For guys, Valentine’s Day is in many ways a test. A test of how romantic you are, your intentions and your sensitivity. Of course you can always go down the ‘Valentine’s Day is a commercial scam thought up by companies selling cards’ route, but if you do that you’re going to miss out on the opportunity to win yourself some brownie points and probably a great night of sex at the same time. Without meaning to sound like a puff though… it’s also a great excuse to splash out on your girlfriend and do something really nice for a change. Come on, you can’t be so cold hearted that the idea of one day where you celebrate your relationship by getting dressed up, going somewhere really nice and sharing a bottle of champagne?

So for those of you who do have a heart, how do you go about making it the perfect Valentine’s Day and pass the test with flying colours? Well, gift wise you need to satisfy two areas here: expense and thoughtfulness. So that means something really thoughtful, possibly made yourself; but something else that you actually paid for so she doesn’t think you’re just side stepping actually spending any money.

A mixed tape (or mixed CD these days probably) is always a nice idea as it shows time and effort has gone into its creation and if you pick songs that remind you of her, or of you, then it can win brownie points for showing thoughtfulness or sweetness too. I’m trying to go one step further this year by making my girlfriend a compilation tape of love songs that I’ve performed and sung for her on the piano. Okay so I’m a bit of a creep (okay, a lot of a creep), but I think it should go down pretty well… You steel my idea and I’ll find what’s most dear to you and eat it.

Other ideas that I’ve gone with include love letters and a sketch. A friend really pushed the boat out and wrote out every one of the texts he and his girlfriend had sent each other in acrylic writing in a lovely leather bound book. Now that’s being a creep. Feel free to steel his idea…

But you get it anyway – that’s the sweet aspect taken care of, just try and use some imagination and get creative. For the expensive bit then you can either get her something you know she’ll really want, or another good bet is to pay for a nice event. I paid for tickets to a concert which went down very well, but you could also get tickets to a posh hotel, spa day, or couples’ photo shoot. That way you both get.

Mack LeMouse

Copyrighted material; do not reprint without permission.

 

View all articles by Mack LeMouse