Three Unique but Cheap Ideas to Celebrate Valentine’s Day

When you have been married 30+ years, Valentine’s Day doesn’t seem as much fun as it once was. So, in the spirit of outwitting life, I’ve come up with three unique but cheap ideas to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Would you like to bring back some fun to February 14 also?

On my husband and I’s first Valentine’s Day together, I did one of the hokiest things you could ever do! I placed a classified ad in the New York Daily News professing my love for him. Do you believe that? I am embarrassed about it to this day. Of course, I thought it was the most romantic thing at the time. We went to fancy restaurants or away for the weekend in subsequent years.

Erin was born on January 22 and my first time out of the house after having her was at a beautiful Italian restaurant in Chicago. Nancy, a woman I worked with, offered to babysit Erin so we could celebrate Valentine’s Day. So kind of her!

The restaurant was decorated with tiny white lights, and they gave me a rose before they escorted us to our table. We were both so excited to be out celebrating not just Valentine’s day but also the birth of our daughter (after years of infertility). We treated ourselves to drinks, appetizers, giant steaks, and dessert.

Imagine our surprise when the bill never came. The restaurant owner was a cellular phone client of mine, and he took care of our tab. Who-hoo, we hit the jackpot! That was one Valentine’s celebration I will never forget.

Twenty-four years later, I would much rather spend a couple of hundred dollars on a new living room chair than a dinner at a fancy establishment. Can you relate?

Three Unique But Cheap Ideas to Celebrate Valentine’s Day

• An Evening of Reminiscing
• Dinner on the Beach
• Favorite Restaurant at Home

An Evening of Reminiscing

Where did you live when you first were married? Are you close enough to take a ride to the neighborhood and see if any of your “old haunts” are still there? Perhaps you can have a simple dinner at home and then go out for dessert to a place you used to frequent after walking down memory lane.

If that is not possible, have a nice dinner at home and pull out your wedding album. Take some time to reminisce about your special day. Who was there? Any family who may no longer be with you? How about friends – are you still in touch with them today?

Have a hearty laugh at the hairdos and clothing styles back then. Watch your wedding video if you have one. Talk about how you first met and your impression of each other. Did you know you were meeting the person you would eventually marry?

Dinner on the Beach

Do you live in a warm climate close enough to the beach that you could pack a picnic dinner and celebrate in the sand? We live close to the beach. However, February’s weather on the East Coast is not conducive to placing chairs in the sand.

We have a favorite place at the beach where we can sit in our car and see the ocean perfectly. We have parked and eaten deli sandwiches while gazing at the surf a few times, and it was beautiful. It would be too dark for us to partake in Valentine’s Day this year since it is on a Monday and Mike works all day.

However, we could set up beach chairs in our living room, pack dinner in a cooler, surround ourselves with lanterns, and pretend. We could also play videos of beach sounds on our tv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNTs6-pNFRk, use a couple of beach-scented candles, and put on some sunscreen to get the natural smells going.

Silly? Maybe, but it would still be fun. And I am confident we will not be bothered by seagulls!

Favorite Restaurant at Home

Do you have a favorite restaurant? Can you re-create their tablescape at home? If you do not have any fancy tablecloths, you could always use a sheet or a few towels depending on the size of your table. Be creative by using what you have.

Is there a particular dish that you always order there? Any chance you could make something similar at home? Or, at least serve the bread and salad they typically offer?

Are their drinks served in fancy containers or with fresh fruit? Try and mimic as many things from the restaurant as you possibly can. Is there sparkling water on the table? Make a list of all the ways they serve their food and try and replicate them. It will be fun to see how much you can copy.

Do they have any candles or special hand creams in the restrooms? What kind of lighting do they have? Can you put a string of lights above your dining table like the restaurant does? Half the fun could be having your partner try and guess what restaurant you are trying to re-create.

The most important thing is to recognize the longevity your love has endured without spending a fortune. Has everything been a bed of roses in your marriage? Probably not, but you are still together after all life has thrown at you, and that is something to be celebrated.

Have you ever stayed home and done anything unique you can share (G-Rated, please). Leave a comment below and let me know.

Happy Valentine’s day everyone. I hope you have an enjoyable day no matter what you decide to do.