Happy Valentine’s Day! Don’t spend any money! February 14, 2007
Posted by Niels in : How to, Other , trackback
Society teaches us to express our love by buying things. And that’s BS. I want someone who loves me for me, not because I can buy her $15 cocktails, or diamond earrings, or jet-ski trips to Ellis island ala the movie Hitch. This Valentine’s day, fight back and do something with your partner that’s actually meaningful.
Do something playful and have a tickle fight.
Do something emotional and talk about the day you met.
Do something sexy and tie someone up.
Do something impudent and pinch someone’s ass.
Do something romantic and feed each other dinner.
Do something relaxing and give each other massages.
And if you’re single…
Do something daring and say “Hi!” to a stranger.
Now wasn’t that more fun than a $50 box of chocolates?
Comments»
haha wow niels! you made me look at valentines day in a whole new perspective. thanks!
I have to agree with Niels here. If you are in a relationship and had to wait for Valentine’s Day to prove your affection then you might have to re-evaluate how much you really love your significant other.
Love is displayed throughout the year in small and thoughtful manners, rather than in the buying of gifts :)
Valentine’s Day should be focused on spending quality time with your lover in ways that money can’t provide. Anyone up for some cuddling?
I’ll add a few more…
Do something nice and shovel someone’s driveway.
Do something Beautiful and draw your loved one (but not as a Boob).
Do something Geeky, and get your 1040 in on time.
Do something Beautiful and Geeky and Watch the Season Finale of Beauty and the Geek Wednesday at 8pm on CW Network!
Have you noticed that in all the diamond jewelry commercials that the guys don’t say anything, seemingly out of inability? They all imply that guys can’t express themselves romantically and can buy themselves out of the problem with, what else, diamonds?
I personally hated getting gifts all the time. Quality time and having fun IS the best and sweetest thing a guy can give a lady!
Speaking of BATG, I bet the shocking surprise is that all of the beauties and geeks return to judge the winner. Lets see if i’m right. And thank for all the great advice Niels. Especially about how to keep a relantionship spicy.
Happy SAD! Singles Awareness Day..hahaha.
I somewhat agree. I don’t think a person should have to spend a lot of money on Valentines Day. How about a homemade card, all you would have to buy is the materials to make the card(unless you already have that stuff around the house) or instead of a card make a video or cd(blank tapes and cds can be bought at the dollar store) and say something instead of writing it down on paper. Instead of buying chocolates make some and decorate a plain box to put them in, just buy the materials and a book to learn how to make them(BTW, if you’re spending $50 for a box of chocolates, you’re retarded, you can get a nice heart shaped box of chocolates at CVS for under $10). Instead of going out to a fancy dinner make dinner, there are tons of gourmet cookbooks out there, so buy one or get one from the library and learn how to cook or cook something together, that’s always fun. Flowers are an absolute must on Valentines Day, but spending a lot of money isn’t necessary, flowers from the grocery store are just as nice and they actually last longer(make sure the container is something that can be used again like a mug or something); there is also the option of buying silk ones that won’t die a week later or you could make some out of tissue and pipe cleaners. Jewelry is way over rated, if a guy insists on buying me something expensive I would rather have electronics or kitchen gadgets, something useful. I agree about doing something romantic instead of buying something, but you’re still going to have to spend some money, if there’s going to be romance there has to be scented candles(make them if you know how). The massage sounds nice, you can even kick that up a notch and do a complete home spa, there are a few books on how to do this and a lot of the materials you would need are things you already have in the house. I am single and I like your suggestion, but I can’t say hi to a stranger today, I can’t get out of my house, we just had a huge snow/ice storm :).
Or just do ALL of those things. That’s my plan.
[evil grin]
When your married Valentines day is a feast or famine holiday. (i.e. most women want something either uber romantic or they are completely indifferent.)
Fortunately my wife is not “crazy” for the day, but given the societal pressure to profess love to your “love” I’ll still be on the chopping block if I don’t at least give a “nod” to the holiday. (So Hallmark…you’ve manage to beat me again! But I will get my revenge…next year I’ll make my own cards!)
Buying a card is not a complete cop-out though. I write a few passages of heart felt appreciation and adoration. She appreciates the fact that I at least thought about her. (When in fact there are not enough words…)
Anyway, I think the root of all this boils down to sacrifice. Guys sacrifice something to show your girl you love her. (Time, money, comfort zone, etc.) The more it “hurts” the better…
Aww…Niels, this is so cute. I agree love shouldn’t be expressed on one corporate holiday, but it is still fun to get decked out in red and join in on the festivities. I hope you have a great one!
ur cute
I like Valentine’s Day. It’s a really good excuse for my girlfriend to treat me extra special. Like, steak.
Gents, this is an equal opportunity holiday. It’s not just about the girl.
About chocolate… there is a VAST difference between chocolates at $80/lb vs chocolate at $10/lb. Frankly, if I am going to buy a $50 box of chocolate, I am probably going to keep it for my own enjoyment. Calibrate it this way: Godiva, Dove and Schmidt chocolate is inedible crap compared to the real deal. Just clearing the air here.
I’m not sure about my feelings pertaining to Valentines Day. Many of my friends complain about it, while the rest get warm-fuzzies inside (metaphorical, healthy ones). I don’t personally agree with spending money to get your bow something special on a fundamentally unimportant day. However, I also don’t personally agree with complaining about it.
I like your alternatives to spending money. I think people should try to do that nearly every day in a relationship.
HOLY FUCK. Did you guys hear what CeCi said?
DAMN.
(You say goodbye, I say hello…)
Yeah, I heard it, I think it was something to this effect:
“Anyone who thinks that they can learn something from a geeky guy is as stupid as they look.”
Wow, is she the most hated Beauty ever?
It was a truly noble thing what Nate did, too bad he got paired with Ce Ci G!
AP Cyber Politik
So true, Niels!
Despite the whole “why should Valentines Day be any different than anyother day woo woo woo, everyday should be love/appreciation day”
I personally think that this day is great. My father & mother are very unemotional people who are true to my Spanish culture, where tight lips & nary a tear even as Bambi’s mother is killed is a way of life.
Its the one day I can hug & kiss my father & buy candies and cards for my Mother and sisters, and they have to accept it. I can show my love because this “holiday” calls for it.
Just my opinion.
That & I like recieving various texts & flowers from all my friends =)
.v.
That’s true good advice! I can’t believe I never really thougth about that and instead I’d think about what kind of present to get for my boyfriend.
I like the cheaper chocolate better than the expensive stuff, but homemade is the best.
Hey Niels - I gotta say, after having watch B&G, that I actually thought you had made the biggest change of everyone in the house (and seeing what you are doing for a living now would seem to confirm that , as well). Glad to see you are doing well for yourself though - I was actually convinced you were going to win for much of the show.
Anyway, as to V-Day.. my wife and I decided last year that we aren’t really all that interested in it at all; it just seems such a hypocritical thing to celebrate - like “let’s just have this one day a year when we REALLY love each other”. WTH? You shouldn’t need to have a holiday to love each other.. you should be actively striving to do that on a daily basis.. and the artifical pressure of V-Day, all the expectations that are never quite met, just seems counter-productive!
Anyway, enough of my ranting - have a good one!
amen bro. im a girl but i’d rather a boy just hang out and have fun with me on v-day instead of buying me expensive stuff…because then i KNOW they don’t think i’m just some shallow girl that can be bought. :)
… Actually, society doesn’t teach us to buy gifts. Lots of shows show that handmade gifts are the best.
The advice was good though.
@Ryan Stringer:
(Gives thumbs up) I feel Valentine’s day was the work of stores wanting to increase profit. That’s how White Day in Japan was created.
V-day is cool but has been seriously over-commercialised to the point where many people feel they are expected to do stuff (i.e. BUY STUFF). But not me (Kiwi’s are notoriously cheap unlike you Yanks, we don’t tip over here) cause if you really love someone you don’t do stuff because of expectations, even hers, you only do stuff caus you want to and women can smell insincerity a mile off so if you aren’t totally happy spending whatever amount for goodness sake don’t do it.
Give a woman the gift of your undivided attention. There are many ways of doing this and many ways of making such time extra romantic.
V-day is abused for sure but it is a reminder that we all need some romance in our love relationships. Go for it ;p
Niels, you crack me up…
I’ve always thought that you weren’t actually supposed to buy expensive gifts for valentines day. I always thought it was about a romantic dinner with dessert in the bedroom afterwards…but I guess I am a hopeless romantic too.
What a great way to celebrate Valentines Day. My husband and I are purchasing a house that needs some work so money is being watched carefully at the moment.
We agreed not to celebrate Valentines Day with the traditional flowers & chocolates, so we he purchased me the new corner sink for the bathroom and I purchased him the glass sliding shower doors.
Just not to be outdone, he made me a mixed CD and left it in my car for me to listen to on the way to work the next morning.
The things we purchased were things we needed, the CD was an extra special way of showing me he loves me.
This is a little belated, but I agree. My Valentine’s day went well until its last hour when my husband gave me a card and chocolate roses (and later a computer game). I felt like a total loser because I got him absolutely NOTHING!!!!! We never make a huge deal over this stupid holiday anyway, but this year we had decided that since we have a two month old baby to take care of and buy diapers for (not to mention the fact that we have a combined debt of $50,000 in school loans and I’m not even done yet) that we would avoid the unnecessary expense altogether. Needless to say I felt really bad and actually cried. I made it up to him later with a home cooked Japanese dinner and 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep (which is the best gift any new parent can get!) In my opinion, you should show love and appreciation every day, not once a year during a commercialized greeting card company-designated day.
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