Fun and Unusual Valentines Day Ideas - Not Just Poems, Candy and Hershey's Kisses

© C.Calhoun 2012. All rights reserved.

Sure, you can do dinner and a movie. The ol' standby. Though your significant other will almost certainly appreciate your efforts, why not get creative and really show you care?

Chocolates

Candy companies undoubtedly peak in sales around Valentine's Day. Who doesn't like a nibble of milk-chocolate-love from a box - you never know what you're going to get, right?

Have you ever considered frog chcolates? Before you turn up your nose, consider this: frogs can symbolize fertility and good luck, as well as rebirth and transitional times. If you're considering getting engaged, a chocolate frog might be just the right "symbol". You can order them from The Chocolate Vault.

If you're not into the "frogs" idea, this website has plenty of other Valentine's Day chocolate gift ideas. If you have a guy in your life that likes chocolate, this site has yummy offerings. Still, if you just want to stick with the heart-shaped box of chocolates, they have that, too.

Even if you don't know any Spanish, another "romance" language will add a sexy flair to your "I Love You" message. You can tell your significant other that you've taken up learning Spanish because I'll give you the meaning to lots of Spanish candy hearts right here:

• Hola - Hi
• Te amo - I love you
• Mi novia - My girlfriend
• Ama me (this really is the word Ámame, but this is how it looks on the candy heart) - Love me
• Dulce - Sweet
• Besos - Kisses
• De nada - You're welcome
• Mi amor - My love
• Amigo - Friend
• Bella - Beautiful
• Linda - Pretty
• Paz - Peace
• Adiós - Goodbye

You can order these candy hearts - so you don't have to spend lots of time driving around - at The Candy Warehouse.

Maybe you can write poems. That's great. However, there are plenty of us in the population that are rather poem-challenged. You can still present your loved one a beautiful poem! With this great website, Whimsies Online, you can generate a poem after entering things like favorite colors, animals, and types of flowers. You'll get a fun poem personalized to you! You might have to tweak it a bit, but it's helpful that you get the backbone of a poem. The fun doesn't stop there! This site has Valentine jokes, other poems, recipes, how to say "love" in different languages, and even how to make your own Valentine fortune cookies.

This is not your typical scavenger hunt. Your love finds little sweet notes that direct him or her to the next note until they finally find their Valentine gift.

A few years ago, I got about seven or eight blank index cards and did this with my significant other. On each one, I started with "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue..." and then completed the little poem with a command of some sort. For example, the first card I left in the kitchen. It said, "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I have some candy waiting for you. Go look in the room that is blue." When he got to the blue room, he found candy next to the card that read, "Roses are Red, Violets are blue, I have some chocolate in the other room. Check the room with a broom." That meant he had to go to the basement, but near the broom I had placed another card (along with some chocolate). On and on it went until the eighth card that led him to the bedroom and under that pillow was a necklace with a beautiful polished tiger's eye. I chose to give him the tiger's eye stone because it is a symbol of being grounded to the earth, patience and determination - all of which my significant other exemplified.

Have you ever been to a climbing gym? If you want a new challenge, you and your partner could "belay-on" and enhance that mutual trust of each other. The fact that you have to use a harness and help each other to climb and then rappel could be a really great trust-building experience.

If you are not a climber, you can try taking a hike. Pick a trail that ends with a view and break open the bottle of bubbly when you get to the top.

If you prefer to stay indoors, you could go create artwork at a nearby pottery shop or etch your names into clay. The object you create together will serve as a memento of your Valentine's Day for years to come.

You can go to a local bead shop and look for beads that symbolize your love for each other. For example, you can get a turtle, which symbolizes long life. You can find a bead that looks like a tree, that stands for "two growing as one". You might have lots of fun figuring out the different bead symbols at the bead shop. Bring a little symbol dictionary to figure out what different animals and symbols mean or go online to find out. It might even be fun to pick something you both like and then look up the meanings later - that could get interesting! Then, you can string a leather cord through the beads and make a necklace out of them. Get another for your love and you can both have symbols of your commitment for each other.

You may not be into poetry, but you can still make little love notes. Imagine the smile of bliss that your loved one will have when he or she finds a note of "I love you and your brown eyes" under the pillow. A "thinking of you and how much I love you" note found in the lunchbox will make anyone's day. For the car, nothing says "I love you" more than a note saying, "Be safe driving, my love. I can't wait for our romantic dinner this evening. I'll be thinking of you."

Be creative in where you stash those notes. Can you sneak in to your significant other's place of work? What about putting a note in his or her wallet? Other good places include: the kitchen, the refrigerator, on the television, on the bathroom mirror, on the front door, in the newspaper, or in a favorite coffee mug.

Most people know about Hershey's "kisses" in the little silver-wrapped foil wraps. But did you know that they have "hugs," too? In the same places where you leave love notes, you can leave Hugs and Kisses - leave a few with each.

Make a point of leaving Hugs and Kisses in the lunchbox, the car (but be sure it won't be in a place where they'll melt!), on the kitchen counter, by the front door, etc. Your love just might return the favor by giving you real hugs and kisses.

A stained-glass card is a beautiful handmade gesture of love.

What you'll need:

• Scissors
• Clear craft glue
• Crayons in Valentine colors: pink, red, magenta, violet
• Exact-O knife
• Wax paper
• Iron
• Valentine-themed paper or used gift wrap in reds and pinks

How to Make Your "Stained-Glass"

1. Get a piece of wax paper, about the size of a regular piece of paper.
2. Take the crayons and begin shaving pieces off with the Exact-O knife. Get enough to make about 1/4 teaspoon - it doesn't take much.
3. Fold the wax paper over and distribute all the shavings evenly (but you can play around with the amount and how you distribute them).
4. Take an iron on low to medium low (no steam!). Quickly go over the folded wax paper with the iron, melting the shavings underneath. The colors will swirl together.
5. Take your Valentine paper or used gift wrap and fold in half. Cut out a heart shape.
6. Glue the outer part of the paper over the melted crayon shavings, centering in on the most visually attractive part. Use clear craft glue to secure it in place.
7. Hang in a window when dry.

You can make some really beautiful pieces with this project. If you make several, your window can really come alive with dreams of love and sunshine.

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