Valentine's Day on the Cheap

Wait, are we in a recession? You wouldn’t think so with the season of love upon us. It turns out that projected sales for Valentine’s Day are higher than last year and retailers think it’s because youngsters are buying more chocolate and cards this year. But retailers are obviously idiots.

There’s a reason that Valentine’s Day is the sole survivor of the gift-giving holidays and it’s really simple--women demand attention and men want to get laid. Tah-dah!!

But here’s a little secret--you SHOULD use the recession as an excuse to do Valentine’s Day on the cheap. That way it will force you to put more thought into the celebration. Anyone can call up a florist and order flowers or send chocolates, so why not get creative?

My suggestion is to do something that takes place at your home (the night will surely end in sweet satisfaction if you play your cards right…wink wink). A great scenario would be this:

She walks into your house, er, apartment…and there’s soft music playing in the background. All the lights are off except for a couple of lamps and several candles (you can buy little tea lights for cheap, but FYI, they burn out quickly) because soft lighting makes her feel prettier (and look prettier if she’s your option #2).

You take her coat and place it in the bedroom (so she’ll have to go in there at some point) and then serve her a glass of wine from Trader Joes (you stud). Turns out you have dinner cooking (at least fake it by ordering in and throwing out the packaging) so while you finish “whipping it up”, she can just relax and…oh, what’s this? Some flowers sitting on the table for her (you don’t have to buy roses. Cheap daisies are more original. Carnations are the only no-no)…nice.

You both enjoy a yummy dinner and good conversation (just listen to her yap, it’ll pay off later) and end with a really simple dessert—strawberries and whipped cream (kinky and low-fat for her figure). At the very end you can talk about your emotions, read her a poem, watch a DVD, or whatever…just remember she’s in your home and it’s late and she’s been drinking. Done deal. Congratulations.

We should all love Valentine’s Day...especially if we're cheap.