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| "I know I make you nauseous. Here's a Tums with 'Hug Me' written on it." - Jim Gaffigan |
I hate Valentine's Day.
Scratch that - I love Valentine's Day and hate that I don't get to enjoy it as part of a loving, healthy relationship. I'm a romantic at heart...and while I'm ok being single (no, seriously), there are times when it's a little rough. Yes, I know Valentine's Day is just a commercialized, artificial day of forced love-iness (blah, blah blah), and even though Grumpy Cat is right, seeing all the flower deliveries at work and gifts or date night pics posted on Facebook stings a bit. I've found making plans and keeping busy on Valentine's Day helps mitigate the uptick in loneliness...historically I take myself out to dinner and a movie, but the potential of -36° with wind chill on Sunday certainly doesn't make that sound like a good idea this year! 😱
For those in a relationship who find themselves in need of something to get their SO, I thought I'd put together a list of ideas based on the 5 Love Languages.
If you're not familiar with the term, love languages are the ways we experience and express feeling/showing love. Dr. Gary Chapman describes it as a "love tank," our capacity or reserve of feeling loved and how that "tank" is best filled. Everyone experiences feeling loved a little differently, but he breaks down it down into five basic categories, which I've listed below with my score in each.
33 Physical Touch
30 Quality Time
20 Acts of Service
10 Receiving Gifts
7 Words of Affirmation
(I retook the quiz...the results were really similar to when I took it in 2015 and 2020.)
💘 Words of Affirmation
These all cover Receiving Gifts too.
- Letters to My Love: Write Now. Read Later $13.33 (Amazon)
- What I Love About You book $9.95 (Amazon) or $10 (Urban Outfitters)
- What I Love About Us book $15.75 (Amazon)
- Scratch-a-Sketch retro Valentine $4+ (Etsy) *My personal favorite*
💘 Receiving Gifts
This one is oddly tough, since most of these are gifts of some kind or another. They just really need to be thoughtful and very personal.
- Yeti 20oz Rambler. I use mine every day. ($29.98, Amazon)
- Crosley Voyager Vintage Portable Turntable with Bluetooth $58.54 (Amazon)
- Retro Viewfinder with custom picture reel $29.95 (Amazon)
💘 Acts of Service
- Make breakfast in bed (can also cover Quality Time if you stay too) *My personal favorite*
- Customized coupon book ($6.99, Etsy) or token ($3.40, Etsy) for washing their car, making dinner, doing the laundry, giving a massage, etc.
- Set up an in-home relaxing spa experience with candles ($22, Oscar Wilde soy candle), bubble bath ($13.50, Orange Ginger), a face mask ($2.99, Burt's Bees Hydrating Sheet Mask), lip mask ($.2.99, Burt's Bees moisturizing lip mask), music, etc.
💘 Quality Time
- Plan a quiet weekend getaway for just the two of you.
- Spend time together listening to records on their new Crosley Turntable. (it's a two-for gift with Receiving Gifts!)
- Go out for a phones-free dinner.
- Dance the night away. (works for Physical Touch too) *My personal favorite*
💘 Physical Touch
- Cuddle up on the couch and watch their favorite movie. (Also works for Quality Time)
- Remember the coupon book? Make sure there's a massage, going for a walk/hike holding hands, a night out dancing and the aforementioned movie cuddle in there. *My personal favorite*
- Schedule a physical-related activity together...maybe a cooking class, wine tasting, horseback riding, hike and picnic.
- Do they have a good set of sheets? If they get cold easily, a good set of flannel sheets ($52 Amazon, $46 Amazon, $56.99 Amazon)...if they tend to get warm, splurge on Belgian Linen Sheets for the summer. Believe me, they make a difference. Splurgy - $139/$148.99 (Amazon/Wayfair), Very Splurgy - $279 (Pottery Barn), and Stupid Splurgy - $349 (Restoration Hardware).
A lot of these would work for multiple love languages, which is great since people feel love in more than one way.
Hope these are helpful and that you have a lovely (and hopefully warm!) February 14th!
Bonus Valentine silliness:
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