VALENTINE'S DAY-TING
© Eve Hogan

Whether you are celebrating Valentine's Day on a first date, are newly dating or have been together for a long time, the key is to make the other person feel special.

While you don't want to overdo the romance if your Valentine's Day date is a first date or falls early in the relationship, if you've been together for a long time then a heavy dose of romance will do you good! In any case, this isn't a typical day deserving of the typical date. If you are going to go out, do something different, something special or a little out of the ordinary.

Webster's defines romance as "a tendency of mind toward the wonderful and mysterious, something belonging rather to fiction than to everyday life."

Romance is the stuff that makes your relationship seem special rather than mundane. While we certainly don't want Valentine's Day to be the only day of romance during the year, it certainly should be a special day!

Nothing is quite as romantic as nature: water, fire, snow, stars, sunset, beaches...

A walk on the beach can easily be substituted for roaring fireplaces or a candlelit room. A sunset cruise could be substituted with a horse and carriage ride through a snow covered park. Honoring all that is wonderful and mysterious in life is romantic. Sharing the silence of a canyon, a campfire in the backyard, watching waves break by moonlight, seeing fireflies dance in the trees, making time to honor the magical things of life and sharing them with your sweetheart, these are moments to live for!

Recreation re-creates relationships, so do something playful that stimulates and invigorates your sense of joy. The word "elation" is the core of rELATIONships, and Valentine's Day, or better yet, Valentine's Month is a great reminder to celebrate your love, or love's potential!

Ideas for Valentine's Day Dates:

• Go for a sunset or dinner cruise, or on a paddle wheeler.
  
• Go whale watching!
  
• Go for drinks or dinner in an old quaint lodge with a roaring fire.
  
• Build a snowman or make snow angels.
  
• Go ice skating!
  
• Take a picnic to a lake, beach or riverside.
  
• Go to an observatory to watch stars or climb up on your roof with a bottle of champagne to watch the night sky. (Be careful!)
  
• Hire a chef, waiter and/or musician for a private, but fancy, dinner for two at the place of your choosing.
  
• Do an art project together. Play with clay, write a poem -- each taking alternating lines.
  
• Go ballroom dancing or swing dancing (or take a class together!).
  
• Go to a comedy club. Laughter is great for a relationship.
  
• Rent a bicycle made for two.
  
• Take a hot air balloon ride.
  
• How about a helicopter ride at sunset with a bottle of champagne.
  
• Go wine tasting.
  
• Roller skating like you did in 6th grade!
  
• Take a Ferris Wheel ride.
  
• Go to a classical or jazz concert.
  
• Play Twister.
  
• Snuggle around a campfire -- even if it's in your backyard!
  
• Take a ride in a horse drawn carriage.
  
• Take a sunset boat cruise.
  
• Get His and Her massages at a Day Spa.
  
• Go for a hike to a romantic overlook/view.

Most especially, use your imagination! Don't let this opportunity to kindle love, or rekindle love, go untapped!

If you are thinking of proposing on Valentine's Day you can use any of the dating ideas and turn it into the perfect romantic setting for popping the question. Here are some fun and different ways to ask...

• Put the question inside a fortune cookie.
  
• Pull out a map of the star constellations and connect the dots to outline an engagement ring.
  
• Write the question into a romantic poem or hire a musician to serenade you with a song that asks for you.
  
• Make a website that has pictures of the two of you, asks the question in a headline and only provides a "Yes" button... (if possible show the page to her in person though!)
  
• Give her a box of chocolates with a ring inside one of the little chocolate compartments... (make sure she opens the chocolates in front of you!)
  
• Hide a ring in one of those "hide-a-key" rocks and pretend you found the rock on a hike or put the ring in a "hide-a-key" box and say, "The key to my heart has been in hiding, but it is now in your hands..." or some other sweet, yet creative, sentiment.
  
• How you decide to ask can depend on where you decide to go. Just like we have theme weddings, you can have theme proposals... If you are scuba divers, you could propose underwater on a slate... or when you're 30 feet under, pull out a ring that you have hidden inside a shell.

Think romantic (out of the ordinary) and creative, and the ideas will be unending! Never fear, however, few women would be disappointed over the sweet and traditional simplicity of "Will you marry me?" after a dinner date!

Single and wondering what to do for Valentine's Day?

Treat yourself special! Do the things you don't normally do for yourself:

• Get a massage.
• Get a facial.
  
• Treat yourself to something new.
  
• Buy yourself flowers.
  
• Take yourself to that movie you've been wanting to see.
  
• Call old friends to say hello.
  
• Curl up with that great novel you've been wanting to read.

Take advantage of the opportunity to practice random acts of kindness:

• Go onto an online dating site and send complimentary Valentine's notes to total strangers. You can even say, "I'm not interested in dating, but wanted to tell you that you sound like a nice person..." or some other kind words. You never know what will come out of it, but in any case, your love and kindness will undoubtedly have a ripple effect on the planet!