An at-home Valentine’s Day may not have been the romantic whirlwind you’d envisioned or maybe you feel it’s all a bit corny and don’t normally bother. Either way, it’s fun to embrace the traditions, and the love themes in order to make the day special at home.
While you may not be enjoying a meal at your favourite restaurant or embarking on a weekend getaway, make sure you enter the evening with the right state of mind, an openness to try something new, and an opportunity to do something different. This way you can truly celebrate what is most important about Valentine’s Day: the love between you and your partner.
Stay in Valentine’s Day date ideas
Even though Valentine’s Day is but once a year, there’s no reason why you can’t start early! Spread a little bit of warmth and love around your home with your favourite scent or colour. Put out scented candles, wax melts or potpourri to create a relaxing and warming aroma in your home. Perhaps your hallway console table or living room sideboard could do with the romance treatment: a bouquet of red roses, tulips or lilacs to greet your partner or a place to display your exchanged cards and chocolates.
For many, red and pink tones symbolise love and passion and if this rings true for you, they are the perfect colours to add to your home in February. You don’t have to overhaul your home with these bold colours, simply nod to the occasion with romantic pink and red accents.
Breakfast in bed
Start the day off on a good foot and treat your hard working partner to breakfast in bed. It may be before 10am, but Bloody Mary’s or mimosas are not out of the question! Get the morning cocktails flowing, skip the cereal and burnt toast and treat yourselves to a hearty breakfast, think avocado on sourdough, smoked salmon and eggs or French toast with bacon.
Cook a meal together
Just because you’re staying in, why does a candlelit dinner have to be out of the question? The enjoyment of food is not just the eating process, but it’s the tender love and care that goes into making the meal – and there’s no better activity that the two of you can do together. Why not make pasta from scratch? Or go to the fishmongers for some fresh seafood? The options are endless.
Dorset 6-8 seater extendable dining table | @anniejo
Order your favourite meal in
If you’re burnt out by the prospect of cooking and all the pots, pans and dishes to clean afterwards, your favourite local restaurant would really benefit from your business at this difficult time. Set your dining room up as if you were out to eat, order in and bon appétit. It’s the easy, breezy restaurant experience without all the noise from other tables, overpriced bottles of wine and difficulty finding a parking space.
Have a picnic in the living room
Evie sofa | @barn_owls_and_butterflies
You could set your sights beyond the dining table and picnic in the living room among soft, velvety blankets and squishy cushions. This could even evolve into a fully-fledged camp out with a pillow fortress, wood burning in the fireplace and twinkling fairy lights to emulate a night under the stars (with all the warmth of the great indoors).
Opt for a tasting session
If you or your partner is a wine aficionado, gin geek or craft beer connoisseur, you’ll love the idea of bringing a selection of an alcohol producer’s most interesting selections right to your door. Breweries, distilleries and wineries now offer tasting kits for delivery, and some even come with the ability to book a virtual expert to talk you through their produce.
Learn a new skill
Along the same lines, many classes that you would typically be able to attend in-person such as pottery, ballroom dancing and sushi-making, have made their way online. These lessons are not just great skill-building activities, but are also something adventurous for couples to do at home. Maybe just one class will turn into a dedicated hobby for the both of you.
Parquet small bookcase | @casaoldcorn
Host a casino night
Dress to kill, think 007-themed, and get ready to get lucky with a night at the casino. This can be a really inexpensive, at home Valentine’s night in: place bets on household chores, cheeky dares and favours like massages and bubble baths to keep things light and fun. All you need is a set of cards, some chips and your wagers!
Get creative with arts and crafts
Invest in some easels, sketch pads and acrylic paint and offer to paint portraits of one another. Either inner artists will be unleashed and your partner will be blown away by the Van Gogh they didn’t know lived under their roof, or hilarity will ensue when your less-than-favourable art skills come into play.
Indulge in a spa night
Get the bath bombs, face masks and scented oils at the ready: pamper your partner with a budget-friendly trip to the spa. And it’s not just about the treatments: prepare chocolate fondue, fruit-infused water and new, clean towels for the 360 spa experience. Let’s not forget to keep your glasses topped up with plenty of bubbly – prosecco or champagne all round!
Shay tall bookcase | Shay coffee table | Gainsborough sofa
Play some games
Whether you like trivia, Mr & Mrs or a good old game of chess, board games offer a really nice option for one-on-one time. Paired with wine or just exhilaration from your competitive streaks, they can prove to be outrageously fun. Just don’t take it too seriously, we don’t want any Valentine’s Day fallings out!
Get out the photo books
If you’re in a long-term relationship or married, today may be the perfect time to to revel in past memories or photos from your wedding day. Or if all of your photos are still sitting in a digital folder, why not scroll through and pick out your favourites for printing?
Embrace your inner child
If you spend all of your time looking after your family we can sometimes forget it’s ok to just play and take time for yourself and your loved one. So why not take today to do just that? Maybe even grab the kids’ toys or Lego and just have a bit of fun.
A walk under the stars
If you live in a busy household, taking a step outside to enjoy the stars and a bit of peace and quiet might be all you need. If perhaps you can’t leave the house, if the weather’s nice and the sky clear, head into the garden and just take a moment to take in everything around you. You could even pop on your favourite song and have a slow dance. We’re sure the neighbours won’t mind!
Distanced date ideas
For some it might not be possible to get together in person but that doesn’t mean you still can’t meet virtually and celebrate all things love. Use your preferred video sharing platform and both change the background to a specific location and theme your evening. For example, set your background to a location in Paris and recreate the French experience at home. Music, food, the whole works.
Alternatively, some of the suggestions above will still work from a distance. Online class, painting each other, cooking a meal together are all still possible with a little bit of planning.
You should now be full of ideas, and ready to surprise your partner with something special this Valentine’s Day. We love to see how our customers have decorated their homes for the occasion, so make sure to tag us on Instagram using #OakFurnitureland with your beautiful Valentine’s decor.
