February 10, 2006

Top Ten Things a Guy Should Know About Valentine's Day

Beyond the flowers and chocolates

By Jeffrey Lo
Times Intern

February is here, and with this fabulous month comes that fabulous holiday called Valentine’s Day.

I know many of you feel that Valentine’s Day is merely a day where people are reminded of how lonely they are or that it was a holiday created by Hallmark to make more money. Despite these claims, there are definitely many things to love about Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day is the only day of the year where guys get to act like romantic fools for their girlfriend without feeling like fools because, well, everyone else is doing it too.

But just because everyone else is acting like romantic fools that doesn’t give you permission to act like a plain fool. To prevent this, I have once again created a top ten list for my fellow guys out there. My female readers out there are probably starting to think that my purpose in life is to rid the world of uninformed and unromantic men. Well, the answer is… you’re WRONG! It’s only one of my purposes.

10. No gag gifts
We all know what a gag gift is; I’m sure every guy has received something inappropriate from one of their guy friends. They are funny, but when it comes to Valentine’s Day, do yourself a favor and stay away from gag gifts. Even if you’re a boyfriend that is known for making your girlfriend laugh, she’ll love for you to be romantic for her once in a while. If you insist on getting her a Valentine’s card with an inappropriately dressed, toothless man on the cover, don’t make the mistake of not bringing another gift along to say, “Just kidding! Here’s your real present!”

9. Don’t be typical
This may seem obvious, but if I had a dime for every guy that thought he was a genius for getting his girlfriend flowers and chocolate, I’d have enough money to start my own newspaper. I said it in my last top 10 and I’ll say it again, watch Laguna Beach.

8. Plan ahead
If you’re going to give your girlfriend the intricate surprise she deserves, you’re going to need a game plan. On February 13, you should run through everything with yourself and any other friends involved in the plan. You should know exactly what is going to happen on Valentine’s Day. Your girlfriend doesn’t want to see you panicking. She wants to see you cool, calm and under control. Let me put it in man speak. The Steelers knew that if they were going to win the Super Bowl, they needed to contain Shaun Alexander. They practiced defending the run, and come Super Bowl Sunday, they were carrying the Lombardi Trophy.

7. You don’t need a lot of money
Despite what the commercial says, every kiss doesn’t begin with Kay. Girls love it when guys work hard for their presents. Build and paint a frame yourself with her favorite picture of you both. Create a scrapbook filled with the memories you’ve shared with each other. Creativity will definitely earn you points. Even if your creation turns out like something a 2nd grader made, she’ll still love it. In fact, she’ll love it even more. She won’t think, “Ew, what is this?” She’ll think, “Aw, how sweet, look at how hard he worked for me.”

6. Do the Unexpected
I know I already told you not to be typical, but you need to go beyond that. Do something she would never expect from you. Valentine’s Day is the day of making a fool of yourself, so live it up! If she cooks you food all the time, cook for her on this special day. If you’re a tough guy (you know who you are) write her a song and sing it to her in front of all her friends. It doesn’t matter if you’re a horrible singer… well actually it does. Stick to cooking.

5. There is no need to leave home
You should never feel like you have to leave the comfort of your own home to have a fantastic Valentine’s Day. There are plenty of things you can do for her at home. Staying at home keeps the event romantic. You could cook her a candlelight dinner under the moon if you have a porch. If you don’t have a porch, create a scavenger hunt throughout your house where she finds different presents that bring back memories.

4. Serve her
It’s time to put away your misogynistic ways. Suck up your pride and pamper her. Listen to the Destiny’s Child song “Cater to U” and do everything they say. Massage her back. Carry her books. Make her lunch. Do her makeup… actually, that might not be a good idea. Just make her feel like the princess she really is.

3. Get Her Friends and Family Involved
A girl would love nothing more than to have her significant other loved by her family and friends. She’ll know that you get along with them if they were in on the surprise too. Ask her sister to hide something in her room or ask her parents to let you in the house early in the morning to surprise her when she wakes up. Ask her friends to distract her as you set everything up. It makes it so she knows not only her boyfriend cares about her but her friends and family too.

2. Say the Right Things
When you and your girlfriend finally sit down and spend time alone together, make sure you say all the right things. Remind her how beautiful she is and that you love her. Bring up memories from the past that’ll make her laugh. Remember all of the little things. To your girlfriend, those little things are huge.

1. Don’t forget to actually ask her
Now you can do all of these things and give her a Valentine’s Day to remember, but don’t forget that by the end of it all, she should become your Valentine. All of these things should lead to the simple question of, “Will you be my Valentine?” Even if it’s a given, girls still want to be asked. This rule applies to dances as well. You still have to ask them to be your date.

Everything in this top 10 should help you make your girlfriend fall in love with you all over again. I know because my momma told me these things and if a mother said it, it has to be right.