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Sealing the Deal on Valentine’s Day |
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Written by cougster1
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Friday, 08 February 2008 |
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(Editor's note: This is written by new Cougster contributor and PR major Maddie)
February looms over the heads of many – like how December has the countdown effect in preparation for Christmas. The days tick by, and romantics everywhere are pretty much either stumped or screwed.
If you’re in an “official” relationship, do you go the same route you did last year? You made it to the Valentine’s Day Part II, so it worked right? But if you’re in that “not really official but we’re together” limbo world, do you really have to do something? I mean it’s not like you’re “official”… right?
People’s expectations can get inflated on Valentine’s Day because of the stereotypes we’ve had engrained in our minds basically ever since we became acquainted with the Hallmark holiday.
Guys loathe it. They don’t celebrate it. They don’t believe it’s an actual holiday in most cases. Girls don’t understand that. They drew pink highlighter hearts around the date in their planners when they got them in August. Girls love the extra special attention they feel they deserve on February 14 and most of the time expect something. This clash inevitably makes Valentine’s Day suck for many.
Unless you’re dead set on the shock-and-awe approach, all you have to do is be sweet, but not over the top. There is a not-too-much, not-too-little, but just right way to go about this holiday. It’s like those K.I.S.S. books - Keep It Simple Stupid.
If you haven’t thought this one through yet, imagine you go nuts and just spoil the heck out of that lucky guy or girl for no other reason than you think its what you do on Valentine’s Day. Now imagine that same person is still around a year from now. You just unintentionally created a high standard for a holiday that a) is practically right after Christmas which you could very well still be feeling the buyer’s remorse from and b) falls about a month before Spring Break (aka primetime for saving for that Vegas vacation you’ve always dreamed of).
Don’t put yourself in that situation. On February 14, do something to show that you are making a slight, but noticeably not the norm gesture.
Instead of going to Papa John’s and using your Student Survival Kit to get a couple bucks off the Grab-n-Go pizzas, go grocery shopping and pick up something you two could easily cook together. Or instead of waiting for a table for an hour somewhere and getting hungry and grumpy at the same time, stay in and watch the Cougs stomp all over OSU (don’t worrying I’m currently knocking on wood). And maybe instead of buying the staple $5.99 bottle of wine, spring for the $8.99 bottle and you’re only about three dollars deep in this “making the night a bit more special” thing.
These suggestions could be used by themselves or all together. If you’re in for the long haul this could create that tender shared love of sports tradition that gets you two excited about something besides the 40 percent chance it won’t snow. Or if you’re not quite there yet, maybe this is just the sweet sentiment that’s needed to seal the deal.
Bottom line, sometimes it’s the small, but special notions that could help you coast through and maybe even enjoy this holiday that’s anticipated by many, celebrated by some and dreaded by most.
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