Celebrate Valentines

VALENTINE'S WITH THOUGHT

VALENTINE'S WITH THOUGHT

by Michael Webb

Founder, TheRomantic.com

If you are going to celebrate Valentine’s, I suggest you do it with a little forethought. I cringe every time I go to the grocery on February 13 or 14 and see dozens of men crowding around the greeting cards to buy their cards at the last possible moment.

Buy your card now and mail it out to Loveland, Colorado for extra special treatment. Your card will be postmarked LOVEland, Colorado and it will also be hand-stamped with a unique four line poem.

The Loveland Chamber of Commerce heads up this yearly romance project with cards going to all 50 states and over 100 foreign countries annually.

It’s simple. Just enclose your pre-addressed, pre-stamped Valentine’s card in a larger envelope and mail to: Postmaster, Attn: Valentines, Loveland CO 80537

You can also send it to postmasters of these cities too:

Valentine, Texas 79854

Valentine, Nebraska 69201

Kissimmee, Florida 32741

Loving, New Mexico 88256

Bridal Veil, Oregon 97010

Romance, Arkansas 72136

ROSES ARE RED, POTATOES ARE PINK...

ROSES ARE RED, POTATOES ARE PINK...
Submitted by: Janet

Because the members of my family are all my special loves, my Valentine's idea was for all of them several years ago.

For dinner on Valentine's Day, all the food I prepared was red or pink. I can't remember the whole menu, but it included pink mashed potatoes, pink bread, red Jell-O, and a red tinted heart cake with pink icing. The kids weren't sure what to think, and to this day, they groan when I mention the pink mashed potatoes!

My hubby must love me a lot, because he sticks with me in spite of my crazy ideas.

THEY ALL ADD UP

THEY ALL ADD UP

Submitted by: Jeff Bohrer

When my wife and I were dating in high school (about 7 years ago), for Valentine's day, I got a dozen roses for her. Instead of giving the entire bouquet to her at once, I gave them to her one class at a time.

I arranged for a friend of hers in each of her classes to pick up a rose from my locker and give it to her during that class. For one class, I even had to ask a teacher to present it to her! Attached to each rose, I had a (very) short poem written that pertained to that class (music, math, etc.) and my affection for her.

To my surprise, she has kept every one of those little notes, and we read them not too long ago with tears in our eyes. Those were probably tears of amazement or sadness because I don't think I've lived up to that romantic moment since. (I'm convinced it was Divine intervention working through me then!)

This idea could be modified for those couples who work or take college courses and know each others' schedules and locations during the day.

THE PICKLE PUCKER JAR

THE PICKLE PUCKER JAR

Submitted by: Betsy Hatfield

Last year at valentine's, I got a big glass pickle jar from a restaurant, scrubbed it clean, and painted the jar with flowers, hearts, sunshine, clouds, etc.

Then I got a bunch of "fancy" doodle pads and began writing reasons & reminders of how & why I love my husband. It didn't stop there-- I began collecting little poems, quotes, and song lyrics to add to the pot.

When my husband is having a rough day he can open the lid and reach in for a "boost". This jar was easy to make and VERY personal, and he enjoys it year around. I love to collect stuff for the jar as well!

RENT A ROMANCE

RENT A ROMANCE

Submitted by: Darlene O'Donnell

Four years ago I wanted to come up with something totally unexpected and unusual for Valentine's Day. My husband is very easy to please and I knew that what ever I did he would be appreciative. I didn't want to just buy something for him to wear or to eat. So, I put my thinking cap on and this is what I came up with.

I got out the yellow pages and looked for Hot Tub companies. I actually found a couple of them that rented out portable hot tubs! After calling a few of them I decided on one and then put my plan into action.

It was being delivered while my husband was at work and they came early in the morning. I had to move all the dining room furniture out of the dining room to so the hot tub would fit! I moved all the furniture into the living room before they arrived.

These guys rolled in a 4 person hot tub and set it up in my dining room! They started filling it and got it running for me before they left. Now my only concern was that it would be warm enough to go in by the time Steve got home from work! In the mean time I went to the store and bought some wine for later that evening. I kept calling Steve at work to be sure he wasn't making a surprise visit home!

I made a card and in it I explained that his Valentine's gift was inside the house waiting for him and I put the card on our front door. You cannot imagine the surprised look on his face when he saw a hot tub in the dining room! And I was in it! Above the hot tub was our dining room light and I had the lights dimmed, candles in the background and soft music on the CD player.

We had the best time and made lasting memories while that hot tub was there. The best part of renting the hot tub, the company that I rented it from was in a home and garden show and called to tell me that they couldn't pick it up for a few days!

A DIFFERENT KIND OF PARK

Submitted by: Cam Baker

My girlfriend used to get disinterested easily, so I had to keep finding new ways to keep her interested. One way was something out of character for me, was to take her to the Cemetery for a picnic. Before I got her, I purchased her favorite drink (diet coke) and her favorite food (pineapple pizza) and set up a picnic in the cemetery with two wine glasses set across from each other.

Hers was the one with her favorite flower sitting inside of it (a rose) and beside that was a heart shaped box. When we got there she opened the box to find chocolates surrounding a heart made of barbed wire, after the laughing subsided, we had a wonderful afternoon of relaxing in the most quiet place I knew of. I chose the quiet place because we had earlier discussed that we did not have enough time for each other as our obligations to other people got in the way.

You can chooses any spot and modify this accordingly.

HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU

Last year for Valentine's Day I came across a copy of the children's book How Much Do I Love You. I thought the story was very cute about a big hare and its little hare and how they try to show one another their love. To make the story more personalized, I printed out our "pet" names for one another and glued them over the names of the characters in the book (so now the story was about us!). She was so amazed to open up the book and read the story that she took it to her mother to show what I had done (the book still sits by our two stuffed bunny rabbits in our guest bedroom).