Real men make something happen on Valentine's day, if there is something worth happening. "Making something happen" doesn't mean you need to break the bank though. Valentine's day on a budget is the true challenge to bad ass masculinity. LL Cool J, will not need to take his lady out to a nice dinner, he'll just need to go up to his pretty lady and squeeze the potassium out of bananas and his lady will be satisfied.
Most of us, unfortunately don't have a name that is two letters that stands for "Ladies Love," but that doesn't mean we can't get our swag on.
So rule 1: The valentine's day card. That's the most important part to any valentine's day because most ladies love to keep mementos of certain valentine's day items. The card is the one instance where you can actually go cheap and you are given props. Just make it personal, a little bit cheesy, and simple. Obama, for example would probably get some Presidential Stationary, fold it in half, and put, "Boo, I love you" and have his assistant sign it, and that card will suffice for his and Michelle's 2009 valentine's day.
Rule 2: The ambiance. This means the restaurant, the picnic, the bedroom, even the freakin bathroom. No one want's their v-day ruined by a bad atmosphere. But ambiance is something different for everyone. If you and your lady love Metallica and McDonald ball pits, then by all means do what works. If you're lady loves that classy, flashy, cheesy, straight out of Hollywood but not straight to DVD personality then you will need to buy candles. I can't stress this enough. If you can't afford the flowers, make sure you can afford the candles. Variety of candles work even better. Cheap tea candles, big fat red candles, blue candles, dinner candles, floating candles....diversity and variety counts.
Rule 3: The dinner. The dinner is vitally important. If you're going out to eat then this is taken care of, so skip to the next part. If you're cooking or trying to do takeout classy then read on. If you're gonna get take out but want to make it classy, then you will need sparkling wine, a picnic basket, and a nice shirt. Girl's love the nice shirt. When a guy puts on a nice shirt, it means something is about to happen. If that's your retro throwback 23 Jordan jersey or your Hugo Boss dress shirt, make sure you wear it, and work it. The greatest thing about the Valentine's dinner is the time, not the food. Read that last sentence again. No one will be criticizing the food on Valentine's day because the main goal of the dinner is to cancel out all the noise of life and focus on each other. So if you have to go to your grocery store for a pre made meal or ordering panda express but dressing it up in nice dishes, then so be it.
If you want to make it a bit more personal, then I'd say cheese and bread. It might be the cheapest and most romantic way to go. Plus, with the new vegetarian generation, you'll please all parties. Buy some nice cheeses, cut them ahead of time along with a different variety of breads and some fruits. Pack it in a basket and make sure the wine is chilled. You can feed each other, laugh, talk, drink, and really have the opportunity to connect without all the other distractions.
Rule 4: Dessert. This is probably the most important part of the night because, dessert matters. Once again, if you're at the restaurant you might want to think about going to somewhere to change the mood. Ice cream parlor, frozen yogurt, pastry shop, coffee, dessert bar, anywhere that can offer a chance in setting and let her feel comfortable with you. If you're on a budget, then skip the food and go for the wine. A port, riesling, moscato, or sherry, as long as it's sweet and can lower everyone's ego then it's a winner. Once again, the most important part of dessert is the first and last bite, so get something that can make an impression but the main driver is what happens between the first and last bite.
If you're doing the cheese and bread for dinner with a sparkling wine then do a chocolate platter with some port or chocolate, berries, and a riesling if she's wanting something cheesy.
After this, the night is up too you. If you did everything here right, there should be fireworks that night.
Now Chow Down to That.
