Oh joy! Our favorite Hallmark holiday is just around the corner. Sure, I've done a few Valentine's Day Gift Guide posts to help you out. At the end of the day, I'm not a very traditional girl, and my husband isn't a very traditional guy. Here's a 5 things we won't be buying each other…along with some suggestions of things we would (and might) buy each other instead.
Valentine's Day Gifts You'll Never See Me Buy
1. Flowers
In the almost 17 years I've known my husband, I've gotten flowers twice. Ever. For any reason. We're just not flower people. First, I'm allergic to many (we didn't even have flowers at our wedding). Second, while pretty for a few days, they die pretty quickly. I'd rather have a live plant or some landscaping that will last for years to come. Spending a ton of money on a dozen roses for a “special day” is ludicrous to us.
2. Dinner Out
We've never gone out to dinner on Valentine's Day, and we won't be starting that tradition anytime soon. Overpriced dinner with a million other people in a restaurant on its busiest night of the year? No thanks. I'd rather save my dinner out for a random day that is quieter, when the food isn't jacked up in price for a holiday, and the restaurant isn't packed to the gills with other couples. However, nice dinner in served with Champagne after the kids have gone to bed? That's my kind of Valentine's Day date.
3. Chocolate
We will never buy a box of chocolates for the other one. Again, overpriced and cheesy marketing aren't really my cup of tea. That said, we've ben known to splurge on a nice fancy chocolate bar (fair trade, exotic flavor, etc.) to go along with a nice hand-picked Valentine's Day card.
4. Valentine's Day Cards
My husband and I don't buy Valentine's Day cards for each other anymore. It's true, but we still give each other a card. We realized a few years in that 99% of the cards we came across each year were cards that just didn't suit our relationship. Our love is a lot more exciting than most cheesy cards can express, and no love is a perfect as a card might express. So after the first few years of searching for a card that actually said something real, we decided to stop buying cards and reuse the previous cards each year. We have a handful of cards from early on in our relationship that we reuse every year. We do the same with Christmas and Birthday cards, too. Aside from the fact that we aren't feeling forced to buy whatever cheesy card speaks best, it's fun to see the old cards come out and reminisce as to why we got that card originally.
5. Valentine's Day Gifts
We just don't do Valentine's Day gifts. We might do a little something fun that we've come across, but we do not go out and buy specific Valentine's Day gifts for one another. We might grab a bottle of favorite wine or something of the like, but that's it. I'd rather be surprised on April 5 with a random scarf my husband stumbled across and picked up for me because he knew I would love it than getting a not-so-special obligatory gift on Valentine's Day.
I know there will be some haters out there that think we're lazy, cheap, boring…whatever words you want to use. At the end of the day, Valentine's Day is just a Hallmark holiday to show your love for someone. We just prefer to show our love on our own schedule.
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I’m a believer of the Five Love Languages, of which only one of them is expressing love via a gift. Every person is different in which of the five is most meaningful to them, and for me it’s definitely about hearing someone express why they love to me any day rather than giving me something material that just takes up room and I can’t use everyday just because a holiday says so!
My husband and I don’t do flowers or chocolates or dinner out, either. But I do appreciate Valentine’s Day because it reminds us to focus on each other and our relationship. Our life has become pretty chaotic with the littlest (and squirmiest) addition to the family, so I’m looking forward to spending a quiet evening in with my first love.
A quiet evening in with my first love sounds like the PERFECT Valentine’s Day! Congrats on your new addition. 🙂