10 Ways to Surprise Your Valentine

Do you want to TRULY surprise your valentine this Valentine's Day? Let's look beyond the breakfast in bed, roses at work and glittery jewelry. While these gifts are ones that are appreciated and loved, why not treat your Valentine to something special and unique?

My fiancé doesn't like Valentine's Day because he finds it to be full of forced romance. He has come up with some spectacular ideas over the years, so many of the ideas I give you in this lens should be credited to him. These ideas would really work for any occasion, not just Valentine's Day. Isn't it wonderful to have an excuse to show someone how much you really care about them?

On our first Valentine's Day, my fiancé lived 30 minutes away. The night before, he asked me on the phone what time I would be waking up, and I assumed that I would receive a good morning phone call around that time. Imagine my surprise when he called me... and told me to come let him inside! He had woken up early, driven to my dorm with an arm full of roses. (Boy were the other girls in my dorm jealous!)

If you and your significant other do not live in the same place, surprise him/her by showing up unexpected first thing in the morning. A single rose in your hand will make them thrilled, I promise!

If you live with your significant other, then they would obviously expect you to be around in the morning. Instead, show up unexpected for lunch, or arrange a time to call because you are "busy" but show up to surprise them instead.

This is a surprise that does not cost very much money (travel expenses aside), but the response will be great!

Breakfast in bed is a great treat, but it has become rather expected on Valentine's Day. Instead of going to an expensive restaurant, put the money towards a cooking lesson where you can learn how to create a wonderful meal, together. Often you will find other couples at these classes, or you can spring for something more private. Check you your local culinary schools and adult education centers for class options.

If you don't have the funds for a class, or there isn't one in your area, you can create your own cooking lesson at home. Choose a recipe, pick up the ingredients and queue up YouTube videos that will help you out with the craft. Try to pick a recipe that is beyond your skill level. Just in case, make sure you have a frozen pizza in the freezer. You will laugh about any cooking disasters in the years to come!

Have you always wanted to learn to fly a Helecoptor? What about sky dive? Or maybe you have always been fascinated with glass blowing. Think about a craft or activity that has fascinated your partner, and surprise him/her with the opportunity to try it themselves. Whatever his/her interest may be, you will be able to find a class on it!

For our anniversary on year, my fiancé surprised me with a glassblowing class. This pictures is of paperweights we made together during our lesson. Now we have a beautiful reminder of a day we spent together.

If you are low on funds, then you may not want to look for a formal lesson. Instead, plan a free afternoon around things you have never done together before. Whether this is sledding, having a snowball fight or exploring the local art museum, experiencing something new as a team will make it seem new all over again!

So if you go skydiving together, you will not be able to be attached together, but you may be able to be in the same plane! I went skydiving with a friend for her birthday, and the support for each other and the courage necessary to make this leap will make us closer than ever.

Make sure that you discuss this with your significant other BEFORE you book a trip, as you wouldn't want to push someone out of a plane who has no interest in going!

Sometimes creating something yourself is the best way to show your Valentine that you care. You can break out the glitter and create a shiny heart, or even go back to pre-K and make a card out of macaroni. Create a custom playlist, or even go old school and make a mixed tape. (Good luck finding somewhere to play it!)

3 More Valentine's Days

So I mentioned above that my Significant other is not a huge fan of Valentine's Day....

Winter 2009 was a busy year. I don't remember what was going on, but for whatever reason my fiancé hadn't had much time to plan for Valentine's Day. I remember him asking if we could postpone it, but I really wanted it to happen on that day.

So he gave me a card that said my gift was three surprise Valentine's Days throughout the next year! (I should mention that all of our gift giving holidays in a span of 2 months ending with Valentine's Day, so by then we've typically used up a lot of our ideas.) It was wonderful to wake up on a random morning in June to find out that it was "Valentine's Day." (He claims that this wasn't because he was too busy to plan anything... but it was a way that he got what he wanted while still making me happy!)

Now, this idea doesn't mean that you should skip doing something for your Valentine on Feb 14, but it is a great excuse to show someone how much you love them throughout the year.

Do you feel like reading a Romance Novel? These could be a fun Valentine to give to someone who enjoys reading something "soap opera" related.

(One of my personal favorites)

If you're like me, you have taken hundreds of photos with your significant other. These photos are sitting around, collecting "dust" somewhere in your home (or on your computer). Take these photos, and use them to make a fantastic photo gift for your significant other. Get a picture frame with multiple slots, and frame those vacation photos that are sitting in a box.

Or you can go to someplace like Snapfish and make a photo book with ease. Take him/her through the years you've had together, or include pictures of places or things that have significance to you.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Is there a chore that your partner typically does? Is there something he/she has been meaning to do, but hasn't found the time to do it? For Valentine's Day, do something that will make your significant other's life much easier.

Some Ideas:

-Buy a small photo scanner, and scan all of the photos in boxes from the pre-digital days

-Organize the garage

-Take over laundry duties for a week/month

I'm a huge fan of this idea. Scanning all of the old photos is something that most people have on a "to do" list, but never really get around to doing it. Surprise your Valentine by doing it for them!

Design a scavenger hunt for your significant other. You can make it so they have to run around all over town collecting certain objects with you, or they can search for clues themselves, while you wait for them at the end.

Don't worry, you won't need to come up with all of the ideas by yourself!

February can be cold in some parts of the world. Sometimes the weather may be so bad that you really do not want to go outside. How can you create a wonderful Valentine's Day if the weather ruined your chance to get the supplies? Have an indoor picnic!

You can use simple foods that you have at home already. Spread out a blanket, light some candles and then eat on the floor together. Soon you will forget that you're in your own home!