Here we are: another Valentine’s Day is right around the corner – I mean so close that it’s getting pretty difficult to get something shiny shipped in time for the event – and you’re stuck wondering what you should do for that special someone in your life.
Well, last year I shared Five Tips for a Geeky (and Classy!) Valentine’s Day, but it’s been a whole year and I want to revisit the topic – partially because there are more tips and ground to cover that might keep you from making a horrible faux pas. But remember – like I said last year, the biggest faux pas you could possibly make is to spend time in a relationship that cheap oakley sunglasses doesn’t understand or embrace your geekiness.
Sure, you can do the traditional chocolates and flowers thing this Valentine’s Day – and frankly, there’s nothing stopping you from doing any of those things in addition to any of my Ray Ban outlet suggestions, sometimes the classics work really well – but why not take you and your geeky (I hope) sweetie and do something that embraces your geeky lifestyle and pastimes, instead of burying them where no one will ever see?
This year do yourself – and your relationship – a favor, own up to the things you enjoy and love doing, and work them into the rest of your life. After all, that’s what I’m here to help you do. Here are some suggestions that will get you started.
- Make An Escape
Did you know that April is one of the most affordable months to book and take a cruise all year? Part of it is that the industry is coming off of the strong winter and holiday bookings and sales cheap oakley sunglasses of people in North America looking to get away from the cold weather, and we’re not quite yet into the summer vacationing season. This means that it’s a great time not just to take a Ray Ban outlet cruise (which isn’t my specific suggestion, but hey, go for it) but to book travel in general. Why not book a nice trip somewhere special for you and your sweetheart – whether they’re as much of a geek as you or not – and put your skills to use finding the best price and a lovely location?
The springtime is also around the same time that a number of college students get out Ray Ban online for Spring Break, so make sure that when you’re not traveling somewhere that’ll be heavily populated with coed party-goers when you arrive (that means steer clear of Cancun, or Lake Havasu, or anywhere like that, okay?)
My suggestion? Hit up Living Social Escapes for a half-price vacation package to somewhere romantic, like a Bed and Breakfast in Virginia wine country, or a lovely getaway in the French Quarter in New Orleans, or even a ski trip for two in the Rockies – all at a great price, all a complete vacation package, and all designed for just two people looking to have a good time.
It’s also worth noting that last minute travel deals are available at sites like Travelocity, Priceline.com, and HotWire if you’re interested in going somewhere a little farther away for a little longer than a weekend or a day-trip. They all give you a place to see last minute vacation packages, and by last minute they mean within the next couple of weeks – still enough time to tell your boss you’ll need some time off.
- Upgrade the Chocolates
Valentine’s Day is a red letter holiday for companies like Russell Stover (makers of the iconic Whitman’s Chocolates,) Godiva, and even Ghirardelli (although I hesitate to include them because I love them so much,) but why not up the ante a little bit?
If you insist on getting chocolates for your sweetheart (and I don’t know a valentine, male or female, that doesn’t love sweets) poke around your local listings and see if you can find a local chocolatier or chocolate shop where the selection will be a little more meaningful, and you have the ability to really pick and choose the chocolates you buy. Better yet, many local chocolate shops are more than aware of the holiday, would appreciate your business, and are willing to help you put together the chocolate gift box of your partner or spouse’s dreams.
If you have to order online, go with someone who has a great online presence and really takes their chocolate seriously, like Vosges Haut Chocolat. I’ve made a point of ordering from them several times for occasions in the past, and found their customer service stellar, their shipping Ray Ban outlet ridiculously fast (they ship across the US in sealed containers with dry ice inside to keep your tasty treats chilled so they don’t melt before they get to your valentine’s mouth,) and their selection of truffles, chocolate treats, chocolate bars, hot and dark chocolates, and even sipping chocolates absolutely divine.
Bonus? They’re the folks who pioneered the bacon and chocolate revolution, so no one will blame you if a bacon chocolate bar makes its way into your cart while you’re looking for a gift basket for someone you love.
- Give a Geeky Gift
There’s no shortage of sites doing geeky Valentine’s Day roundups – I specifically didn’t want to rattle off a list of products that you could pick up for a Valentine that likes video games or gadgets and gear as much as you do – but a few tips never hurt. Head over to ThinkGeek’s Valentine’s Day section to see an amazing array of goodies that are perfect for the holiday – even the snarkiest among us can appreciate the give of a Valentine’s Day card for people who hate Valentine’s Day.
Alternatively, the How-To Geek’s Gift Guide is a great price-grouped list of goodies that you can pick up for your valentine, especially if they’re as geeky or more geeky than you are.
At the same time though, geeky Valentine’s Day gifts don’t have to be Valentine’s Day themed. Remember, if your valentine has been dying for a new digital music player, or thinking about picking up a set-top box to stream her favorite movies in the bedroom, go for that and save her the hassle. It doesn’t have to have hearts and stars on it and be red to be a great Valentine’s Day gift – it just has to be something he or she will enjoy and appreciate as a gift from a loved one.
- Do It Yourself
If there’s ever been a holiday that’s warm to the concept of a DIY gift or DIY event, Valentine’s Day is it. Do something special or give something special that’s handmade or comes from the heart. ‘Tis the season for less than perfect gifts if they’re made with love and affection (more so than Christmas, I think) so now’s the time to go out on a limb and make someone a keepsake box full of things you associate with them, or blow up and frame some photos of the two of you together that you like.
Valentine’s Day is a holiday that – at its core – is more about self-expression of love than anything else. Now’s the time to do something incredibly over the top and romantic like lay out rose Ray Ban outlet petals or cook your partner’s favorite dish and present it to them during a living room floor picnic, or get up early and bring them breakfast in bed – all so very stereotypical things, but add your own geeky flare to them to bring your personality into the mix.
Instead of breakfast in bed, why not bring your favorite (or better yet, their favorite) blend of coffee to bed? Instead of laying out rose petals, why not make a trail of Nintendo DS games on the floor, leading to the bedroom, where a shiny new DSi (or a receipt for a 3DS Pre-order, even) awaits them on their pillowcase? Why not Ray Ban outlet give them a binder full of blown up printed images of novel cover art…and then as they flip through it, confused, whip out the Kindle or Nook Color they’ve been pondering? See where I’m going? You can do it all yourself, or you can combine a traditional gift with something a little heartfelt and homemade to really showcase the geek in you, the geek in them, and why you two resonate with one another so much.
- Do Nothing
Well, not “nothing,” exactly – but if there’s anything I’ve learned from the relationships that I’ve been in, especially with geeks, it’s that a lot of the standard and stereotypical rules about relationships often don’t apply. When the lovely geek in your life says “Don’t fuss about it, let’s just spend the day together – nothing special,” they mean it. Don’t go all out and surprise them with a trip to a fancy restaurant that they don’t have clean formal wear to go, to or treat them to an annoyingly embarrassing serenade at a restaurant if you do go out to eat.
Sometimes – and this won’t work with everyone, so you’ll have to feel it out with your valentine to see if it will – sometimes it’s not important that you do something over the top and special for Valentine’s Day, it’s really just important that you and your valentine spend some quality time together on a special day. Stay in, watch some movies streaming on Netflix, cuddle up on the couch, and volunteer to do the cooking. Or order out and have someone bring the food to you so all the two of you have to do is relax and enjoy being in each other’s company.
Sure, sure – there’s a time and a place for big fancy dinners and dozens upon dozens of roses and fancy nights out, but in a world as busy as ours where so many of us are just tired, drained, and in some cases strongly antisocial and angsty when it comes to holidays as mass produced and manufactured as Valentine’s Day, it might be more meaningful to watch your sweetie’s favorite movie with a pair of chopsticks and some lo mein on the coffee table than anything else.
Remember also, that even if you don’t have a valentine, or have no plans with anyone special for Valentine’s Day, that the holiday is about love – not just loving someone else.
Remember to take care of yourself too – and remember to treat “Ray Ban outlet”>Ray Ban outlet yourself to something special. After all, you can and should be your own valentine as much as someone else is, so make sure to do something special for yourself – whether it’s to take yourself out to eat at your favorite place, whip up your favorite food, plan an escape that’s all yours to a place you’ve wanted to go, or dive headfirst into a pet project that you’ve been meaning to do for yourself for months, Valentine’s Day is an excellent occasion to pamper yourself, too.
With that, I wish you all a very happy Valentine’s Day, even if you opt to take my last suggestion and do absolutely nothing about the holiday. Make sure it’s a happy one, a geeky one, and a classy one for you and your valentine.
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