While it’s still pandemic and minimum restrictions are still in place, many would want to consider a safe, secure, and private dinner date this Valentines Day. There’s no better excuse not to go out than this time, and there’s no better time to flex your creativity than today.
For some, this may be a more practical and safe option. But depending on your concept and preparations, this could be well more expensive than actually going out to a restaurant or hotel. So let’s see how we can make it more special regardless of your budget.
STYLE: SURPRISE OR PLANNED?
Some might still find it romantic to plan a surprise dinner, but long-time couples may also opt for a scheduled dinner plan at home, with a twist.
When planning for any surprise, the magic is in the execution. Leave him or her clueless, and without any hint. Avoid asking leading questions so the trick is to do it quite well in advance (or better yet, trust your instinct). It also depends on how well you know each other. If you’re the kind to always come up with surprises, that’s a bit “expected” of you. The challenge is to make him or her be surprised by the concept or idea (not necessarily to surpass the previous ones but a totally new and exciting one). If surprises are something new to you, you just have to make sure that the other party isn’t also planning on something… else, you’ll end up getting surprised, worst is – a no-show surprise!
When having a planned dinner date, you can talk it over as to what kind of concept you’d like to have – an outdoor picnic at the garden or terrace, a simple setup at the dinner table, or a wine and cheese date over Netflix in the room. The meaning is on the preparation and the little surprises can still be done like bringing home your favorite wine or buying something exciting to serve. If you’re planning to impress on cooking a specialty, make sure you have all the ingredients ready since you don’t want to be stressed out when you run out of pepper for your steak, or cheese for your pasta.
CONCEPT: SIMPLE OR ALL-OUT?
The very idea of having a home-mantic date is practicality. So might as well use whatever’s available at home or at max, buy inexpensive decors that will suit your concept: a candle, some flowers, and few add-on foods will be enough to enjoy a simple date.
Those who want to spend some money instead of booking an expensive restaurant or hotel may want to order food from them. This way, you save on preparations yet you will enjoy your favorite food from your favorite restaurant or hotel. Others might wish to contact some local party organizers to help you out in designing your dinner date setup.
AT THE END OF THE DAY…
What matters is you before, during, and after all the preparations and the date itself. Did it make you happy and fulfilled, and did you make your loved one feel special? Sometimes, along the process, when you find it so stressful thinking that it’s not so instagrammable enough… or that the food came so late and you felt your day was ruined… or even, the surprise wasn’t what you expected, remember why you are doing it in the first place. We try to show our best… and not show our worst on a supposed romantic night.
Relax and let the moment flow as it should be… full of sincerity and love. If things don’t happen the way you want it, don’t lose your cool… it could be because you missed something on the preparation (maybe a follow-up call or a checklist of what to buy), or it’s simply not within your control (delays due to traffic or food not at par to your liking).
At the end of the day, the whole exercise should express how special your loved one is to you. We’re pretty sure that all your efforts, great or small, will be appreciated.
NOTE: Nowadays, it’s not always the man who’s expected to do it ESPECIALLY for married couples. However, extra points go to the man of the house who can do this no matter the age or length of the relationship. We used him or her in this article to encourage either partner to initiate the preps EXCEPT for those who are still on the dating stage, the women should be pursued (EVERY DAD LIKE ME WHO HAVE DAUGHTERS WILL AGREE).
