petitefrancaise

Mr PF is a miserable old git when it comes to Valentines...

I should've seen it coming the first year we started going out when his mate told him he really ought to buy me some perfume or something.....

If I'm lucky, I'll get a card he bought in the garage on the way home and scribbled "guess who xx" on the bottom. Last year he was put under a load of pressure from the kids because we'd recently moved to the land of Valentine madness aka USA. So I got flowers, a card and dinner - at a Thai restaurant that had given out "buy one get one free" meal vouchers and it was bring your own bottle. Food was awful and the place was empty. The kids groaned "oh daaaad! " and laughed til they cried....

This year I've bought the kids cards and told them we're going to do loads of silly funny valentines stuff all day. Hubby is looking relieved and let off the hook...

Is it just Englishmen? My french pals used to go out and buy super sexy underwear ready for valentines...

username.exe

I must admit, I did suggest to my other half last week that we needn't bother getting each other anything for valentines this year as we're quite busy.

Don't think she took the bait, though.

joto

Both of us just can't really be bothered with Valentines day. It's nice to get a card, but it doesn't bother me if I don't. Maybe in the very early years of our marriage I would be a bit miffed not to get a card or chocs, but there's bigger things to worry about IMHO.

scrubbedexpat097

We're going away for the weekend to stay in a lovely hotel on the bay in Rockport.

Sounds so romantic,but I can honestly say when we booked it neither of us realized it was Valentines weekend. We just have a 3 day weekend because of Presidents Day and we wanted to get away.

After being married forever I don't think we have ever done anything special for Valentines Day

lansbury

Mrs L told me a long time back to stop buying her flowers on Valentines Day. She said the prices get inflated by silly amounts and it was a waste of money. We just get each other cards.

kodokan

Passes us by completely, other than wishing each other 'Happy Other People's Day', if we remember. We also don't do birthday or Christmas cards, or even presents if we can't think of anything particular. On the other hand, if either of us see an excellent gift item in August or March or whenever, we buy it, and give it to the other person in a 'saw this, thought you'd like it, and right now' fashion. Tying gifitng and expressions of affection to a calendar seems silly to us.

scrubbedexpat091

We do nothing fancy, we both work this year all day on V day as well, so way too tired to go do anything, and we see no need to waste money on a card that will end up in the trash a few days later.

Sally Redux

To me, Valentines was for teens to send an anonymous card to someone they fancied. Not sure when married people started feeling obligated to do something.

Pom_Chch

Neither of us have any interested what-so-ever in Valentines day. Just seems like a made up, over commercialized day with no real meaning. If we want to buy each other a gift then we will do so when the time is right and not when a made up occasion says so. The time of year to really spoil someone is on their birthday - their one special day that will not be shared in a cramped restaurant full of other blokes who have been forced into falling for the con that in valentines day

Also, why does it fall on the men to give a lady a good time on valentines? The world is getting more equal when it comes to men and women, so why not as a wife or girlfriend spoil your husband or boyfriend? Particularly to those who insist on celebrating it...

mikelincs

I remember a few years ago going on a work related course, the orgamosers had arranged a meal for all of us, and yes, it was valentines day, so there were about 12 people at a single table, all other tables bsing for 2 with candles etc. We, on the other hand were on a free meal and free booze all evening. I reckon all the couples were cursing about us ruining a nice, quite romantic meal..

SultanOfSwing

Valentine's day and all other associated crap is completely pointless once you're married. I never bothered with it when I wasn't as well, it's just a stupid event thought up as a way to sell more cards and all it does is result in shops being later to get the Easter candy out on the shelves.

It's utterly vomit-inducing. All that pink everywhere, the obligatory 'look how healthy our marriage is everyone' arsebook couples, the Hallmark card company in general.

Meh.

WEBlue

In Japan, this is the tradition. Japanese women give the men in their lives chocolate on Valentine's Day.

Men don't give anything, though they do have a separate day in March to give gifts to the women in their lives--White Day.

Valentine's Day in Japan

Sally Redux

Exactly - you've already pulled.

When did this tripe start though?

SultanOfSwing

Not sure. A quick glance at Wikipedia shows that the first reference was made by Chaucer, apparently.

The twat ...

Sally Redux

Valentine's Day is an Environmental Travesty | The New Republic