Holiday Highlight: Plan the Perfect Valentine’s Day Date
Even though Valentine’s Day looks different this year, you can still make your at-home date feel as special as the person you’re celebrating with. From picking a perfectly paired wine for your meal to giving the best gift, here are our tips to make your Valentine’s a beautiful memory for years to come.
KNOW YOUR PARTNER
Sometimes gift guides do nothing to make the gift giving process any easier. Sometimes people are just hard to buy for. No matter how many gift guides you consult, they could never replace knowing your partner’s love language and acting accordingly.
What is a love language? A love language, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is simply the way someone gives and receives love. Learning and acting on each other’s love languages strengthens relationship bonds (even non-romantic relationships) and makes communication easier. There are five love languages, and their importances vary from individual to individual:
words of affirmation
acts of service
receiving gifts
physical touch
quality time
Sometimes the perfect gift isn’t actually a physical gift at all—it depends on your partner! Knowing their love language helps you narrow down what would make your partner the happiest. For someone whose love language is words of affirmation, writing a homemade card or letter would be a gift that they could keep and cherish for a lifetime (and there’s something really sweet about being able to refer back to it). If they’re not so much into the sentimentality of something like a homemade card, maybe they would prefer acts of service—take the initiative to make dinner and clean up afterwards, or make them breakfast in bed, or even simply ask if they need any help with chores or other daily tasks. Acts of service are nice because it frees up time for both of you to spend more time together, and for people whose love language is quality time, that’s the ultimate end goal. It’s not so much about what you’re doing—it’s about them having your undivided attention with no interruptions. Planning regular date nights, cooking a meal together, and ensuring that neither of you are on your phone during dinnertime all make your loved one know that they are your priority. Others may prefer being able to feel close to someone through physical touch. Giving your partner a massage, having a cuddly movie night on the couch, or simply making sure you have private time alone all make someone feel intimate and loved. Or maybe your partner does like to receive love through gifts; in that case, flowers, jewelry, a nice bottle of wine, or their favorite dessert all do the job. You can also opt to DIY your gift: create a photo album/scrapbook or make them a CD with a note explaining why you chose each song for them. If you’re partial to giving gifts, consider checking out this gift guide that allows you to filter it by your partner’s love language.
GET REAL…& SENTIMENTAL
Let’s be honest. This past year has been tough. Most homes aren’t built assuming that everyone is going to need two home offices and a classroom. We’ve been sharing the same space constantly for practically a year. No relationship is free of conflict, but a lack of personal space and privacy overwhelms us and brings about newfound frustrations. We can all acknowledge that, but for Valentine’s Day, we’re going to put that aside.
No, everyday is not all rainbows and butterflies, but that doesn’t mean that Valentine’s Day can’t be.
Even though not everyone’s love language is words of affirmation, hearing (or reading) that your partner loves you is of the upmost importance. Communicating and reminding each other that you love and value each other despite any conflicts during these insanely turbulent and stressful times makes for a more open and healthier relationship.
Letters, cards, scrapbooks, photo albums, mixtapes/playlists lean into that sentimental, nostalgic communication that everyone needs every once in a while—especially when every aspect of life feels so overwhelming. As it’s increasingly hard to see into the future, it’s not a necessarily a bad thing to revel in nostalgia, to reminisce about your past dates, vacations, and favorite memories.
Especially this Valentine’s, prioritize making sure your partner knows how much you love them. (I mean—make your partner feel special and loved on the daily, but especially on Valentine’s).
SET THE MOOD
In astrology, Venus governs love and romance, while also representing your values, aesthetics, and relationship to finances and material possessions. If you want love and romance at the forefront of your Valentine’s Day, you have to make sure that you see love and romance in the design of your space.
Venus is about pleasure—beauty, elegance, and relaxation. Comfort without the sacrifice of aesthetics.
Set your date in the most romantic part of your home; a room with warm lighting, relaxing colors, cozy fabrics. If your celebration is centered around mealtime, elevate your dining experience with a beautiful tablecloth in a warm, dusty rose (poly-cotton blends are less prone to wrinkling), candles or essential oils of your favorite scent (especially rose and rose water, orange, ylang ylang, jasmine, and vanilla), a playlist or album that makes you both feel connected and romantic, and of course, an incredible centerpiece. Flowers are an amazing addition to any room—they add an instant pop of color while naturally boosting your mood. According to Fung Shui, all flowers have different meanings. In order to bring romance and love into your home, focus on these flowers:
roses
carnations
orchids
peonies
tulips
If you’re in Essex County and looking for masterful florists, check out Blooms In Hand in Verona, NJ, or Floral Elegance in Caldwell, NJ!
If you’re struggling to make your space feel special or romantic, it’s probably time to revamp. With our full-service design services, we make sure that you have the perfect place for comfort, romance, and love. We manage your project from the initial design concept all the way through to completion—all you have to do is sit back and enjoy while we makeover your space! If you’re grasping at straws to find the perfect Valentine’s gift, look no further—give the gift of a completely transformed space!
MAKE IT EXTRAVAGANT
So, you’re at home—who said it can’t be luxurious?
We are no longer wasting outfits because of quarantine. We’re wearing them. Get dressed up for Valentine’s as if you were going out for a bougie dinner. Just because we’re at home, why can’t we beam with opulence?
To elevate your holiday meal, start with a bubbly wine served in champagne flutes during appetizers. After, either experiment with a fun, new cocktail or serve a luxe wine in stemware (consult Amanti Vino in Montclair, NJ, or their second location in Morristown, NJ–ranked in Wine Enthusiast’s top 50 wine retailers in the country–never fails for obscure varietals and hidden gems). Pair your meal with black pepper and fennel taralli and fresh, hot bread and wildly addictive French and Italian pastries, cookies, pies, and cakes from Calandra’s Italian Village in Caldwell, NJ.
CELEBRATE ALL KINDS OF LOVE
Who said the only love worth celebrating is romantic love? What happened to platonic love, to familial love, to the love we have for our pets, to the love we have for ourselves?
Send your friends a weirdly sentimental text message, call your grandparents (if you can—they will love it), bake your dog healthy peanut-butter treats, treat yourself to the things that you truly want—these loves are completely worthy of celebration too.
Love is love, love is beautiful, and love deserves to be celebrated in all of its wondrous forms and facets. Every. Single. Day.