Valentine's Day can be quite a daunting day, whether you are in a relationship or not. Those who don't have a Valentine might feel the pressure of not having one, and those that do, feel the pressure of having to create a special experience for their loved one. Whichever boat you fall in this year, take the time to do make the most of the day...because, why not?! I love to stop and appreciate the holidays because when I don't it feels like the year just flies by and I didn’t make the most of it.
I did some research for some ideas to do for Valentine's Day that don't require a lot of $$$. Creativity is all you need! So try one of these with your girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, friend, girlfriends, etc and enjoy it for what it is! No need to stress over anything. It's just a day like any other day but with an excuse to be a little more cheesy than usual and to take time out to do something you wouldn’t normally. Comment below and let me know which ones you think you would actually do!
1. Cook dinner at home: Don't want to do an overpriced pre-fixed dinner, well you could take a stab at making dinner at home. My recommendation if you are a beginner cook is to make a simple marinara pasta. Just make sure you pick up some olives and basil for garnish to give it some pizzazz. And if you know your way around the kitchen, then how about making a side dish of chicken marsala and asparagus to complete the plate. Don't forget the red wine and dessert to go with it!
Easy Pasta Recipe: https://www.oliviascuisine.com/spaghetti-marinara/
Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8974/easier-chicken-marsala/
Easy Asparagus Recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/214931/oven-roasted-asparagus/
2. Have a Picnic: One of my all time favorite date nights was when I was surprised with a candlelit picnic overlooking the city. Don't have time to cook? Keep it simple and do cheese, crackers, wine and fruit. But no drinking and driving!
Picnic Spots in Los Angeles: https://la.curbed.com/maps/best-los-angeles-picnic-spots
3. Go hiking: This is a healthy and productive way to bond with your significant other (or friends), and you can always grab lunch afterwards!
Places to hike in Los Angeles: https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/50-essential-hiking-trails-los-angeles/
4. Go to happy hour and order appetizers as your meal. Just call ahead just to make sure that happy hour is still available on Valentine's Day and whether a reservation is needed.
I’ve heard Ruth’s Chris has an amazing happy hour: https://www.ruthschris.com/menu/happy-hour/
5. Ice cream date: This is especially good if you are going on a date with this person for the first time and are still in the getting to know each other phase. Grabbing ice cream and walking and talking while doing so takes the pressure off of trying to fill in the awkward silences because you'll have things that will draw your attention and other things to focus on rather than staring each other straight in the face.
My favorite Ice Cream spot: https://saltandstraw.com/
6. Have some wine with chocolate covered strawberries: If you've been married for a while and the novelty of celebrating Valentine's Day has sort of worn off, you can still find small ways to celebrate. The simplest thing you can do for yourself and your significant other especially with hectic schedules is to just have some nice conversation over a glass of wine with some chocolate covered strawberries. Or the even easier way out is simply chocolate, and strawberries. But if you're feeling up for it, take it a step further and make the make the chocolate dipped strawberries together!
Recipe for chocolate dipped strawberries: https://addapinch.com/chocolate-covered-strawberries-recipe/
7. Chinese takeout and a movie: the simple and cliché date night thing to do. And can you believe, that my husband and I have NEVER done this!?! So much so, that I think this is what we might do and I know he's gonna absolutely LOVE IT.
Valentine’s Day movie ideas for all relationship types: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a26144010/valentines-day-movies-based-on-relationship-status/
Anti-Valentine’s Day movie ideas: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/anti-valentines-day-movies-on-netflix#slide-1
8. Scavenger hunt with sexy prizes: I've actually done this before where my boyfriend at the time made the scavenger hunt for me (minus the sexy prizes). It was super fun and memorable as well. The clues were actually really hard but somehow I managed to solve the entire thing. This obviously will take a lot of your brain power and more time than most ideas, but I promise you it will be a Valentine's Day they will never forget!
Don’t have time to make one? Here you go ya lazy ass (JK i’ll prolly end up using this one too lol): https://www.thedatingdivas.com/valentines-day-scavenger-hunt/
10. Have a bonfire: Grab some graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, some blankets, and head on over to your nearest fire pit for some good ol fashion s'mores, story time, and gazing up at the stars.
Link to the beach where we like to have bonfires: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=617
Hope you enjoyed all those ideas! If you end up doing any of them, please come back and let me know your experience in the comment section below! Happy Valentine’s Day!!
Xoxo,
Nellie
