Jeremy and I have a little tradition that I don’t think we’ve ever broken. We celebrate Valentine’s at home.
As two introverts who love to eat out, this is the ONE night of the year when we’re sure to stay home. Avoiding crowds is our top priority. Haha! And honestly, it’s been a lot of FUN.
But it’s not just another night at home. Here are ten fun (and slightly random) ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day without a dinner reservation!
1. Re-watch the first movie you ever watched together (no matter how embarrassing it is!).
2. Buy a “grocery store feast.” This is one of our favorite things to do! Go to the grocery store and buy all your favorite guilty pleasure foods for a hilarious junk food buffet.
3. Grab your three favorite records that have romantic meaning (or make a playlist, if you must).
4. Invent a new cocktail together.
5. Cook a recipe together that you would NEVER cook. This is a fun one for us. We’re pretty healthy eaters (at least at home), so an all-carb dinner is a TON of fun to cook and feels very festive.
6. Build a fort with pillows in the living room.
7. Build a fire, sip wine and pretend you’re contestants on The Bachelor.
8. Bake heart-shaped brownies or a pie.
9. Look through old photos from when you first met.
10. Play Scrabble by candlelight (and then make out, duh).
Here’s 16 Valentine’s Day Projects and Recipes to get the ideas started as well!
Happy Valentine’s + Galentine’s Day everyone. And for those of you who hate V-day, feel free to take out your anger on us… haha! xx -Elsie
Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Photography: Amber Ulmer. Photos edited with the NEW A Beautiful Mess actions.
31 Comments
Omg I love these. My future BF must be willing to pretend we are on the bachelor on Valentine’s Day. ?
I like to play Scrabble by the candlelight and hopefully win again! The list is truly sweet, creative and will evoke some sentiments. Of course, I will not forget those heart-shaped brownies too.
OMG these are so cute! I for one, are a huge fan of at home Valentine’s Day. Plus with a baby on the mix, it is about the only way to have some “us” time. www.dapperhousedesigns.com
These are all such fun ideas… that we’ll have to do when my dad is not in town #worstplannedgrandpatrip
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I don’t hate valentine’s day but I haven’t celebrated it…well, pretty much ever (not the traditional way anyway). It seems all the guys I’ve ever been with never had a romantic bone in them. I had a common law partner for 4 years in my early 20s and never got anything from him except on the first year when he brought me some tea and asked me if I needed him to be romantic (like dude, you don’t ask, of course the girl is gonna say “nooo, it’s fine” but really she’d love a special attention here and there). And now it’s my second valentine’s day with my current boyfriend. The first time around he hid chocolate in my sock drawer and I didn’t discover it for a few days (we had literally just started dating then) and now last week he to asked me the dreaded question “do you need me to do anything special for V-day?”……..sigh. And the thing is, I don’t need anything special ever……but I would love to be surprised with any small gesture of romance once in a while. Doesn’t have to be on V-day, doesn’t have to be more than once a year, just something that’s typically romantic you know (could be a single chocolate, could be a pillow fort in the living room, could be a dandelion picked up on the side of the road). Whatever, guess I’ll never know it.
Yes to making a new drink together!
I feel sad that I can’t remember the first film we watched together – I wish I had that memory! Our first date was to the cinema but it was for a screening of Dr Who so that doesn’t really count!
I love these ideas, I’d much rather stay in on Valentine’s than go out – all about that pizza and wine life!
http://victoriaspongepeasepudding.com/
This is an adorable list! ♡
My bf refuses to play Scrabble with me because I always win 🙁
Those ideas are so cute and lovely!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
Haha I’m gonna suggest to my other half that we re-watch the first movie we ever watched together, Juno! Or, for him it’ll be his first time, as he spent the whole movie playing with my puppy and basically missed the whole movie haha. That’s how I knew he was a keeper 😉
What a lovely list of ideas! I love the idea of a at home Valentines day, it would be so much more cosy and special! Lovely post and Happy Valentines Day 🙂
Mae ♥
http://sweetasmae.blogspot.co.nz/
These are all great ideas! http://www.likehanna.com
Super cute ideas!
www.petiteandhungry.com
Those are really cute ideas!!
I love this! Me and my guy are staying home too. I doubt we do anything crazy but, a night in and his favorite place’s to go Chicken Parm sounds fun.
Ooo great idea! Would love to re-watch our first movie!
These are such sweet ideas! There’s nothing quite like spending a night in with your partner, doing something you both love and just enjoying each other’s company. 2, 4 and 6 are definitely on my to-do list for upcoming anniversaries and birthdays.
Not sure what we’re doing this year, but we usually stay in (Valentine’s Day is also our dog’s actual birthday!). Baking brownies and building a fort to watch a movie sounds prettyyy magical though. <3
www.wonderlandsam.com
Such good ideas!
I hope you have a lovely day. x
Izzy -https://pinchofdelight.wordpress.com
Such fun ideas! They all work so well for normal date nights too! I always love your posts. Happy Valentine’s/galentines day!
Rebeccaetc.blogspot.com
Me too!!!!
xx- Elsie
So sweet!!
-Elsie
Where’s my Galentine’s post at?!? <3 <3 <3
Such great ideas! My boyfriend and I had already planned to do number 1 & 2 tonight and then go out for dinner and a movie tomorrow! He also volunteered to do diy face masks, such a trooper! 😀
I love this! At-home (or vacation in a cabin) dates like this are some of my favorites. But my partner and I had our first date on Valentine’s Day (I KNOW — who does that???) and now he always always wants to celebrate our ValeVersary with dinner out. I love holidays and romance, but I wouldn’t ordinarily be inclined to go to dinner on V Day. But since he’s so sweetly and staunchly romantic about it, it’s super fun. I always wear a red dress, and we’ve found a delicious local restaurant that has become our go-to for Valentine’s Day. Despite the crowds, my long commute, and the expensive prix-fixe, I’ve come to love doing it up for Valentine’s Day out on the town.
I love Valentines Day so much. We decided not to do anything this year because we’re taking a weekend getaway to Oklahoma City this weekend but I did go out and buy a fancy bottle of tonic water for my guy so that he can make his favorite Gin and Tonics just a little extra special.
My favourite is building a fort with pillows in the living room. Brings me right back to my childhood, and will be so toasty and warm this winter.
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Invent a new Cocktail together is an AWESOME Idea!!
Lisa | Travelblog Joy Della Vita
Grocery store feasts are my fave!
I want a heart-shaped pan of brownies.