Ah, Valentine’s Day. One of the most loved and most hated days of the year.

I remember lots of Valentine’s Day celebrations at school when I was just a kid. Those days when you were supposed to bring a little tear-apart card for everyone in your class…but inevitably, at least one person in the room would end up with very few valentine greetings. And someone else would have a box overflowing with cards from people in other classrooms and all over the school.

Then there were the days when I got a bit older in middle and school…and I never knew if the guys I was dating would buy me something decent or just kinda try to coast by with their gifts. I can remember one year in particular when I spent about 100 bucks on some guy’s gift…and he didn’t even bother to get me a card. Needless to say that romance was soon over.

Valentine’s Day is a day filled with anticipation and an extra excuse for us to be romantic. But it doesn’t mean that it should be the only day of the year that we show our spouse or partner that we love them! In fact, maybe you should make it a point to make every day other than today Valentine’s Day…Go out of your way to make extra compliments, send a little love note during the day, cook a meal prepared with love (it doesn’t have to be anything elaborate) and so on.

So many people feel that Valentine’s Day, like many other major holidays, have become too commercialized. And they probably have in a lot of countries where they are widely celebrated. But that doesn’t mean you have to buy into all the hype. Back in 496 AD when Saint Valentine’s Day started, cards were handmade and filled with personal, heartfelt words. I know a lot of people feel that store-bought greeting cards can display their thoughts a lot more easily…but I am fairly certain that if you share the words coming straight from your heart, you are going to touch your special someone deeply. It may not be the most eloquent thing ever written, but they will know how much effort you put into it.

We aren’t huge fans of the holiday of love around here. We mostly just let it come and go. But on occasion, we have gone all out for each other. One year, I spent several days cutting 365 hearts out of pink & maroon paper. Then I wrote down about 50 IOU messages on some, and the rest I filled with personal words of my love and quotes I found online. Not only did I have fun making it, but the gift kept on giving all year long!

If you’re thinking of blowing off Valentine’s Day this year, just make sure that you keep the romance going during the rest of the year instead!