Veni Vedi Vici, A Survivor’s Guide To Valentine's’ Day

Wear your heart on your sleeve.

Married? In a relationship? Single and loving it? Or, is it complicated? Valentines’ Day can be cute, romantic, sexy, or a total bummer. There’s a lot of pressure out there, and a lot of pink. Just rows and rows of pink stuff. Everywhere you go something pink is screaming at you to get your love life together, or to buy your significant someone something stuffed or covered in chocolate. Our advice: Take a breath. Count to three. And then focus on the people who really matter to you and how you can express that.

We just survived Christmas. We got through New Years'. And now the greeting card industrial complex needs us to buy more pink stuff. It can be exhausting, even for the most lovey-dovey couples. Some people just skip it or muddle through as best they can, but we think this is a great opportunity to treat a partner, treat a lover, treat a friend, or treat yourself.
 

Find that low key dinner joint, and make it special.

Even on busy nights, many restaurants still do specials. Half price bottles of wine. Free appetizers. Price fixe menus. Find an out of the way place doing something cool, and make that reservation. Good dining times are early in the night or later in the night to beat the rush, and it gives you the option for “early dinner and drinks with dessert someplace else” or “late dinner after a casual stroll through a nearby gallery”. For extra points, find a restaurant that does “Chef’s Table”. This off the menu experience is really only good for small tables, but it’s perfect for a special date. The restaurant manager will let you know in advance what your bill will be per person, and they’ll inquire about food allergies, then the chef will send out a series of courses at their discretion. No need for menus and each dish will be a surprise.
 

Florals for Valentines’ Day.

Flowers are always a good bet, but if it’s an arrangement you’d give your mom, you’re on the wrong track. Stay away from handing out anything pre-wrapped in plastic, it shows zero effort. And roses are a cliche unless your sweetheart, really, really loves them. Pro-florists are wonderful, but can be pricey - as an alternative most good grocery stores have floral departments and with a little ingenuity, you can pull together something great and there usually is a floral manager around to help out.

If you’re a DIY guy, think of flowers like this: one set is the stars, one set is the supporting cast, and one set is the stage. So grab a handful of beautiful blooms that are your “wow factor”, and then a handful of flowers in a complementary color that are nice but don’t overshadow your main cast. Odd numbers are best, five to seven and then nine or eleven is a good rule of thumb. Then grab some leafy greens to surround them, and wrap the whole thing up in some butcher paper and twine from the meat dept. It will look like you had a florist do them for you and when you hand those suckers over, expect them to be impressed.
 

Love should not be a box of chocolates.

Those pre-wrapped heart boxes are the happy meals of Valentines’ day. Just don’t. If you’ve got a sweetie with a sweet tooth, a small box of French macarons in their favorite flavors shows a lot of thoughtfulness. Also available in many good grocery stores, or even better from your local bakery. Other options from said bakery are tiramisu or a slice of pie with two forks. Dessert for two back home can be the perfect lead in to after dinner snuggles.
 

Sometimes solo is the best way to go

Valentine's day doesn’t have to be for lovers. Take yourself out. There are lots of single events geared specifically for this holiday. Get out of your comfort zone, meet some new people, and at the very least - have a good laugh. Or even spend some time with good friends. Take them the cardboard chocolates and paper valentines with cartoon characters. Stuff yourselves silly, and trade dating horror stories. As one of our leading twenty-first-century philosophers likes to say “If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you going to love anybody else.”