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cream. Enjoy your decadent treats for dinner (after

all, calories don’t count on V-Day).

30. Go commando. “Forget” to wear underwear to dinner.

Don’t tell your partner until you get there.

31. Survey the art scene. Museums are great, but your local

galleries offer a serious plus: On top of undiscovered art,

you’ll score free wine and cheese.

32. Say OM! Want to get primed for later? Take a couples

yoga class and learn new ways to bend.

33. Catch a concert. Check your local papers and websites for

upcoming free concerts. If you’re lucky enough to celebrate

outdoors, pack a picnic basket and blanket so you can dance

and dine in the same place.

34. Try a new ethnic cuisine. Even picky eaters can’t resist

pad Thai with chicken, veggies, and peanuts.

35. Go ice skating. If you own skates, gliding around at a

public rink is often free. Bring a thermos of hot chocolate and

marshmallows plus a sweet treat to share. Or plan to stop by a

diner afterward to grab dessert and warm up.

36. Build a fort. You remember how to do it -- construct it out

of couch cushions, blankets, and pillows in your living room.

Then, turn that fort into a love cave.

37. Play at being 007. Dress up as your favorite Bond charac-

ters (Bond girl and Bond himself, naturally) and meet a bar.

Pretend you’re two strangers meeting for the first time.

38. Play some nighttime paintball. You’ve got the whole day,

but darkness adds an air of intrigue to the game, and the post-

game shower is not to be taken alone.

39. Go outside. Make the most of cold-weather activities:

Build a snow-couple or go sledding. If you live in a warmer

climate, take a long walk on a new route you haven’t tried

before.

40. Get dirty in the dressing room. Look for some new

threads and yes, stealthily hooking up in the dressing room is

highly suggested.

41. Create a VIP club. Who needs a bar to dance? Load your

iPod with sexy tunes, from Kanye to Rihanna, and hook it up

to the speakers in your pad. Bonus points for hanging a disco

ball (find these cheap at stores like Walmart, Target, or your

local party store) to get a club-like vibe.

42. Start a V-Day text-a-thon. Can’t spend the whole day

together? Send your partner a steamy text every hour, on the

hour. By the time your honey gets home, the anticipation will

be at an all-time high.

43. Build a fire. Take turns reading aloud from a sexy book in

front of the blaze. The catch: You can’t touch each other until

you’re done reading. How’s that for getting a fire started?

44. Stay in bed all day. Play hooky and stay underneath the

covers? Prepare breakfast in bed, cue up an all-day lounge-a-

thon, and order in for dinner.

45. Visit another country. In your own backyard, that is.

Always wanted to go to Japan? Hit up your local museum’s

Japanese collection, grab sushi at your favorite restaurant, and

then sing the high notes at your local karaoke bar.

46. MYOV -- as in Make Your Own Valentines. Back in the

day, you gave a valentine to all of your BFFs. Grab construc-

tion paper, markers, glue, and glitter and make a valentine for

your sweetie.

47. Make like a hotel in Vegas. You can’t get sexier than

strawberries (use chocolate-dipped ones -- they’re an aph-

rodisiac) and champagne in a hot bubble bath. Hint: Keep a

bucket of ice cubes nearby for when things get super-steamy.

48. Spell it out. Write a sultry clue on the mirror in the morn-

ing when your sweetie is in the shower, like, “Meet me in the

kitchen” -- then surprise your Valentine with two mimosas…

and you in the buff.

49. Go to an amateur comedy show. Admission rates are

cheaper when you watch amateurs get on stage, and the come-

dic value -- intentional or not -- is more than worth the low

(or even free) cover charge.

50. Recreate your first V-Day together. Who said there’s no

such thing as a do-over? Do it the same way you did back

then. The only things you’ll miss are the nerves and over-

blown expectations.