4 days. That’s it. If you’re anything like me Valentine’s Day comes up fast and I scramble to try to find the right gift. I start the frantic google search “valentine gift ideas for wife”, realizing this results in the flowers and heart shaped jewelry and I am back to square one.
So as I start to return to this state of mind and think about this year I thought about providing some tips that I have learned through the 7 years I have been with my wife. Could help me decide what my decision would be and maybe help you, too.
First off here are some baseline tips to always have in mind.
Know your significant other and what makes them happy.
For Nicki she likes unique, thoughtful, something with meaning, and simple, nothing over the top. I could get her a bottle of her favorite wine, a bouquet of sunflowers for the dinner table, and a kiss on the cheek and she would be happy. But that brings me to the 2nd point…
Don’t take the easy route. Put some thought into it.
It would be easy to grab the first card I see, throw in a Starbucks gift card, and write a short “I love you” and sign my name. But the level of effort I take is the level of effort she sees. Don’t be lazy. One of the worst/best gifts I have given was a hand written Valentine’s Day card made out of construction paper. It was terrible. My writing legit looked like a 4th graders. There was glue sticks streaks because I decided to cut out 20 small hearts and my gorilla hands couldn’t handle them. But you know what? That card ended up on our fridge for over a month next to our kids scribble drawings. She loved it because of the effort it took me to make.
Don’t over think it.
There was one year that I was trying find a fancy restaurant that we have never been to. I couldn’t decide between Italian, Sushi, or Mediterranean and kept asking her what she wanted. In typical wife fashion I got the canned response: “doesn’t matter surprise me”. I think we ended up in a pub eating buffalo chicken wings and drinking beer. Happy wife.
Make is unique
You know what happens the day after right? She is talking to her friends or family and the obvious question comes up “what did your husband get you for Valentine’s Day?”. The last thing you want is for your wife to lie or be embarrassed that your last minute shopping resulted in her talking about her heart shape box of chocolates you picked up for 3.99 at 7-eleven. 
One gift that I got that will probably go down in history as a top 10 Valentine’s Day gifts was I recorded a short album with some songs I wrote/covered on it. This was something I always wanted to do but never had the reason for. Bingo. I have been playing guitar since high school but I can’t sing consistently in tune. When she got this gift, she was so impressed that I took the time and loved that it was one of a kind. Plus it is really funny to bring out randomly while we have people in the car and watch her blush as I sing Howie Day’s “Collide”. Speaking from experience.
Finally….
If you have kids get them involved too!
As fathers you are setting the example and they are watching every move you make. If you have a son they will know how to treat a woman by the way you treat their mom. If you have a daughter she will know how she should be treated and loved. Last year our Nanny had our kids write all the things they love about us and tape them to the wall in heart shaped cut outs. Credit I didn’t come up with the idea, but I wish I did. Those hearts are hanging on our desks at work a year later.
I know there are mixed opinions about this holiday. Some say that is a Hallmark holiday to make you buy random stuff you normally wouldn’t buy. Or that showing love isn’t always buying someone something, which is true. But for me it is a way that I can show my wife just a small token of appreciate for all that she does for me and how much I love her.
But it doesn’t stop there. There should be Valentine’s Days throughout the year. Showing effort, being thoughtful, being original or unique, not over thinking it and getting your kids involved can be every day.
Here is what I plan on doing so far. Cooking her her favorite meal, Chicken Parmesan, with the boys help, grabbing a nice bottle of red wine, selecting the perfect card with a heartfelt note reflecting everything we have accomplished this year and how our love continues to grow, giving her a foot massage with lotion while she gets caught up on this season’s “The Bachelor”, making a nice desert because she has been busting her butt dieting and she deserves it, and making sure she gets a good night sleep before catching an early morning flight. Boom.
Good luck and hopefully these tips help you hit it out of the park! Share what your Valentine’s Day gifts are.
HEATHFAMILYEXPERIENCE 