💕 Planning
for Valentines 💕
The Dating Mine Field and Avoiding Disaster
Whether you’re with the love of your life
or thinking about finding someone to hook up with this Valentine’s Day, if you
live in London there will be two things at the forefront of your mind this
week; the cost of a date, and what the hell to do once you’ve got one. Now,
something we all have to get to grips with is that your date might not want
to do the same thing as you. Compromises have to be made, places have to be
booked and plans have to be agreed on. If you have an I’ll-just-wing-it
attitude, this may go horribly wrong. Don’t panic, I have some ideas that might
save you from disaster.
From the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition at Somerset House, London
Before
you start, consider these 5 tips in no particular order:
1. If you are planning on celebrating Valentines with your other half, consider this: If your date tells you they ‘don’t really like valentines and probably won't be getting you anything’, they can mean one of two
things; either a. they are telling the truth and they really haven’t got you
anything. Or b. they've got you something as a surprise and he/she
doesn’t want you to upstage the surprise gift with something bigger and cooler.
Either way you’re screwed, right? Wrong. The answer is
to not show up empty handed. You did arrange this meeting because it was
Valentines Day after all. Arrive with something small. Something teeny-tiny.
Some 4 quid flowers from the Tesco around the corner, or a bottle of wine to
share, or (if you’ve been together a while) an identical pair of sweat pants
from Primark so yours stop being unavailable every time they come around.
Boys: Whatever you do, don’t get anything that says ‘Happy Valentines’, nothing with hearts, and nothing red. If she really truly hasn’t got you anything after all, she will be impressed by your gesture and I’m sure you will be rewarded down the track…
2. If your girlfriend has fake
nails and uses body tanner all year round, disregard everything I’ve said in
number 1. She LOVES to be loved and she wants a teddy bear holding a red love
heart, and some form of jewellery. You know this deep down; you just clicked on
this article to re-affirm this.
3. Ladies; February 14th is just
one day of the year. You don’t NEED to do anything. If you’re single, take this
day to celebrate YOU. If you have other sane and single friends, go out to
dinner or invite them around to your flat for food and alcohol. Go see some
theatre or a movie, paint your nails, throw a party or go to bed early. It’s a
Tuesday night for god sake; the last thing you should be doing is feeling
guilty or upset that you’ve got no plans.
4. Everyone loves chocolate. Just
saying.
5. Be yourself. What you choose to
do on special occasions (can we call this a holiday?) like these might not seem
anything special to you, but to someone else this can be a glimpse at the
future you. If you aren’t big on celebrating anniversaries, birthdays,
Christmas or other holidays every year, for whatever reason, don’t change
yourself for one day to make someone else happy. If you want to give someone
the best gift of all, give them the opportunity to see the real you. If their views
to these types of events are a polar opposite to yours, maybe it’s best to find
out now rather than after 3 years of telling yourself ‘he must have forgotten
but next year will be better’. Take this tacky commercial excuse for a holiday,
and show them what you love about life.
Flowers, Chocolate and Gin at home. Perfect
Budget:
£0 | Thrifty Romance
Room detail, London
I get ya, you’ve heard of this Valentines
thing but you aren’t convinced. You aren’t sure if you even want to leave your
flat with so much love in the air, and you definitely don’t wanna spend any
money. Not even on yourself. Scrape those freezer chips out from the very back
of your deep freeze and find a good movie to watch. Odds are you’ve been working
all day and it will be dark and cold by the time you get home. Splash out by
turning the heating on for an hour or so to make your house feel cozy, put on
some music and check the cupboards for alcohol. Sounds like a good date to me…
just make sure the flat mates are out.
Budget:
£10 | Light
Up Your Life
Public Walkway between Kings Cross/St Pancras Station and Granary Square, London
For an almost expense free date, check out
London’s Neon Side. The expenses here revolve mostly around the cost of
transport. Wrap up as warm as possible (ladies click here for tips on how to
look good while staying warm) and spend the evening on a dusky ticky-tour of
London’s lights. Anywhere central is good so you can see the London eye walk
along the iconically romantic south bank. The birdcage swing at Kings Cross
station is also tré romantic. Light up fountains can be found at Granary Square,
Trafalgar Square and by the more London buildings in Southwark. London Bridges
also light up beautifully at night, as well as buildings such as the historic buildings in Greenwich, the Shard and
the Walkie-Talkie. Streets full of lights are all around the Carnaby Street
area, with permanent installations such as Shadia Walking in soho. You may even
have some money left after all that to buy your date a coffee to warm up!
Budget:
£20 | Culture
Vultures
The Barbican Apartments, London
London is full of free Museums and Art
Galleries, take your special him or her to a place of beauty, and grab a drink
afterwards. My favourites include The Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery,
V&A, Natural History Museum, Barbican, Sir John Soane’s Museum and Leighton
House Museum. Also try the British Museum, National Gallery and the Museum of
London if you don’t mind the crowds of tourists.
Budget:
£50 | Activity
Central
The Veils live in Concert at Koko, London
Go-Carting, 10-pin bowling, comedy night, roller-skating,
London eye, crazy golf, hotel stay, train journey, ArcelorMittal Orbit (that
big red slide at Stratford), wine tasting, jet boating on the Thames, adults
only ball pit bar, gig tickets, theatre, opera… The mid range world is your
oyster…
Budget:
£100 | The foodie
Date
Sushi at Fung Sushi, Borough, London
One way to spend a lot of money is a short space of time is a fancy dinner. Nobu, Dishoom, Cocochan, Sketch, Ottolenghi… Just remember to book. No one likes walking through central London in the rain in heels to be told there’s no room for you in the warm and delicious-smelling restaurant of your dreams.
Budget:
unlimited | Next Level
Love
Me outside The Louvre Museum, Paris
You’ve got an unlimited budget and a date you
want to impress? You show off. Obviously you need to go
international. The continent is calling and the weekend is yours. You’ll
impress your other half, just make sure you want the attention – with a date
like this you’re hot property! Be cliché and book a hotel in Paris, or be exciting and suggest somewhere that it's still summer...
___________
No matter who you're with or what you do, don't forget to laugh!
Has this given you some inspiration? Enjoy
your dates!
x G x
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