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"Oh, Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day, the holiday we love to hate. There&amp;amp;#8217;s an endless chorus of &amp;amp;#8220;It&amp;amp;#8217;s a Hallmark holiday!&amp;amp;#8221; &amp;amp;#8220;Why do I need one day to celebrate my love when I can do it every day?&amp;amp;#8221; &amp;amp;#8220;It means nothing!&amp;amp;#8221;This couple gets it.And I agree. You don&amp;amp;#8217;t need a day to prove your love, but still, it can be really nice. As Commenter 3II3 says &amp;amp;#8220;&amp;amp;#133;I like to think of it as more of a reminder to celebrate love than a supposed obligation to.&amp;amp;#8221; So true. There shouldn&amp;amp;#8217;t be an obligation, but come on--couldn&amp;amp;#8217;t we all use a little reminder to celebrate love? I already told you guys that I prefer to celebrate Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day as a single lady, complete with sparkles, chocolate, and slow jams. But I have spent many years in a relationship, so I have several couples&amp;amp;#8217; Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Days under my belt. I&amp;amp;#8217;ve had some technically good ones--a fancy steak dinner here, a weekend away there--but the one that stands out as the most romantic is actually pretty lame by traditional standards. My boyfriend at the time and I had planned a low key night in, watching TV and snuggling on the couch. But we both ended up surprising each other in small but adorable ways. My guy had recently moved, which meant he had left behind his favorite pizza joint&amp;amp;#8217;s delivery zone (a New Yorker&amp;amp;#8217;s tragedy). I decided to hike across town, pick up a pizza to go, and cab it to his house, surprising him with his favorite dinner. He gave me with the best gift: Hillary Clinton&amp;amp;#8217;s autobiography (I was obsessed with the primary elections at the time) wrapped in pages of Page Six from the New York Post, my guilty reading pleasure, which he&amp;#x27;d hand-decorated with funny speech bubbles from the celebrities featured in that day&amp;amp;#8217;s gossip. So, pizza and a book then? How romantic! Not every couple&amp;amp;#8217;s dream Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day, of course, but we were both touched. It showed we really knew each other and cared to do something to make the other happy, not just have a fancy dinner out because it was expected. Look, I would never be upset about having lobster for two or jetting away to a beach for the weekend. But if you and your man can&amp;amp;#8217;t afford those things (I&amp;amp;#8217;m with ya, sister), but you want to remind your guy that you think he&amp;amp;#8217;s the bee&amp;#x27;s knees, here are some ideas for making Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day special: Pay attention to things he&amp;amp;#8217;s said over the last few weeks. Is there a new band he&amp;#x27;s liking? Download their CD and put it on his iPhone for his morning commute. The smallest gift feels special if it shows you listen to the person. Do him a favor and don&amp;amp;#8217;t be disappointed if the flower delivery guy never stops at your cubicle. Do you want a big bouquet to make your coworkers jealous (OK, fine, a little), or do you want him to show you that you&amp;amp;#8217;re the perfect woman for him, even if no one else sees? I thought so. It&amp;#x27;s the small gestures that make people melt. If he&amp;amp;#8217;s been working hard lately, slip out of your office for a late lunch, and bring him a 2 P.M. coffee (and maybe a kiss, or two, or seven) to boost his energy. Or pick up his dry-cleaning if he hasn&amp;#x27;t had time, even though you usually refuse to have anything to do with his laundry. Tell him you love him in a really specific way. Don&amp;amp;#8217;t just say &amp;amp;#8220;I love you,&amp;amp;#8221; say something along the lines of &amp;quot;It was so amazing when you stayed home with me when I was sick last Friday and let me watch reruns of What Not To Wear all night.&amp;quot; We all like to know the things we do are appreciated I won&amp;#x27;t offer any more suggestions, because the whole point here is that the best ways to embrace Valentine&amp;#x27;s Day in a non-commercial way won&amp;#x27;t be found in a gift guide or a restaurant recommendation list. You have to find a way to celebrate what&amp;#x27;s special about you and him together. Of course I hope you all do that more than just on Valentine&amp;#x27;s Day, but even if you do, one more day is still great, right? Plus, it&amp;#x27;s extra special because candy will be on sale the next day. Do you think the best Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day gifts are straight from the heart? Or do you prefer straight from the AmEx? What was the most special V-Day you ever had? More on Valentine&amp;#x27;s Day: *GuySpeak: 25 Ways To Say &amp;quot;I Love You&amp;quot; For Valentine&amp;#x27;s Day *He Says, She Says: &amp;amp;#8220;The Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day I Remember Most Is&amp;amp;#133;&amp;amp;#8221; *12 Creative Ways to Say &amp;amp;#8220;I Love You&amp;amp;#8221; Photo: Thinkstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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