it more than I thought he would.
GINA
For our 23rd wedding anniversary in October, my husband and I had a picnic at the beach at sunset. I had a basket packed with spring mix salad, pasta salad, chicken salad roll-up sandwiches, chocolate covered strawberries and wine. The card table was complete with candlelight, linen tablecloth and napkins, china, silver and crystal and romantic music playing in the background. It would have been a perfect night except for a very stressful situation at my husband's work that he was trying to deal with on his own, without burdening me. For Valentine's dinner I want to try this again and I know it will be even more wonderful than in October.
MEG
My husband's favorite pie is chocolate. So, I make the usual recipe, but instead of putting regular crust on top for Valentine's Day, I use heart-shaped cut outs in the top crust, layering them all over the top.
We make sure to have dinner alone (maybe not on Valentine's Day, due to our schedules, but as close as possible), and do a toast to romance. The dinner/dessert is usually finger foods, so we can easily feed each other.
DEB
One year when we didn't have a lot of $$$ and my husband didn't really need anything I created "love" coupons for him. You know for back rubs, a morning to sleep in, "wild sex", "bunny love", etc. you can be creative. These coupons had unlimited use and did not expire. Sometimes when I went to bed there would be a coupon on my pillow that he wanted to "cash in". It was a fun gift, not expensive and it kept giving all year. Also, can go to bed a few minutes before your husband, put on something special and a bow around your neck, just give yourself!
MARCI
Last year one of my friends went to get a spray on tan for Valentine's Day. Before getting sprayed, she "decorated" her body with stickers with a message for her husband to see that night. I'm sure the message on the un-tan skin lasted a few days past Valentine's Day. I thought this was a great idea and I wanted to share it with the group.
NIKKI
I have in the past (and intend to again this year) sent my husband a Valentine card a day for seven days leading up to Valentine's Day (our local Dollar General sells nice cards for $0.50 and I print them on my computer, so cost is less than a dollar a day). My husband was touched and had a great time waiting to see what was coming next. I sent them to his work (in brown very professional looking envelopes) starting with very funny ones that led to the final very mushy one for Valentine's Day.
Something we may do this year for Valentine's Day is actually part of a fund raiser for a local non-profit called Meredith's Miracles. A family in our area lost their 5 year old daughter, Meredith, after a 2+ year battle with cancer that started in her kidney. They have a deeply rooted faith in the Lord which has sustained them through this and brought about the organization of Meredith's Miracles. They help families of children who are hurt or sick and need treatment outside of our small (10,000 pop.) town with things like lodging, travel and food while on the road or during a lengthy hospital stay. This year they are selling Valentine Candy Sundaes with all the profits going to the organization. They will do free delivery within the city limits. We are talking about purchasing our Valentines for each other from them since it is such a wonderful and needed service. I feel like there are other charities in other areas doing similar things so look around and see what is available.
LIZ
This year will be a busy Valentine's Day. Dh is a pastor of singles, so we will be working with them on that night... which means giving up a lot of our Valentine's Day to serve. I don't mind that we'll be doing that, but of course would love an evening alone with my sweetie. When we get home from that event, I have a pink plastic serving tray (got it at the Goodwill store for 75 cents!) that I'm going to fill with heart-shaped chocolates I'm making (candy molds & melted chocolate chips!). I've got some tea light candles that are white with a red heart shape in the middle, so I'm going to put those in votive holders around our bedroom. I'll serve him the chocolates on the tray by candlelight.
LINDY
I once bought my husband a small gift and hid it in the house, actually, if I remember correctly, I hid it in my bra, but you can leave that part out if you like. I then created a clue hunt for him to find it. I don't remember the specifics, but I used cryptic riddle type messages for example:
I am red and hot, but like to stay cool and am pretty tasty on your favorite dish.
I then attached the next clue to the bottle of tabasco (his favorite seasoning) leading him to another place in the house. I used about a dozen or so clues, and he was getting very intrigued. I even placed a clue in the back pocket of my jeans (I think the clue said something about "you sit on me, but when you get up, I go with you" or something along those lines). So along with the final hiding place of the gift, we got to play touchy feely a couple of times throughout the game. He finally got his gift, and eventually, I got a very nice thankyou.
SHERRI
It was on the spendy side, but once I got two tickets to my husband's favorite pro team, rented a limo and picked him up from work and took him to the airport where we flew to the game (1/2 hr by plane).
TAMIJOY
I kinda was thinking for a Valentine's present a wife could purchase The Power of a Praying Husband and The Power of the Praying Wife (both books are by Stormie Omartian) and give them to her husband for Valentine's day. They could commit to reading them at the same time and trying to work on prayer for each other as well as together. I know the SINGLE best thing you can do for your marriage is to pray together! And the next one is to pray for your spouse in additon to praying with them!
DESIREE
Last year I took my husband out to a nice dinner. Coming home I went to the bedroom before him and sprinkled red silk hearts all over the bed and on the floor. I had placed lots of cupcandles everywhere and lit them. I dressed up in some red lingerie and we had a perfect night!
CARRIE
I bought a bunch of stuff from the Oriental Trading Co. to decorate the house with and some little stuffed animals that say cute things but they come by the dozen and they so I can leave them around or with gifts thru the year. I bought ducks and chili pepper stuffed toys because my dh likes those things and the chilli pepers say things like "hot stuff." They are small enough that I could pack one in his lunch or hang it from the reirview mirror. For Valentines Day I plan to get up early and decorate but I am not sure if I want to go out or make his favorite meal.
JAYME
The nite before Valentine's Day get a red lipstick or some other dark, dark color.... and write on his side mirror that you love him ... you could even wear some and plant a kiss on the mirror too ;)
HEATHER
For Christmas (it would work for Valentine's Day too), I got really creative. I took a wooden box and put heart and other Valentine's-type stickers all over it and "Date Night" on the top and put a wood sealant on it. Then I made 52 coupons with various date night activities (some sexy and, um, racy and others not at all). I came up with most of these ideas on my own, but I found a few on the Internet (including TMB and TGW) when my creative juices were drying up.
Each coupon began "This coupon entitles you to:"
A picnic under the stars
One game of strip Monopoly (see rules below)
Board or card game of your choice
An evening of miniature golf
Tell me your wildest (or not so wild) fantasy and I'll do my very best to fulfill it.
Whatever you want to do tonight. You get to make up the card.
One game (or more) of chance; roll the dice to get your prize (see rules below)
A foot massage tonight
One game of sexual 20 questions
One game of 20 questions (no sex questions allowed)
A backscratch for as long as you want
Sex-any way you want it tonight
Cuddling-no sex tonight, just cuddling
Sex in the location of your choosing (be creative!)
Be my guide: guide my hands where you want them (on me or you!)
A strip tease on the night of your choosing
One game of strip poker
A night where I'll recreate the best date you think we've ever had
A picnic with the food of your choosing (I'll pick the location)
Try a new position in bed tonight
Purchase one outfit for me next time we're out shopping (price must be reasonable and you can't see it on me at the store)
Sex with any "toys" of your choosing
No hands tonight
Lips only tonight
One game of strip Uno (see rules below)
Choose the outfit tonight
Recreate the best sex you think we've ever had
Pick a menu (I'll make it for you)
Tie me up; I am all yours tonight-(with blindfold)
A sexual ice cream sundae
A movie of your choosing (theater or rental)
A nonsexual ice cream sundae
Oral sex tonight-on me
Sex in your truck
A five senses evening
Breakfast in bed
An evening meal cooked together
Oral sex tonight-on you
Sex in the car
Recreate the Pillowmail story of your choosing
Sex in the bed of your truck
Be a mannequin for the night
Use me as a mannequin for the night
Tie me up; I am all yours tonight-(no blindfold)
3 wishes in the bedroom (I can't say no)
Naked night!
Blindfold me; I'm all yours tonight
One game of strip Trivial Pursuit (see rules below)
Go shopping for costumes (to buy or not)
Your favorite dessert
A back massage (with oil)
A full body massage (with oil)
A neck massage
The Rules:
Rules for the Date Night Box
Once a week (and no more!) you can pick out one date. I'll read it and see if it is something we can do that week. (I can't say no if we can do it.) It's then up to you whether you want it to be a surprise or not. (There may be some I won't let you choose whether it's a surprise or not.)
Rules for Strip Monopoly
Each of us will begin wearing 10 items of clothing (jewelry doesn't count; a pair of socks is one item). Each time you land on the other player's property, you must forfeit one item of clothing. Each time you pass Go, you may win back one item of clothing or a kiss if there are no items to win back.
Rules for a game of chance
1=kiss on the lips
2=kiss me on the body part of my choice
3=kiss me on the body part of your choice
4=flash of my body part of your choice
5=you may fondle my body part of your choice
6=mini strip show
Rules for Strip Uno
Each of us will begin wearing 10 items of clothing (jewelry doesn't count; a pair of socks is one item). Each time you play a Wild or Draw Four Wild card, you choose which item of clothing the other player must take off. When you play a Reverse card, you may win back one item of clothing or a kiss if there are no items to win back. When you hit Uno, the other player must strip for you.
Rules for Strip Trivial Pursuit
Each of us will begin wearing 10 items of clothing (jewelry doesn't count; a pair of socks is one item). Each time you answer a question incorrectly, you must forfeit one item of clothing. Each time you answer a question correctly, you may win back one item of clothing or a kiss if there are no items to win back. For each pie piece you earn, the other player must forfeit one item of clothing.
LORI
My husband works nights and I always pack his lunch. The other day I put in a bag of red hots and wrote a little note that said "You give me the hots."
I also asked my husband what he thought would make our bedroom a more romantic place and vowed that no matter what it was I would make OUR bedroom reflect both of our romantic sides.
REBEKAH
I let my husband get a 51 in. HDTV-so that pretty much did it for him! I know it's not so romantic, but he's smiling from ear to ear and has been sooo nice to me. What I'm trying to say is: I listened to him and did something for him that was so out of the ordinary for me to do. I spoke his love language, I guess you'd say.
DI
Wear the gifts dh gives you to show you appreciate his loving gesture to you. I have in the past let gifts of jewelry, for example, just sit in my jewelry box for "special " occasions... but our life should be celebrated as a special occasion every day... so wear the jewelry, perfume, outfits whatever you get... because they were purchased for you by someone who loves you...
STACEY
I think the most romantic thing my husband and I have ever done was to take a break from our three kids for a weekend and attend a Family Life Today "Weekend to Remember" Conference (which just happened to be over Valentine's weekend). We have been married for 10 years, but learned so many new and interesting things about each other during that weekend. It was romantic as well as pivotal in many aspects of our relationship.
We have tried to make a point of getting away from home for 1-2 days a year, free of responsibilities as that experience showed us how refreshed and energized we return to our lives after such a time. Sounds like a simple idea, but in such a busy world, setting aside an entire weekend for each other is very meaningful.
TRACI
Put herseys kisses all over the floor, and leave your hunny a note that says "I kiss the ground you walk on!" A little corny, but it brings a smile.
DEE
I am going to do for my husband, for Valentine's Day, what a friend of mine did once for hers. She got a jar and filled it with candy. She also got small stips of paper and wrote or typed things she loved about him. She wrote personal things such as how much she loved watching him play with his grandchildren, hearing him pray, etc. She also included funny things. I will also probably include things that will bring back memories of our meeting, engagement, early marriage. When the candy was all gone, he still had a jar full of notes of love, romance, and appreciation. He keeps it on his desk and he pulls them out occasionally. I thought that was a great idea.
ANGELA
Write him a haiku poem if you're not a "wordy" person. First line has five syllables, second has seven, last line has five. Try it, it's kinda fun. Then do one for each of your kids!
APRIL BRIDE
I would like to share a cheap idea I did for my husband on Valentine's a few years ago. I turned our dining room into a restaurant complete with wait staff (my two daughters). First I covered the entryway to our dining room with a sheet so he couldn't see inside. I made up a restaurant name Shea Valentine's. I cut out a bunch of heart shapes and wrote on them all the reasons why I love him and taped them on the sheet for decoration. I went to a local grocery store and purchased two individual fancy desserts to split in half and bought all the fixings for his favorite meal and a bouquet of flowers for a centerpiece decoration also. On the table I set up two place settings on top of a plastic red table cloth (from the dollar store). At each place setting I used a plate with a bowl stacked on top with tulle in between them a nice glass with tulle in them as well, I rolled plain white napkins (stamped them with hearts) and tucked the tableware in them and tied them with some ribbon. I put a little bit of confetti on the table as well for color. I lit candles all over the room and had a boom box with our favorite songs ready to go in it.
Upon arriving home my husband he was greeted by me asking him to join me at a new romantic restaurant I heard of. We walked to the dining room where our girls had the music playing and proceeded to serve us our dinner and we even slow danced.
NICOLE
Since my husband and I are both full time college students with no children we live on a tight budget because we chose to focus more on our classes rather than work ourselves to death. Our first Christmas (this past one) we decided our wedding in October was gift enough for us and we should use the money we did have left over for family gifts. Well, I thought he would still try to give me SOMETHING even if it was a homemade card OOHH no. Well, it didnt take me long to see I'd rather exchange gifts than have none at all. (I did cheat and get him something for Christmas.) Soo we have agreed to have our Valentine's Day on the numeral day we got married, the 22nd. I figure this would allow all the Vally gifts to be 50% at the stores, more affordable for our pocketbooks and this day would have more romantic meaning for us because it was the numeral day we married. Kinda like celebrating a monthly anniversary. Happy Vally Day
LORI
My husband and I have been married almost 18 years (April). We began a long distance relationship, and then immediately following our honeymoon, he left to join the Army. Needless to say, we have some very fun letters that chronicle the beginning of our courtship - from our first date. I have both my letters to him, and his letters to me. I am going to pair them up with a pretty ribbon and leave him a few over the days leading up to Valentine's Day.
JESSICA
At our Party USA store they have a lot of fun stuff for couples I found these "lottery" type tickets and you are to scratch one square from three different sections - the "What" the "Where" and the "When" - oh, they are called "Lover's Lotto Game." Anyways, hubby has already seen them as I bought some for his birthday, but I plan on using them again for Valentine's Day, probably next to his plate with a romantic dinner.
I don't know if this is appropriate to share, but I read about this very cool idea that I would love to try, possibly for Valentine's Day, but I am still trying to figure out exactly how it would work! (Ha! Maybe I read about it on here?) Anyways, you buy a canvas and some paints and then you would need a large drop cloth or something to protect the floor. Then you paint different parts of your body different colors and make love on the canvas - and "paint" your own art piece!! =) I am trying to figure out if the work and the mess would be worth it!
LIZ
One tip that was a huge success... the 12 days of Christmas. My husband was so excited when I started giving him gifts that he got into the act on day 3 and delivered a single red rose to me at work in front of all of my coworkers. The card simply said, "On the third day, He rose." What a blessing for me!
I will probably do something along those lines for Valentine's Day with little homemade Valentines - I'm thinking nine valentines that actually spell out the word VALENTINE on our great big bathroom mirror.
BREILA JOY
You could do this for Valentine's Day, or any day, but I did it for my last anniversary. I was thinking about my wedding dress hanging in the closet, and only having been worn once. I put it on, shoes, garter, and all, fixed up my hair and makeup, and put the kids to bed early. When my husband came home, he was delighted. We kinda re-created our honeymoon. You could make a candle light dinner (this year, I called his Mom and got one of his favorite recipes to make for him), decorate the bedroom, set out wedding albums, watch wedding videos, even have him a nice suit or such set out to dress up with you, turn on the music and dance in your living room. Make sure you take some pictures too. Whatever you do, remember your wedding, and make use of a costly dress that has nothing better to do!
DANA
Once my hubby asked my why I loved him... I must have been busy or something because I just gave some generic answer... "Because You are You... because you complete me blah blah blah" type of answer.
Well later while he was at work, I realized that I did NOT do good enough! I started to write him a letter... and soon had thought of so very many reason that I lost count... So I began to write them down on paper. After I got to number 247 I cut each reason into a strip and filled up a shoe box.. and to the top I wrote.. Why I Love You... and left it on his pillow. There were little every day things like... I love how you always ask me if I need anything when you get up to go to the kitchen, To some spicier things.
That was 4 years ago. When we were packing things we "couldn't live without" to take with us for hurricane Rita, he brought that box!! How sweet is that man!? This Valentines Day I am adding more to the box!
TRICIA
This is our first V-Day together: last year we were long-distance dating, and we were married this past October. So I really want to do something special for my dear man. Unfortunately, our week is packed: he has Bible study Monday night; I have praise team rehearsal Tuesday night; he has church board meeting Wednesday night. Well, our 2nd car (the one I drive) started acting up, and so I won't be able to drive for a few days this week until it's fixed. That means that I cannot go to praise team rehearsal, leaving Valentine's Day free! Woo hoo!!
I had asked my dear man for 3 Valentine's Day wishes. His first (and only) wish was that I wouldn't ask him to give me wishes in the future. ;) He's a thinker, but he doesn't have a lot of preferences about things like this.
So here's what I think I'm going to do. One of his favorite foods is hamburgers. I'm going to make heart-shaped hamburgers and perhaps heart-shaped cheese for them. And I'm going to make his favorite pie (chocolate) and decorate it with whipped cream on top - hearts, I suppose. I'm going to dress up nicely before he comes home, find some sort of tablecloth in this mess of an apartment (I'll improvise something since we don't own a tablecloth), put out candles, and have a "fancy" meal. I think the effort will speak to his heart. He's such a dear man!
JUDITH
For Valentine's Day five years ago I went to a craft store and bought a wooden heart. Painted it red with craft paint. After it dried, I wrote I LOVE YOU! across the front and added the date to the back. Then began a tradition that is still going today. I hid the heart in his coat pocket with a note that said he must hide it for me and the exchange has continued. Some times we find it that day and other times we may go for awhile before locating it. Always a treat when we find it!
YVETTE
Buy a book (preferably something with romance and encouragement) and give it to him as a gift. Then decide to read to each other starting on Valentine's Day and then once a week or whatever. Great thing is you can do this over the phone too if the hubby travels a lot. The book we did which was wonderful was Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Short on cash? Read Song of Solomon to each other instead.. I am sure it will bring some romance to the relationship!
MARY
I got the movie we went to see on our very first date (about 7.5 years ago). I plan to watch it with him dressed in the Christmas present I got him. I was planning to cook his favorite meal but finances ran out. So we will just improvise. Another thing I was going to do was to learn a song on the piano for him but he got sick and was at home too much. I didn't get to practice. Those were just a few things I came up with. I hope everyone has a great Valentine day with their spouse.
JANE
Last year I went to a local bakery that offered several Valentine treats. I purchased a large heart shaped cookie with a personal message on it. This year I went to the same shop and bought his favorite cookie. The bakery wraps them, puts them on a stick and ties them with ribbon. On the back I stuck a label with a love note from Jesus on it and put in in his lunch box. He called me from work saying he had needed the encouragement.
JENNIFER
I like to take chapters from the Song of Solomon and re write them to my husband. My husband loves these. Here is just one example:
How handsome you are,
My beloved,
Our house gives sanctuary and
You are our great provider,
You are young and strong,
A leader among leaders.
Your lips are sweet to
My taste.
You sustain me with
The rewards of your labor.
Let your strong left hand be under my head,
And your right hand embrace me.
I am lovesick
SANDRA
Well I was stumped with an idea for Valentine's Day (our fourth anniversary as well). I had a friend come over to accompany me while I made a card for my husband. Well she had this idea, that I did as well. It's a box you make out of scrapbook paper and when you take the lid off of it, it opens up into 9 different pictures, and I used our wedding pictures to fill them up! An awesome idea, I think he'll enjoy it!
KRISTY
I recently read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, and I discovered that my husband's "love language" is "words of affirmation." So this year for Valentine's Day I bought a pack of Valentine's-themed note cards and a bag of Reese's cups shaped like hearts (Reese's cups are his absolute favorite!). Each morning I get up five minutes early so that I'll have time to write him a note telling him something I appreciated that he did the day before; then I put the note somewhere he'll find it before he leaves for work, along with a couple of Reese's hearts. I started on February 1 with the intention to continue up through Valentine's Day.
In the past week, I've found that this has really helped ME to put our disagreements behind us and to start each day out with a loving, generous thought life. I was initially apprehensive that I wouldn't be able to come up with something each day, but I've found that the more I do it, the easier it is to pay attention and spot the small things he does to express his love for me each and every day. I'm considering making it a more regular habit.
PHIBBS
l have an idea for Valentines. l have four bedrooms in my house and we dont have kids yet and thought to myself that we dont have a study room, so l am thinking of converting one of the rooms as an office for my husband to work from and concentrate on his work (he is a thinker and l believe it will give him the time and space he needs). He is always working in the lounge and watching television at the same time and when you try and talk to him he hardly hears you, so l thought its a brilliant idea to do that and not costly at all. I will use one of the desks in the storeroom polish it, move the phone line for him to use the internet and decorate the room to look like an office.
TIFFANY
For God so loVed the world,
That He gAve
His onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
Believeth In Him
Should Not perish,
But have Everlasting life.
John 3:16 (note the bolded letters)
ANDREA
In addition to baking a heart shaped cake and writing on it, I am getting a brazillian bikini wax and have ordered new lingerie from Frederick's to wear on Valentine's Day! He has wanted me to get this wax done for sometime... I am getting it a week ahead to give myself time to heal
CARRIE
I thought it would be fun to do something special this year since last year dh and I were both sick with influenza A. The kids (we have 3 boys) and I have decided on a little scavenger hunt for him, and we've had a blast writing the clues... it will end with a nice meal and his favorite desert... with a private note under his plate from me.
AMBER
I wanted to share a romantic idea! We are going to get full body massages together in the same room. Then we are taking a taxi to a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant. We are both self-employed and have alot of stress, and a full body massage is awesome, and we can talk during the massage and just relax and enjoy it together. And the taxi cab is so that we don't have to drive, we can have dinner and head home to curl up for a movie and have no stress at all!
KATHY
Thanks for letting us share our Valentine's Day tips. In the past I've made heart shaped butter cookies for my husband, which he enjoyed. However, I need to change that tradition this year, because my husband is watching his cholesterol levels. I found a recipe for sweet and spiced nuts, using heart healthy almonds and walnuts. It will be his own special snack - from my heart to his.
MEL
I once gave my husband a sexy note in his sandwich. It wasn't too racy, but let him know how much I was looking forward to his return from work. He shared his lunch with his boss that day! Twenty-five years later, he still gets a satisfied smirk when he recounts that story! I am more careful how I pack those notes.
KIM
I wanted to share a Valentine idea that I did for my husband last year. I purchased 9 small gifts for him. I wrapped them all separately and numbered each one. I wrote him a letter and told him that I wanted him to be reminded every hour of that day how much I loved him. I instructed him to open gift #1 at 9 a.m. -gift #2 at 10 a.m. - gift #3 at 11 a.m. and so on until all gifts were unwrapped and it was 5 o'clock. Some of the gifts included, his favorite candy bar, his favorite drink, a CD, a candle in a tin that said "love", a pair of silk boxers, massage oil, etc. He loved it. He said it made the day pass quickly and he would anxiously wait to open the next gift. He was glad to see me when he got home! I enlisted the help of a coworker to place it in his office so it was there for him when he got to work. I will have to work really hard this year to top that. Matter of fact, I think it may become a tradition.
MARIE
Here is what I did for my husband last year on Valentine's day:
We don't have much money and rarely get to go away on a vacation, so last year I turned our bathroom into a tropical get-away for my husband. I hung bright, colorful fabrics on the walls where I could. I brought in every single houseplant we have and arranged them around the room. I lit candles everywhere. I plugged in a small cd player (in a safe location) and played island type music. I had purchased a coconut scented soap for him. And the best part (at least he thought so) was that I bought a cheap plastic dust pan and used packing tape to affix it to the water fixture in the bathtub. I arranged it so that when the water was turned on low it would run onto the dust pan and then spread out and fall into the tub like a water fall. It was really neat! I had a fun tropical type drink waiting for him when he got home and he just lounged in our own private Hawaiian bathtub while I fixed dinner. He thought it was the best gift ever. :)
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