With the much hyped Inauguration of President Barack Obama safely behind us, Washingtonians can now turn their attention (and wallets) to Valentine’s Day.
Careful though, guys, it's a test. You'll get dating/relationship points based upon how well you perform. And I'm talking to the guys because what guy really cares about Valentine’s Day?! Do guys really need an affirmation of how much they mean to their significant other on a manufactured day of love? A man cares about Valentine’s because, on Feb. 14, he realizes there's a hanging dagger above his head and, should he forget to do something on this day celebrating love, it will be quickly dropped if he at all fails to adequately present his beloved with what she wants.
So let’s just start with the basics shall we? Flowers, jewelry, cards, dinner, and a box of chocolates are pretty much the staples of this holiday. No guy can go wrong with any combination of those five things. But encompassing all of this is communication. If you have any doubts as to what she likes, then just ask her. “Honey, what kind of flowers do you like?” is not something which will hurt you from getting what you want on Valentine’s Day. In fact, I would say that because you want to know what she likes you get a gold star.
Some trends in flowers are hydrangeas, white lilies and peonies. Of course you can never go wrong with roses. A dozen, long-stemmed red roses are always a winner.
An unusual twist to the usual presentation of the flowers would be to buy her a lovely keepsake vase. I know most guys wouldn’t think of buying a vase separate from the flowers, but a girl thinks that a guy who buys her a vase to go along with the flowers is planning on buying her more flowers to fill it up – and anything that even smacks of the future gets mucho bonus points with women. Tiffany’s has some nice vases, but honestly if you are going to walk into Tiffany’s to shell out money you should probably spend it on jewelry rather than a vase. Try Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel instead.
One bit of advice with buying flowers, don’t buy them online. Every time I have received flowers from an online store – or seen a friend get flowers from an online store – they come really wilted and are usually quite ugly. Also, don’t have them delivered unless you personally do the delivering. Having flowers couriered over is so over-done on Valentine’s Day. Will it be a downer? Absolutely not! No woman says no to having flowers delivered to her, but if you want to do something unique and different from the crowd this Valentine’s Day try delivering them in person. That hour you use will really make her sparkle!
