The anniversary honors the commitment. February 14 honors the spark. If you’re making dinner, staying in, ordering take-out, or just sitting on the couch wearing pants, here are a few last-minute touches that add a little sparkle without turning the day into a sales race or an argument about effort.
I have long believed that Valentine’s Day is not a gift-giving holiday. It can involve a gift, sure, but the point isn’t to make a spectacle worthy of a jewelry sale. It’s a playful celebration of the initial attraction, the initial electrical energy, the reason you started circling in the first place.
At a certain point in a relationship, nice touches feel like theater. Most importantly good timing, meaningful words that sound like they were invented by someonein a relationshipnot a copier, and a little action of the recording service of the night and say, with your calendar and your attention, “the spark is still important.”
And as we head toward the Feb 14 black hole event horizon, this guide is built in hours, not weeks. Everything here is Prime-able or available locally. Think of these as amplifiers that add a little sparkle to whatever you’re already doing, little additions that make the whole night feel complete.
Use a quick photo printer and put your favorite photos in places to find them
You can scroll through your camera roll together, or you can print 10-15 photos and leave them in unexpected places, the coffee maker, the night stand, tucked into the book they are reading. An instant photo printer turns a digital memory into a physical object in about thirty seconds, which sounds suspiciously efficient.
Choose your favorite photos together. Choose where they play and not sexy. Choose the ones that highlight thedrawinstead of the ones you can put in the frame. That is love as the lesser evil.
Fujifilm Instax Printer on Amazon / Available locally at Wal-mart or Best Buy
Some new, high-quality glassware for your drinks at home.
If you’re having a low-key night out, you can make things feel a little like an expensive cocktail bar surprisingly cheap with better glassware. It changes the tone of the evening with almost no effort. The glass of the coupe elevates even the screwdriver into something that feels deliberate. It shows that tonight is a little out of the Friday night rhythm. You don’t give them a glass as much as you give a small party in the evening. At less than $13, that’s a solid return on ambience.
CB2 Eve Coupe Glass, $6.50$8.95
A low key, everyday wear bracelet
Jewelry on Valentine’s Day has a reputation for splash and drama. That’s not it. A simple chain or cable bracelet is the type of accessory that one can wear every day without feeling like they are wearing a holiday announcement on their wrist. It works as a supplement because it is modest, personal, and permanent.
One of the first pieces of jewelry I owned, and one I still wear almost every day, was a bracelet she gave me for my birthday, back when I still wanted jewelry to feel like me.
Left: David Yurman Box Chain Bracelet, Right: David Yurman Micro Cable Flex X Bracelet (available at Nordstrom and DY [locater])
Something simple, fresh, refined, and low ABV
A bottle of something like low-ABV amaro invites you to stay rather than stumble down the stairs. It encourages a second round of conversation instead of a second round of apologies. As a complement to dinner at home, it becomes a “let’s hang out” moment, the part of the evening where the pace slows down and you remember how you used to talk when you first knew each other. It feels curated and sweet without being showy or overbearing, which, to me, is an attractive Valentine’s Day attitude.
Faccia Brutto Amaro Alpino [stockist locater]
Premium candles but as an ambience, not a gift
Top candles as a gift is a meme. High quality candles that are already lit upon entering the room feel like you just dropped a needle on astate of mind. The difference is subtle and important. Lighting a few well-chosen, flexible candles before dinner transforms the room in about three minutes. This is a Hollywood dressing set for the same room the cat threw herself into this morning. Bonus, for the original playlist to fall, this one is energetic but ambient.
Diptique Nordstrom or Diptique stores [location finder]