Valentine's Day by Tiago
Every man knows the two evil words: Valentine’s Day. You’re meant to treat your girl right 365.25 days a year, but for some reason, they expect you to do so ten fold on February 14th. Why? Because pop culture tells us so. Roses, chocolates, restaurants, jewellery and so on and so on. It’s something that gets forced upon us. If there were a reason, I would be happy. But there isn’t. There is a tale that goes back with St. Valentine, which is often overlooked. It’s a decent enough story, and probably worth the read if you’re a guy that needs some historical inspiration.
Being on this planet for as long as I have, I am no stranger to the pressure of Valentine’s Day. Over and over. Been there, and done that. So when Farah and I had a horrible experience on Valentine’s Day a couple of years ago, I saw my opening. I presented my case… Why do we need to pay through the nose on a predetermined day? Battle the crowds to get a booking at an overcrowded restaurant? Pay for the token red roses? Why? I finally managed to get the moment that every man wants… the blessing of his partner to abolish Valentine’s Day. It makes sense. Not to mention that this is the time of year when I should be getting treated. 3 days before Valentine’s Day is my birthday. MY birthday. When I was born. Something that is relevant to me. So I should be enjoying my time. Not trying to figure out how to work another Valentine’s Day.
Romance isn’t something that gets showcased once a year. You should be treating yourselves like you mean something to each other every day of the year. Trust that I do this. I don’t need a day in February to prove this. So on this day, good luck to all the guys out there. I’ll make sure I say a toast for you while I am relaxing – doing whatever it is that we will be doing. No pressure. No inflated prices and no clichéd presents.
BUT, Farah has told me that any excuse to spread the love is a good one. So here I am sharing some last minute gift ideas for your chosen one on Valentine's Day. Not the standard chocolates and roses, these are some more personal creative ideas, inspired by my love for Farah.
1. Handmade Paper Roses
Wrap your gift in an oversized box, and fill with handmade paper roses. One our first date, I surprised her with a handmade bouquet of roses. So I knew this would take her back to that. I taught myself how to make these before the days of youtube, but luckily anyone can now learn how to here.
2. Momiji Message Dolls
Gift her with a Momiji Message Doll. They are hand-painted dolls inspired by Asian style and contemporary illustration. Each Momiji has a small space in the base to hide a secret message on a blank piece of folded card which is included with the doll. Following a recent loved trip to Japan, I left the doll in her car overnight. She found the doll and opened up the slip of paper to find ‘www.gmail.com’ and a username. She had to decode the account with a password, and in the inbox there was one email, from me. Attached was a voucher to a hot air balloon ride. The best thing about these Momiji dolls are the endless creative ideas you can write on the paper to start a little ‘treasure hunt’. You can read more about Momiji, and purchase them here.
3. Personalised Cardboard Hill
There’s a hill in East Perth, Australia that Farah used to slide down with her brothers and sister when they were younger. The hill would always have cardboard boxes nearby that people left from their slides. I decided it would be a nice premise for a gift one year. After a nice dinner out, I drove her to East Perth and presented her with her own personalised cardboard box. It turned out to be quite a fun night, sliding down the hill together. If you know a good hill, just find a big thick cardboard box, flatten it out, laminate with thick tape and go crazy with paint. If you’re in the Southern hemisphere right now, enjoy the summer weather and team this with a nice picnic in the park!
4. Hot Air Balloon Jewellery
In memory of #2, one year I tied her present (a jewellery box) to a bunch of helium balloons and left them in her room ready for her to walk in after work. The ‘hot air balloon’ waiting for her was a nice surprise.
5. Love Heart Pizza
If you’ve booked a nice Italian dinner for Valentine’s Day, why not ring up ahead and ask them to bring out your pizza in the shape of a heart. The guys at Il Ciao, Applecross did this one for me:
Good luck!! Leave a message below, we would love to hear if you try any of these out. Or would love to hear your special gift ideas, or hear how your loved one spoilt you!
