The Love Month has finally arrived. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Fancy restaurants get booked within the week, flower boutiques get busy, and people just can’t stop buzzing about their plans.

You might hear the usual dinner dates and give-her-flowers-and-chocolates, thinking that settling for the same plan once again this Valentine’s Day may do. Although it may be romantic, you might still want to get some excitement going on this 14th of February! Get on with some creative Valentine’s Day ideas, explore new things to do, and even re-do significant ones to keep that fire burning between you and your partner.

If you don’t have any yet, then you might want to add these few tips to your bucket list now and have them ticked off with your loved one this Valentine’s Day!

1. Relive Your First Date

Your first date may be one, if not the most, exciting memory of you and your partner. This signifies the beginning of your relationship and as they say, both are exerting the most effort to show a romantic side of them during this phase.

Why not recreate it this Valentine’s Day and take each other out on your first dating place? Try bringing her to one of the top restaurants in the Philippines. You can bring back the first romance and twitterpated feeling and wrap them all in one night when you take with you even the littlest details of your first date.

After all, did you know women love it when men remember details? Even the tiniest pieces and the ones you think are insignificant are always appreciated by the ladies.

2. Breakfast Date in Bed

One of the unique Valentine’s Day ideas for her that you can easily prepare for is a breakfast in bed. When your partner becomes the chef of the house most of the time, cooking meals for him or her will definitely send a lot of love. Not to mention rest.

With all the stresses city living has caused the both of you, it is sensible to prepare easy and healthy recipes to keep your green appetite. Don’t forget to include some of your partner’s favorite dishes. Add some desserts of your choice and chocolates that will remind her of the Valentine’s Day spirit. To add to this, you can make a 24-Hour Chocolate Day as these sweets are always associated to this occasion even in Japan, U.S., and just all over the world. You can see to it that every after one or two hours, you surprise her with a couple of those Kisses and the actual kisses.

3. Get Some Love and All that Jazz

Acacia Estates, Casa Real

Acacia Estates, Casa Real

There will surely be a lot of events that would give a prime on lovers during the 14th, and you should check them out. Some will offer a good party, others will give you your deserved couple-night and fine dining. See which fits you and your honey’s taste and don’t forget to call and reserve a table for two.

If you're in Manila, you need not look far because Acacia Estates’ Casa Real is offering you something you should definitely not miss! Love and All that Jazz on this Valentine’s Day proposes to you a good way to spend some time relaxing without getting too much out of your savings. This event will surely surround you and your loved one with a good amount of just loving and music, as Casa Real Taguig especially offers you and your partner a hefty buffet dinner with joyful jazz.

4. Romance and Serenade Her

Throwing expensive surprises is not a necessity during this day of celebrating hearts and roses, just to make your partner feel the love. You can definitely have a lovely Valentine’s Day without spending a month’s worth of salary or savings. Simplicity is the key to the heart and as a famous saying goes, “It’s the thought that counts”.

Serenading is one of the oldest but most effective ways of wooing your love interest off her feet. Not only that, but it is equally inexpensive. As one of the timeless Filipino songs asks, “Uso pa ba ang harana?”, you can prove to your partner that chivalry is definitely not lost. By singing a song or two, or asking someone to do so to your lady, you will give her the idea that you are always willing to romance her.

5. The Valentine Treasure Hunt

A scavenger hunt on the 14th? Why not! It is one of the most creative Valentine’s Day ideas that anyone can pull off, even when you’re living off a condo in the Philippines or sending out video messages to your loved one via Skype. It is simple and again, inexpensive.

Send your partner into a hunt for the series of love messages you prepared for and clues to where the next “love treasure” is. Have them hidden anywhere or ask someone to hide it for you. You can lead your Valentine into places that mean significantly to both of you, or to a date like Casa Real Events Hall where Love and All that Jazz will definitely happen this Valentine’s Day!

6. Book It

Acacia Estate, Casa Real

Acacia Estate, Casa Real

A survey on Your Tango says that a majority of men and women, around 50 to 60 percent, believe that a weekend getaway is a perfect celebration of Valentine’s Day. You can always call an agency to help you out on this, but if you are on a tight budget yet still onto that time alone and away with your partner, the next best thing would be to book a room at a hotel with the amenities you and your partner would enjoy, like swimming pools and spas with breakfast deals.

This change of surroundings eases the pressure you get from work, and even from home. A planned hotel or resort-themed getaway near you like in Casa Real Taguig will just be perfect night to end your 14th of February.

7. Relax and Get a Massage

Massage is not a famous to-do activity during Valentine’s Day, but it is definitely a must-do. Not only will you pamper and relax yourselves together by going to a nearby spa, but this can also inspire a regular “couple thing” that you can do yourselves.

If you’re on a tight budget, giving your partner a massage is a brilliant way to extend that care and caress to him or her. It can be again, inexpensive and very simple: do a little online research about different kinds of massages, just grab some scented candles and body oils, and take turns in massaging one another with some jazz music on the background.

8. The Path of Petals

Women are known to have a soft spot for romantic gestures. What you see in some romantic movies: do it.

A path of petals as she wakes up in the morning will start to give her that feeling of excitement for your day together. Leaving a trail from the foot of the bed leading to your dining table where you have prepared food is a good way of starting out your Valentine’s Day morning.

When you add some flowers and a written invitation for the two of you to an event hall this evening, the corny romance in all of it will surely get your partner that excitement and anticipation.

9. Homebodies: Uninterrupted Time Together

Who says that you can’t stay at home and have a great Valentine’s Day together? Love is best felt during uninterrupted time together. Staying at home with rented movies, delivered or cooked food, and a lot of pillow talks may just be the best Valentine’s Day gift you and your partner could give to each other, especially when work and school always gets in between you.

Turning off your phones and staying away from the internet will add intimacy to your “home date”. This will give you time to talk and communicate intimately to each other, remembering that “Communication is a must in every relationship”.

10. HHWW: Take that Walk

Don’t have events to attend to or places to go to on the 14th with your loved one? You don’t have to worry. That is what the internet is for. Google a map or recommended places to go on a date near you or just simply ask your partner to go for a walk.

Go on foot and when you meet intersections, flip a coin for directions and see where it takes you. You might end up discovering new places to eat in with your partner. In addition, you get extra time to do a mild exercise with your partner.

11. Fancy Up

Women love it when they get to doll themselves up. No matter where the two of you have planned to go on Valentine’s Night, dress up in your finest.

Dressing up and good grooming will make your celebration feel extra special. Plus, both of you will have a chance to see each other in that fine clothing; women will see their men all brushed up and men will see all curves of their lady in that tight flattering dress.

12. Capture the Moment

Photos preserve memories. Capturing your moments together on the special day will give you something to look at after the night, or even years, of your relationship. These will help you look back and give you inspiration to create better moments in days to come.

You can visit professional studios to go on a photoshoot or ask a photographer friend to do it for you. But it can also be really inexpensive and fun: simply pull out your camera or any device that captures pictures and click click click wherever you and your partner go. At the end of the day, compiling them in a photo album or journal will surely be a unique Valentine’s Day idea.

13. Under the Stars

After eating your buffet dinner at Casa Real Façade for the Love and All that Jazz, go stargazing. It can go as simple as staying on your roof deck or it can also be a little more fun and romantic by setting up a tent in your backyard.

This quiet evening, just like on those movies that women surely appreciate, will end your Valentine’s night perfectly.

14. Eat Out

Lunch is one of the things that people forget on Valentine’s Day. It is as important as any other meal during the day, so you also have to prepare for it. However, you don’t have to book a reservation in a fanciful restaurant if it’s not your thing or if it’s not within the scope of your budget.

A Valentine’s Day will be equally awesome even if it’s just a simple lunch date on your garden. Jazz it up by setting a picnic on backyard or at the roof deck of your condo in the Philippines with a good view of the sky and cityscape.

At the end of the day, it will not be about how much you have spent for the surprises you have prepared for your partner, but it will be about how well you have spent the day with him or her on this special occasion. “Quality over quantity”, as the saying goes.

You don’t have to impress your other half; you just have to know how to spend quality time with love and romance. Simple gestures and words meant for your partner beat extravagant surprises that are only meant for impressing.