Valentine's Day Gifts Ideas Made Easy

The pressure, the expectations, it’s too much! Why does celebrating love have to be so hard? Valentine's Day is one of those holidays where it is very easy to make a mistake. This holiday that is upon us is an emotional minefield.  If you aren’t careful and thoughtful, you could easily and unknowingly wreak havoc.

So, how do you create a game plan that will ensure romantic success? What do you buy? Are you and your lover on the same page about how important or not so important this holiday is?

Part of the problem involves knowing what you want to do versus what you should do. Some people think you should celebrate love and that love in a relationship year round, so the thought of calling out one day is silly. Others think that in our busy lives, having a day dedicated toward celebrating love is sweet. And other people could care less and cynically believe this holiday is created by companies as a way to cash in on people’s desire to celebrate love (and the pressure to do so).

Part of creating your Valentine’s Day game plan is to begin by figuring out who you are and how you feel about the holiday. The second part is making sure that those feelings are in line with the person you are involved with. And, if your opinions on the day are vastly different, how much are you willing to cave to make your partner happy?

And here lies the other problem with this holiday, and any holiday for that matter, but especially Valentine’s Day: The expectations. If your lover is expecting something grand, romantic and an all around over the top gesture, are you prepared for that? And how far should you go to profess your love? And if you are in love and happy, shouldn’t that be enough?

A good rule of thumb, for those unaware of how their partners feel about the holiday, is to celebrate directly proportionate with how long you have been together. Obviously, the longer you have been together, the better you know the person but, if you are in a relatively new relationship, use the rule of three’s. Every three months you have been together you should increase how much you do or celebrate.

And if all else fails and you don’t have time, do something personalized like a card with a coupon for a back massage, a CD of mixed songs (a throw back to the 90s) or even just a love letter. They say that it is the thought that counts and in this case, I believe that cliché to be true.

Try not to get caught up in the hype and remember that the day is about love in all its forms.

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