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Last year we went out to dinner, but the restaurant treated you like cattle - cramming as many people in as possible and turning the tables as quickly as they could. That sort of environment, coupled with mediocre food, does not set the mood for romance!

This year my boyfriend is making us dinner and we’re staying in with a bottle of champagne. We will get each over cards, but we have said no presents, because so soon after Christmas, is there really anything else we need?!!

When I was very young however, it seemed a much bigger deal and my first proper boyfriend and I would celebrate every year by going away or going out for a posh meal. We would do presents and cards and I would get flowers too, but it was the idea of romance we were buying into more than anything else.

I’m quite a romantic person at heart, but you can’t do romance to order and Valentines Day can often seem forced and not at all romantic! The most romantic moments of my life have been purely spontaneous.

Valentines Day really isn't such a big deal in Australia. I think most people are far more concerned with putting food on the table this year, to be honest. I always offer to babysit for my siblings, this year I only have one taker. Romance, yes, disposable income, not so much.

yep. im with you. id rather have valentines day go by without a stuffing pink heart, thanks.

my best friend and i play prank valentines on each other, to cheer each other up (for some reason, that week of valentines is always shit for both of us).. so we send each other valentines, signed from our favourite movie stars or musicians.

but thats really it. i think if someone went mush on me, id probably hit them.
:)

I don't mind the fact that there are specially assigned days for showing your feelings towards your loved ones - Christmas, birthdays, Valentine's, what have you. But we're not that romantic, at least I'm not, and my husband just tends to forget about these things. Alternatively, if I'm making a big deal out of it, he'll be bugged because of having to go hunt for a present that I won't like (I'm difficult), and that just makes me feel bad. I don't want him to feel bad. So mostly I just buy a cake, if I remember, to show that I comply with the society's norms, and that's it. :o)

I not only wrap pressies.. but i make friggin bows too!!
hahahahahah!

But in the 10 odd years of a travesty i refer to as my marriage I only tried to do a dinner once.. he then complained the whole evening about EVERYTHING and told me he hated it..I didnt do that again, did I? Divorced him eventually too..

It took me meeting my soulmate to change my life and my heart.. we dont celebrate wellingtons day though.. we have our loverversary on the 10th instead!

Much Better!

I could have written this post. I think Valentine's is the biggest marketing scam and I completely refuse to participate. Luckily, my husband agrees completely, so we never do anything to even acknowledge it.

I veer towards the extreme, though, and don't really like Christmas or other overly-commercialized, taken-out-of-context holidays. If I had my way, we'd have fireworks on July 4 and NYE and that would be it!

I m not a fan either. This backfires on me though, as we (the spouse and I) sealed the deal (if you will) on Valentines Day (without at the time being aware that it was) so now my disdain for the day always causes me to forget... Oh dear... Poor spouse. So our annual routine is he remembers, and I feel like a wanker. Sounds about right for Wankerstine Day, no?

I love Valentine's Day. I'm a complete sap and luckily my husband is the same. One year, I came home from work to see my bed covered with maybe 100 little pieces of paper. On each paper was a reason he's in love with me. Some made me laugh, some made me cry...it was awesome. Also, our first 2 years together, we picked out the exact same card for each other. They looked different, but had the same writing. I know it's sappy, but I still love it! With my first husband, I couldn't even pick out a card, cause none of them were true ("you're the greatest husband", "I love how you love me"...not so much). So, it's nice to be with someone where the feelings are real, where we feel the same, and we celebrate it all the time, not just V-day. Although, we tend to go big on Valentine's Day.

This year, we'll get a babysitter, go out for dinner, and walk around our favorite shops. I'm sure there will be flowers and chocolate involved. :)

We have a nice dinner at home, all togther. I don't mind the celebration; I'm just not into the buying. So, we celebrate. Any excuse for a meal with the fancy plates!

I'd rather my significant other bring me home a card, flowers, etc. for NO reason other than that he was thinking about me, vs. having the most popular card-chain store tell him he has, too. (I like to call it Venereal Day ;)

Supposedly, though there's this whole notion of St. Valentine, but I am not a Catholic, let alone Christian.

Ha, my fiance and I were just talking about this very subject yesterday. When we get married in July we'll have been together for five years and neither of us is terribly romantic. Our idea of a perfect evening is getting comfortable, eating some pizza and drinking margaritas, and watching a movie at home (on separate chairs/couches not even snuggled up).

I asked him yesterday, "What are you going to get me for Valentine's Day?" (mostly joking) and he said, "Nothing! The courting time's over!" And then I said something like, the courting time isn't over until I say "I do," so you damn well better get me some flowers. Of course all of this was in jest. I couldn't give a hoot about Valentine's Day. We both are very frugal and not romantic so we'll probably just have a nicer-than-average dinner (maybe I'll make steak) and he'll probably pick me up some flowers and candy. No biggie. :)

I love wrapping and decorating presents but I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's day.

valentines day, schmalentines day!! So not into it! Neither is my better half! A perfect match! No soppiness here! x

Check out the Anti-Valentines on Jib Jab if you want a good laugh!!! I feel the same way.

Sadly, this will be my first Valentine's Day in four years that I haven't had a boyfriend so I guess I'll be right here in front of my computer. :-(

Ali

I could care less about it being Valentine's Day specifically, but I am in favor of any holiday that pushes chocolate.

Hubby and I will get each other mushy cards and I'll buy us some chocolates, but that will probably be about it. IVF has sucked up most of our money, so we'll skip the gifts. Our first pregnancy ultrasound is on 2/10 so we'll go out to dinner that night to celebrate, hopefully

I really like the Wankerstine Day name. :)

With one exception (my daughter's birth) Valentine's Day has been a total jinx for me. My grandmother died one year. I got mugged another. My husband gave me a perfect romantic evening in NYC only to have me leave my purse on the train. Canceling credit cards at 2 am is NOT FUN. I would just prefer to ignore it. I think the pressure of having to do something special just screws everything up. Honestly, we're putting the kids to bed, ordering pizza that we won't have to share, and watching any movie that isn't Disney. Now THAT'S bliss.

I call Valentine's Day "Amateur's Night."

i am not into vday and neither is my husband. he just got me flowers a few days ago because i had minor surgery, so i will not be expecting any more. we have a great relationship and do not need a cheesy hallmark card to tell the other lovey dovey stuff. people -especially here in the states- go mad buying useless gifts for each other and that is exactly what stores hope for.

It's all about the kids in our house. We set up a card table in the living room and make it fancy (red table cloth, heart shaped plates, etc.) We get a heart shaped pizza delivered, have heart shaped cookies, etc. Then we watch a movie as a family and call it a night.

No cards or gifts or candy. Just another excuse to have a fun family night.

When I was a teenager, I loved Vday. It was so exciting to get a rose or two from my boyfriend.

I have to admit my husband is a lot more romantic than I am. I find his thoughtfulness very romantic. We usually just have a nice dinner, but nothing too elaborate. I know we love each other more than when we first fell in love and it continues to grow stronger. We really don't need Valentine's Day to celebrate, or show this to each other.

This year, I have a potential embryo transfer, so I don't think the house will be full a romance:)

We are similar to you and Marko. I'm doubting I will even remember it's Valentine's Day until I turn on my computer and see all the posts about it.

It just really isn't such a big deal in Australia I don't think.

Never celebrated v-day before or after marriage. I think it is a complete rip off. Just another way florists, restaurants, and hallmark to make you spend 5 times the amount of what you pay on a non-vday. But I do give my kids a little sth for vday, and they give us hand-made stuff from school.

this year we are celebrating valentines day with a group of friends. we all dont get together nearly often enough, and this was the night we could do it. I AM SO EXCITED for this night.

My poor husband is way more romantic than I am, poor thing. The secretary at his practicum site recently gave him a hard time when asked what he was going to do for his wife for V-Day. When he said nothing, he was told what a jerk he was. He came home and told I'd better call her and get him off the hook.

I got him a card I thought was funny, but even THAT is unusual for me. It said "Love doesn't have to hurt, BUT..." and then on the inside "Spank Me." that's as romantic as I get.

Valentine's day is stupid, IMO. We love each other 365 days a year. He does enjoy bringing home a box of chocolates for me, but it's way more for him and his romantic side than to appease my feminine sensibilities of wooing.

It is the one and only day (orday before) that I can get my DH to dance. Once a year, so I take it.

We usually go for dinner or get take out a day or two before or after the day. Who wants to sit in a packed restaurant? I do like to buy my kids a little something though and usually get hubby a huge bag of those red cinnamon hearts as he loves them so.

Flowers and candy, etc. Jewelry once. Last year, I was the ONLY woman at my work (a job that was mainly women) to receive flowers delivered. Almost every woman was involved in a LTR of some kind, too. My flowers even came w/a stuffed panda that was holding a baby panda, b/c I was pg at the time. I was swooning, everyone was jealous :D The panda sits on the baby's bookshelf now :) We traditionally do not go out to eat on actual Valentines Day b/c it is WAY too crowded, but we do always go out. IDK about this year as money is much tighter. He was planning on spending a bit on me this year, had to cancel b/c of $$$. I am making him a gift that he will love, so that hardly cost anything. I bought my baby daughter a little gift, I always got something little from my parents on Valentines. As she gets older, I will probably make her a toy or something each year. Made w/ love & all that, haha. Will also be sending my mom flowers at her work. Last year was her first w/out my dad (deceased) & I didn't even think to send her anything, so she was v sad to not get anything at work when others did ~ winner did not equal me :(

valentines day is totally lame. (ooops..did i say that out loud?) I think the last time we celebrated valentines day was when i was at school!! Its the height of lame i'm afraid.."a celebration of love " yah right..more like a boost to the economy buying silly cards and little red bears that will eventually end up in the bin. I'm not a huge fan of romantisism.. I've always found it a bit cheesy..things like love poems etc. If you love me, treat me with respect, clean up after yourself, cook me a meal once in a while, give me attention when I want it..not when YOU want it. Thats love to me. :-) I think i'll join your society if you start one...we'll call it the "anti schmaltzes" it'll be a revolution!! Say NO to Hearts and Bears..SAY NO TO HEARTS AND BEARs...SAY NO TO HEARTS AND BEARS :-))

Let's face it - everyone says "I can tell him I love him whenever I want", "he loves me 365 days", blah, blah - but not many do. We get caught up in the routine of our lives and once on that treadmill, we loose focus sometimes of the important people in our lives. I like to believe that Vday is not only for telling my hubby that he is important to me, but also others, i.e: my Mom & Dad, my kids - of course, I don't buy them way expensive gifts/flowers, etc but I take time out to acknowledge them in some small way. My hubs and I don't go overboard on Vday but we usually do something for each other each year. This year we're off to see the Monty Python show in Camps Bay, we usually get each other a card (not soppy) and take turns to make the other breakie in bed. I think it's just a "stop and smell the roses" kinda day.

Thank you, Tertia! Yes, it is naff and schmaltzy and quite honestly it whooshes past me and my hubby like a missed deadline.... Like, "Oops, Valentines was today?"

I recently had to defend my stance on how it rates alongside birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Easter, Mothers Day, and Fathers Day (let's just say I got frozen out and we'll leave it at that...).

Honestly, I think it's birthdays that are the business! And it's about meaning, not gifts and cwap. In our house we have a birthday WEEK, not just a single day, and it's about the doing (baking cakes, making nice dinners, choosing favourite videos, etc) so how could Hallmark Profits Day, ooops, I mean... Valentine's Day possibly be able to rank alongside that?

PS. When it first came up on her radar my then-3-year-old daughter called it "Well-In-Times Day".

I think the whole Valentines Day thing has got totally out of hand. It was originally a way for a shy person (usually a guy) to tell another person (usually a girl) how much they 'admired' them. Anonymously.

Nowadays the children in preschool are making each other roses and hearts, and I do think that is inappropriate. Even when my kids were in high school they were giving each other roses in assembly, and that to me just landed up being a popularity contest.

And if Ian bought me something for V-day, I think I would platz!

Besides, it is too close to my birthday to really get celebratory about - two occasions in one week? Don't be silly now!! (Oh, and for that I usually get; - what do you want - can you get it yourself? - ha ha, but that is good, I get EXACTLY what I want!)

Ha ha, love the Amateurs Night comment. I'm with you, it's for when you still have adolescent acne and lust after the boy in your science class.

Surely if you really are a romantic, you could celebrate properly meaningful dates for you as a couple? My husband & I make an effort just for our wedding anniversary - for us, that's a date that really matters, not some random day a marketing exec dreamed up.

My husband and I are not into Valentines day either but my 8 year old son is normally quite excited about it. They make a big deal about it at school (school uses it an excuse to raise funds so he comes home with chocolates etc. which he buys using his pocket money) and his class normally makes cards for the parents and grandparents. The focus is on love in general (nothing romantic). So, in order to indulge him a bit I normally cook a special dinner and we say what we love most about one another. I obviously try to encourage this kind of behaviour all other 364 days during the year but I do humour him on V-Day just cos he's so into it.
This year, seeing that it is on a Saturday, and the weather is divine, we are probably going to do a picnic. As far as I'm concerned it is a cool excuse for a family activity.

I'm a huge fan of celebrations!!! I celebrate new wrinkles, new shoes, weightloss (even 500gr), an extra hour of sleep, an early afternoon off work, Christmas, New Year's, Easter, a new chocolate on the shelves, a new friend, an old friend, holidays, new cars, new babies, BIRTHDAYS, new furniture and sometimes - when none of these things happen - putting out the trash! I do however have a funny feeling about Valentine's day... Maybe because I've been the only single one within a group of friends for the biggest part of my adult life! Maybe because everyone always says it's over-commercialized! Maybe because I love celebrations so much but usually have no-one to celebrate this day with. So I've made a decision: Spoil the people you love! Not only on Valentines day, but especially on Valentines day - it's an excellent excuse! So I'll buy my brother his favourite sweeties (he IS 20, but will always be the baby), cook for my(very lazy) roommate, send flowers/chocolates to my single friend and watch the FRICKEN rugby with my boyfriend!!
It usually turns out to be pretty rewarding...

Not my favourite commercial fest either, but it does rock when the boy spoils me anyway. *grin*

I am very sentimental and romantic and even I think its really wanky.
I do send anon stuff to my kids though.

We're all about the minor holidays at our house. Happy Tu b'shvat (birthday for the trees, sort of like an earth day here in Israel. And yes, my husband made our citrus tree on our patio a cake. Because we take any opportunity to make cake.)

So, Valentine's Day. It's an excuse for heart-shaped waffles with strawberries and whipped cream (a breakfast we make often on the weekends, so when V-Day comes on the weekday it's extra special) and I always make and decorate heart-shaped sugar cookies. I used to buy my husband a pair of boxers with hearts on them every year, but now that he has about 8 pairs I've stopped. And I usually buy him chocolates, because he LOVES chocolate and he's about out of the Christmas candy by now. (Inter-faith marriages are great because you celebrate the FOOD from all holidays! We're not so into the religion part!)

We go away (when we lived in the US it often fell around a 3 day weekend) and this weekend we're going to the Golan Heights to go wine tasting. Yay! And at some point he'll make me a steak and serve it with sparkling wine. The kiddo is only 16 months but at some point we'll include him in this holiday somehow. My parents still send me a valentine's day card and candy.

Sorry, I love Valentine's Day!

Cant stand it. We dont do anything to celebrate. Its a rip-off and created by the shopping industry to make us spend hard earned cash on crappy stuffed animals and red lace porn star undies.

I love Valentines Day--because I get to eat chocolate souffles with a white chocolate lemon zest sauce!

Valentine's seems like it would be a good day for parents with kids to (1) hire a sitter, (2) leave the kids at home, (3) go out for dinner, and (4) have an adults-only conversation about adult topics that they might ordinarily neglect the rest of the year, when they're more or less overwhelmed by childcare, chores, errands, bill-paying, or work 24/7. It's the one day of the year when parents are reminded to give their spouse their undivided attention, for a change.

Dont like Valentines Day at all - I think it is a money making thing!Also restaurants are too full - with a set menu (which I hate) and way overpriced for the evening. My hubby and I are going to go to a nice wine farm for lunch and are taking the kids with.

Valentines Day is irritating. I cant be bothered to compete with my friends about who's partner got her the soppiest present. Yack. We have a rule that we don't do anything on Valentines Day but he is fine to suprise me with flowers or chocolates or diamonds (fat chance) any other time he likes.

I don't have any strong feelings about Valentine's Day. My boyfriend will probably do something cheesy, but that's because he knows the cheesiness irritates the poo out of me and makes my co-workers swoon!

We are the same as you. Our first anniversary, we spent the morning cleaning house. We were both dirty & tired by the afternoon. At some point, he looked at me & said "Hey, isn't today our anniversary?" I said "oh, I think it is. We should go eat or something." And yes, it's only gone downhill from there.

we don't celebrate, other people here (this is Belgium) do.

But: I don't mind to set a moment or a date where you make the effort of saying you like/love each other. It doesn't have to be the 14th, but if you don't pick a moment or date (Christmas, birthday, first date anniversary, whatever) you might forget to say it regularly. First years of a relationship you won't forget, but after 19 years (in my case) it's good to shedule it.

Same with having s*x: with the troubles and busy hours of every day, hassling kids and work and household, you're often too tired to even think of it. If you shedule it, at least it happens once in a while (and it's even quite enjoyable :)).

My first valentines day with the man who would become my husband, he had a dozen roses sent to my office. By the time they arrived they were 11 roses and a stump. By the time I got home they were 11 almost dead roses. My housemate made me turn them upside down and dry them as that was the only way I was ever going to get any enjoyment out of them. I later found out that he paid $150 for this privilege. I made him promise never to buy me V-day flowers again.

HAHA! Love it. I am so glad to hear that I am not the ONLY one out there that feels this way... I am SOOOO not a romantic.

I feel you. I really do. I am as unromantic as the garden gnomes ass.

:)

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