Valentines help, it's never too late

What happened to the good old days when we could just drop a superhero Valentine in the handmade pink heart taped to our secret valentine’s desk? Or we could just give her a stuffed animal or a small box of chocolate and our intentions were known. It’s harder and harder to find that special gift for your special girl. If you are reading this now and just said, “OH NO, I FORGOT!” no fear, it not till Friday and we’ve got some time. So here are a few ideas for you, some won’t make it here before the love day, but a late gift is better than no gift.

To start with, you can never go wrong with flowers. So call John at Seaton’s Grove Greenhouse and he can hook you up with an amazing arrangement that will melt her heart and make you the hero. If that doesn’t do it for you and you need “more cute” in your gift, he might throw in a cuddly kitten and good advice for free.

Speaking of heros, you and “Your Special, (my Smeigel voice) can be the stars in your own romance novel. There are a few sites online that do this, but Book By You has a large selection of titles and genre — from two racing fans falling in love on the track to vampire romance and everything in between. Reasonably priced and quick turnaround is a plus. Side note: I did this for Christmas one year; it is pretty cool.

If online shopping is your thing, then do a search for “Ring Candles” and choose the site best for you. Each good smelling candle comes with a diamond ring inside. Yep you heard me. The one I tried offered a range from a $5 dollar ring to a $5,000 dollar ring randomly placed in each candle. So not only do you have the chance of buying your loved one an expensive diamond, it is fun waiting to get to the protected package in the middle of the candle and see her eyes light up.

If you’re on a budget, don’t have time to wait and are about to get into big, big trouble for forgetting again, it’s time to get creative. Make a giant card, using candy bars as the words. For example: “You are my Sweet Tart and you make my heart melt like ButterFinger.” The more, the better, and the bigger, the better. You can also go the real cheap route of printing a card on your PC, but be careful: unless you are really good with words or make it very personal, it could backfire on you.

OK, there is still time for romance. Here are the two big ones, which will require a little work but will be well worth it. First one is Movie Night. OK, I know what you’re thinking: “Yes! I have been wanting to watch that new Sly and Arnold movie.”

Slow down, Hoss, this needs to be a romantic movie, a love story. One that will touch her heart. But you’ve got some prep work to do. First thing is you gotta do is ditch the distractions. Send kids to spend the night with someone else, silence your phone and never look at it, clean the house before she comes home. That means clean it for her, not with her. Have everything set up and ready to go.

To go along with that, make her dinner. Her favorite. Prep is important. Find the recipes online or in the old family cookbooks. Set the table. Candles, wine. Romance her. Or if you are really in the mood for love, go all out and do all six things. Flowers from Seaton’s Grove, a candle with a ring in it, a romantic personalized book, a candy card, movie night after a romantic dinner. All this under $150. Oh, and don’t forget the adorable kitten.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone.

And, I love ya, Baby!