Valentines Chocolate

thanks to Inhabitat.com

Valentines Day is upon us; is the look of love in your eyes?

This holiday is all about love, right? Well, yes and no. Most of the time, the way that we are expected to show our love is through our unavoidable consumerism.

What has my attention this year are all the articles about green valentines gifts.   Don’t get me wrong, I am all for green presents for your sweetie (and I know my wife is too), but the part that confuses me is that all of them are focused on buying things, not doing things. Even the green gurus can’t get around the consumerism.

I know it would be naive to think that gifts shouldn’t play an important role in this day of love, but there are other things that might be more meaningful (and greener!).  This year, instead of buying both chocolate and flowers, why not substitute one of our greener suggestions?  If your partner is anything like my wife, the best gift you can give is the thought and effort involved in planning a special day together.  I don’t want to give away all of my secretes (so this is where my wife will stop reading, and since she is my editor, please excuse the grammatical mistakes in the following). Here are a few suggestions.

-Try making breakfast in bed and then spending the rest of the morning there

-Go on a hike or exercise together (this gets the endorphins flowing and makes you feel more romantic)

-Go dancing

-Take your partner somewhere that they love, but that you don’t get to go to often

-Eat outside (if you are lucky enough to live somewhere warm enough)

-Make an effort to spend some quality time together, because there is nothing that will mean more to them than you! (That’s why they are with you, right?)