The best romantic gifts celebrate your life together

Before you go out to get the same box of chocolates or another dozen roses again this year, consider adding your own special touch to personalize your Valentine’s day gifts to tie them meaningfully to the life you build together every day.

When you are stuck for creative gift ideas, remember to borrow a page from your past, present or future. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or time consuming to make your expression of affection uniquely your own.

Celebrate the past

You can personalize a traditional gift by including a memento of how you met with the gift. If you met in New York on the subway, glue a subway token onto the ribbon for the heart shaped box of chocolates, or make a bouquet of a dozen subway tokens. If you want to keep the idea fresh, think of a favorite memory from sometime during the last year, and then include an object that reminds you both of recent good times.

Celebrate the moment

Do something that is about being together now. Find an activity where no matter what happens, you can both laugh about it later. Doing something new is a fun way to say you’re still growing and learning from each other. Never been skiing? Get lift tickets and give it a try. And while this is no time for being a daredevil, falling head over heels on the slopes might be just the thing to say that you are still falling in love too.

Celebrate the future

Do you dream of traveling the world together? Take the first step on those plans. Buy a pair of comfy walking shoes, or put together an airport friendly zip lock bag full of travel sized products that represents the goal you are working toward. Don’t worry if your long term goals are still financially out of reach. Even setting up a regular savings plan can be a romantic gift that shows that you take your dreams seriously as you imagine your future together. Write a note on a card that says how much you are saving, how long it will take, and what the next milestone in your adventure will be.

Make it a habit

On Valentine’s day, romance is sure to be on your mind, but your sweetheart needs affection and encouragement every day. It is important not to overemphasize Valentine’s day. Adding in extra stress to the day is not likely to have the desired effect, especially if you are a busy working couple. Take the pressure off.

If you wait until next year before you plan the next romantic gift, a lavish gift now is unlikely to make up for months of taking everything for granted. Make your sweetie a priority in your daily to do list, by getting into the habit of jotting down ideas for tasks that celebrate the past, the present moment and the future. It requires only a little extra thought and planning each day to keep the spark in your relationship all year. Keep the romantic gifts simple and schedule plenty of time to be together.

Celebrate your past, present and future together to personalize your romantic gifts on Valentine’s day.

Copyright @ 2008, Catherine E. White, permission is granted for this article to be redistributed and shared with others in its entirety as long as links and attribution are maintained. Catherine E. White is president of Llamagraphics, Inc. developer of Life Balance software. She and her partner Stuart have been together for 25 years and they have been in business together for 14 years. To learn more, please visit http://www.llamagraphics.com/

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