Valentine's Day Ideas for Lovers, Friends and Family

Date and Friendship Ideas for Valentine's Day

Now that the Christmas holidays are done, the stores all around you are starting to get their Valentine's Day displays up. You're probably not making your Valentine's plans just yet but the store displays might have gotten you thinking about what you're going to do this year. Although there's nothing wrong with doing the same old dinner date for Valentine's Day this year, it might be nice to do something a little bit different. Since you've got plenty of time to do the planning, why not put together something special to surprise someone.

Here are some Valentine's Day ideas to get you started:

For couples: If you're part of a romantic couple and want to do something special this year, there are plenty of options. You can do something fun, you can do something flirty or you can do something risque. Here are some suggestions:

• Agree now with your partner to make each other mixed CDs of all of the songs that are special to your relationship. Don't discuss which songs mean something to each of you. On Valentine's Day, go out for a long drive down a quiet road and play the songs in your car. You'll be surprised to see which songs remind your partner of you. You'll probably laugh and you might even get teary. It's a great way to commemorate your love and build some new memories at the same time.
• Extreme vacation. An adrenaline rush is a great way to get your love buzz on. Plan now to go on an extreme vacation for two. Shark diving, bungee jumping and safaris are popular choices but go with whatever interests you.
• Return to the site of your first date. This is especially great if you no longer live in the spot where you met. Go back to your college town or the city where you were born and recapture the magic that made you fall in love. Do something old and something new to bring together the best of your relationship.
• Have a sleepover for two. Couples often go all out on Valentine's Day. They get all dolled up and go on a date where they give each other presents that are intended to be special. This can be stressful. Why not skip all that this year and stay home instead? But make it a special date of its own. Buy some new pajamas - sexy ones or just cozy ones will do. Get some warm movies. Take a big blanket into the living room with a bowl of popcorn and time to just be together. At the end of the night, you might find yourselves giving each other sensual massages or you might be laughing hysterically during a tickle fest. Either way you're expressing what Valentine's Day should be about: that you love being together.

For friends: Valentine's Day is a romantic day for couples but those are not the only people in your life that you love. If you don't have a partner ... or even if you do ... consider doing something special with your close friends to commemorate the relationship that you have with them. Here are some suggestions:

• Chocolate party. Valentine's Day is all about chocolate so celebrate it with a chocolate party. Ask everyone to bring something chocolate over to your house. Have chocolate liqueur or chocolate-flavored wines on hand. Party games can be played and everyone can share the day with people they care about.
• Group vacation. Singles or couples can have a good time on Valentine's with a group vacation. Singles can especially enjoy going to a romantic hot spot that they've always felt a little too lonely to visit on their own. Jamaica, Hawaii, Paris ... grab some friends and go find love together.
• Get personalized fortune cookies made for each of your friends. Sayings can be put inside fortune cookies to express your love for your friends. Meet a few days before Valentine's at a Chinese restaurant. (This way people with partners can come too and not miss their other celebrations.) Give each friend their cookie at the end of the meal and have everyone read them aloud. Everyone will feel loved.

For family: Don't forget your family on Valentine's Day. After all, this isn't romantic love but it's the best love of all. Here are some suggestions for celebrating with them:

• Family reunion. It's not too late to plan a Valentine's Family Reunion. The best gift you can give is the gift of acceptance. Recognize the in-laws and everyone else that you sometimes hate to love by inviting them and appreciating them while they are there.
• Have a card-making party before Valentine's Day. All generations can get involved in making their own cards for family, friends and class mates. Get blank cards, construction paper, old magazines, glitter, paint, and other art supplies and go at it. This starts the Valentine's season off with some fun and gives everyone something that they can use to show their love to someone else.
• Neighborhood Valentine's party. Everyone does the summer BBQs, the Halloween get-togethers and the Christmas parties but what about Valentine's? Host a party at your house to show that you love the community around you. Get your kids and your other relatives involved to make it particularly fun.

For anyone: There are some gifts that you can make that are good for anyone that you know - partners, friends or family. Here are some of those gift ideas:

• Scrapbook albums. There is no one in your life who won't appreciate it if you take the time to dig up old pictures that commemorate the times that you've shared.
• Box of love. Get a small box and decorate in a way that you think fits the recipient. Then fill the box with scraps of paper that say "I love you because" and give different reasons. Everyone would love to have a box of love to reach into on a bad day so that they could pull out some warmth and kindness. You can give that to the people in your life.
• Phone calls. If you end up forgetting anyone in the midst of all this planning, pick up a phone on Valentine's Day and give them a call just so they know they were remembered after all.

The best idea of all is to practice kindness. Don't get angry because you don't get the perfect present or your fiancée doesn't propose or the vacation doesn't go as planned. Focus on why you love the people you're with and what you can do to show this to them.