I really feel bad for everyone who gets caught up in the Valentine’s day madness. I mean, in my opinion, the true sense of romance should be ongoing and sometimes even when a person least expects it. That’s what makes it special and more personal. I guess that is why I appreciate birthdays and wedding anniversaries more.

But for all those people who get a kick out of planning for Valentine’s Day, I have decided to dedicate this entire week for some of my  suggestions to take into account, while frantically searching for gifts and “interesting” things to do for/or with your loved one.

Take note, these suggestions also work for birthday and anniversary celebrations as well. So here we go with suggestion 1.

Every one loves getting flowers, unless of course they are allergic to them, but whether you believe it or not, most woman “over 40” are okay with just getting flowers on Valentine’s Day. So, this year instead of giving the usual boring bouquet of over priced red roses (yawn) why don’t you consider putting several different shaped and sized vases with unique flowers  throughout the house, where she most hangs out. For example: the night stand, the master bathroom sink or bathtub (if she enjoys taking a bath everyday), on the kitchen table or counter by the sink, next to her computer desk, on the coffee table next to where she usually sits at night to watch television and wherever else you think she would love to see flowers.

Anyway, you can actually place the vases the night before, after she goes to bed so that when she wakes the next morning (Valentine’s Day) she could be surprised with the thoughtful gifts of flower.

Now, a  flower mart or farmer’s market is an amazing place to get different bouquets of flowers. Vases can be purchased from Pier 1 or Cost Plus or Target/Wallmart stores.  But if you happen to have a “brown thumb” for this sort of thing, consider working with a florist to pull this off.

Here are some of my favorite suggestions to copy from: