Valentines Day Gifts

We stopped with the whole Hallmark thing a long time ago. There are 364(5) other days of the year and we do our best to show each other how much we love and appreciate one another on each one of them. We learned early on in our marriage that we don't need to blow a ton of money on one single day of the year because it's the socially decided day we should do so. If you only show her like this once a year... you are doing it wrong.
 
kann said:
We stopped with the whole Hallmark thing a long time ago. There are 364(5) other days of the year and we do our best to show each other how much we love and appreciate one another on each one of them. We learned early on in our marriage that we don't need to blow a ton of money on one single day of the year because it's the socially decided day we should do so. If you only show her like this once a year... you are doing it wrong.
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We have friends that say the same thing, everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I figure it's one more way I can show my affection. Hallmark cards are also made in Larence Kansas and an chocolate bar is made Hershey Pennsylvania so I'm surrporting the workers there also. It's worked for me for 36 years so I won't be stopping anytime in the near future but like I said everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
 
We don't celebrate V. Day either, per se. It just a token holiday. What we celebrate, everyday, is how happy we are that we found each other! In this case, my wife was shopping with her sister a couple weeks ago and they happened upon a Sees candy store. She saw these and thought of me. :rolleyes:

By the way, the unlit foot on these cigars has very strong chocolate notes.....
 
I always get my wife a dozen bottles of Rose'. She likes that better than roses anyway, and I can enjoy them too. I especially like those from the Rhone region.
 
kann said:
We stopped with the whole Hallmark thing a long time ago. There are 364(5) other days of the year and we do our best to show each other how much we love and appreciate one another on each one of them. We learned early on in our marriage that we don't need to blow a ton of money on one single day of the year because it's the socially decided day we should do so. If you only show her like this once a year... you are doing it wrong.
Click to expand...
Kann I dont know why you need to be such a party pooper. Let the man enjoy his Valentines Day. Support American Jobs. I celebrate 3 New Years, Two Thanks Givings and All the Presidents Birthdays. I Celebrate Good Friday, Bad Friday and Black Friday. On March 17th I am Irish, May 5th I'm Mexican, and Native American on October 10th. I'm loving on February 14th, Voting on November 8th and on December 26th I'm a Heavy Weight Prize Fighter.
Do I spend a lot on holiday cards- yes, but somebody needs to keep the economy going. So Kann Happy Valentines Day to you and Happy Valentines Day to George Scott. I hope it was romantic.
 
I'm single, and a single Dad. I just have my son to whom I can let know that, on a day that we celebrate love, he is the first one who comes to mind. While love is a state of being, it is also nice to have a day where possibly more people are mindful of what love is, and celebrate it a bit more than what might be usual. We don't have to follow the commercial aspect of any holiday, but I think it's nice to thoughtfully consider the genesis of it. We had a nice meal out, spent a lot of time together, talked, got goofy, and just made it a little more memorable.
 
It took us both till 5pm to realize it was vday. We don't do gifts for hoildays, birthdays, anniversaries or anything else really. We stopped doing gifts in senior year of high school to reduce the added stress on eachother. She will surprise me every once and a while and I'll do the same for her. But for yesterday there was nothing special but I did keep the fire going all day and night in the wood stove to keep her warm in the subzero weather we are having so that should count for something right?

Paul
 
I made my wife a great dinner of a super rich beef Stroganoff made with boneless Wagyu shortribs that were cooked sous vide for 24hrs and then seared in clarified garlic butter, and a side of sauteed Brussels sprouts made with bacon and some tart dried cherries that I rehydrated in sweet tea. For dessert I made some peach ice cream that used the best of last summer's frozen peaches, and served it on top of corn cookies made from the Milk Bar cookbook and drizzled it all with Amarena cherry juice.

For my gift, my wife went one more day without asking any potentially awkward or probing questions about the cigar collection.
 
Sorry, all. Didn't mean for that to come out the way it did -- I was in no way putting anyone down for the way they celebrate their relationship. I was just stating the way we do it/have done it. I do see how it sounds bad. I honestly didn't mean anything nasty by it or personally insulting. My sincerest apologies.

The story (mostly) behind our decision: When we were just two young pups in our first year of marriage, my wife had a second job while we were on Guam. She was a fair-skinned English heritage white girl working at an upscale non-chain steakhouse that catered to the better off locals and Japanese tourists. She made ridiculous money there: usually anywhere from an extra $500-$1000 a week in tips, alone. Valentine's Day was coming up, we were two romantic love birds, and we HAD to have the evening together. She begged for it off, but she was one of the draws in the place (it was not uncommon for people to ask for her by name when making their reservations). Valentine's Day was one of his busiest nights of the year, so the owner said he couldn't let her have the night off. She threatened to quit, so he just offered her a pretty decent raise, instead. She ended up leaving the place over it because we wanted to have that "special day" together (we both put in for leave, and everything). It took about a year, but the ridiculousness of that decision finally dawned on both of us, and we realized that we love each other EVERY day, and we both routinely buy each other gifts or flowers or cards or do other little things to show they other, "Hey, I really do kinda like you...". To give up what she did over one night that society says we should be spending a lot of money on each other was a really dumb move... especially for two kids that didn't know better yet. So, we pretty much decided then that we were done with the "Hallmark Holidays", and just continue showing love and affection as we do throughout the year. It will be 20 years in September, and we haven't looked back.

So, that's my own personal take on it. Really, if I offended, I do apologize. I'd use the "bad week" excuse, but it wouldn't be the first time I've ever been accused of being an insensitive asshole, so I don't think it would fly. :D
 
kann said:
Sorry, all. Didn't mean for that to come out the way it did -- I was in no way putting anyone down for the way they celebrate their relationship. I was just stating the way we do it/have done it. I do see how it sounds bad. I honestly didn't mean anything nasty by it or personally insulting. My sincerest apologies.

The story (mostly) behind our decision: When we were just two young pups in our first year of marriage, my wife had a second job while we were on Guam. She was a fair-skinned English heritage white girl working at an upscale non-chain steakhouse that catered to the better off locals and Japanese tourists. She made ridiculous money there: usually anywhere from an extra $500-$1000 a week in tips, alone. Valentine's Day was coming up, we were two romantic love birds, and we HAD to have the evening together. She begged for it off, but she was one of the draws in the place (it was not uncommon for people to ask for her by name when making their reservations). Valentine's Day was one of his busiest nights of the year, so the owner said he couldn't let her have the night off. She threatened to quit, so he just offered her a pretty decent raise, instead. She ended up leaving the place over it because we wanted to have that "special day" together (we both put in for leave, and everything). It took about a year, but the ridiculousness of that decision finally dawned on both of us, and we realized that we love each other EVERY day, and we both routinely buy each other gifts or flowers or cards or do other little things to show they other, "Hey, I really do kinda like you...". To give up what she did over one night that society says we should be spending a lot of money on each other was a really dumb move... especially for two kids that didn't know better yet. So, we pretty much decided then that we were done with the "Hallmark Holidays", and just continue showing love and affection as we do throughout the year. It will be 20 years in September, and we haven't looked back.

So, that's my own personal take on it. Really, if I offended, I do apologize. I'd use the "bad week" excuse, but it wouldn't be the first time I've ever been accused of being an insensitive asshole, so I don't think it would fly. :D
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I completely understood what you meant. I have no issues with people buying gifts or doing something extra special on Valentine's Day. Sometimes we do, and it's an excuse to do a little something extra. But, it is not the only day that we give gifts or do something nice based on love. We do it whenever the mood strikes because we just wanted to, to make the other person happy. Nothing is better than those random "I was thinking about you" gifts :D
 
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kann said:
Sorry, all. Didn't mean for that to come out the way it did -- I was in no way putting anyone down for the way they celebrate their relationship. I was just stating the way we do it/have done it. I do see how it sounds bad. I honestly didn't mean anything nasty by it or personally insulting. My sincerest apologies.

The story (mostly) behind our decision: When we were just two young pups in our first year of marriage, my wife had a second job while we were on Guam. She was a fair-skinned English heritage white girl working at an upscale non-chain steakhouse that catered to the better off locals and Japanese tourists. She made ridiculous money there: usually anywhere from an extra $500-$1000 a week in tips, alone. Valentine's Day was coming up, we were two romantic love birds, and we HAD to have the evening together. She begged for it off, but she was one of the draws in the place (it was not uncommon for people to ask for her by name when making their reservations). Valentine's Day was one of his busiest nights of the year, so the owner said he couldn't let her have the night off. She threatened to quit, so he just offered her a pretty decent raise, instead. She ended up leaving the place over it because we wanted to have that "special day" together (we both put in for leave, and everything). It took about a year, but the ridiculousness of that decision finally dawned on both of us, and we realized that we love each other EVERY day, and we both routinely buy each other gifts or flowers or cards or do other little things to show they other, "Hey, I really do kinda like you...". To give up what she did over one night that society says we should be spending a lot of money on each other was a really dumb move... especially for two kids that didn't know better yet. So, we pretty much decided then that we were done with the "Hallmark Holidays", and just continue showing love and affection as we do throughout the year. It will be 20 years in September, and we haven't looked back.

So, that's my own personal take on it. Really, if I offended, I do apologize. I'd use the "bad week" excuse, but it wouldn't be the first time I've ever been accused of being an insensitive asshole, so I don't think it would fly. :D
Click to expand...
I wasn't offended. I think meanings and intentions sometimes get lost in text. I love your full story though, thanks for sharing!
 
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