Snuggly and lovely for no pennies at all - take that Clintons! (Valentine's Day)

Member Name: SapphireSunflowr

Product:	Valentine's Day
Date:	15/02/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: I had a fantastic night without buying into chocolates, flowers and champagne

Disadvantages: Well, there is something to be said for a lovely bouquet of flowers!

I had a wonderful Valentine's yesterday, without spending anymore than I would have on any other night. Having compared notes with some of my workmates today and seeing how much they spent, I thought I would share how lovely my day was without having to give in to the trappings of cards and presents.

Now, I'm not one of these people who are totally anti-Valentine's. Yes it's commercial-ised, but it can be a lovely excuse to make time for one another. When you're in a new relationship it's the best day in the whole year, but when you've been together a few years like my other half and I you often fail to make time - properly - for spending together. A day like Valentine's is a brilliant reason to stop, turn off the internet, put your posh pyjamas ;) on and curl up together without any distractions. And for that, you don't need mountains of presents (seriously - I work in a shop and some people are spending HUNDREDS on each other. Great if you can afford it, but I'm sure some people just feel that they have to).

I finished work in the afternoon, and then we went food shopping (that's not part of the Valentine's evening...!) We considered a takeaway but instead thought with out wallets and plumped for a lovely Italian-meats pizza (£2) and a melting chocolate brownie cake (also £2). I had a bottle of my grandad's homemade wine to crack open, and we scoffed all of the above while watching Gavin and Stacey on BBC Iplayer. We curled up on the sofa watching bad TV, until we went to bed early where we chatted and... hugged... for a few hours before sleep. We live together, and are both mature students, so we saved money on cards and presents - we *said* our I Love You-s, and baked some heart shaped cookies - using the store cupboard recipe I posted the other day and a cookie cutter I shaped out of a bit of copper sheet from the scrap box at uni!

I had a fantastic night and we only spent about a pound more than we do usually on our weekly food shop. I woke up a very happy girl this morning and think I showed my other half just how much I loved him with words, biscuits and hugs much more than with chocolates and presents.

Summary: You should only spend how much you can afford, it's how you spend your time that counts!