All About Valentine's Day - Fun Facts, Ideas, Do's & Don'ts!

What do YOU do on Valentines Day?  Do you go out or do you stay in?  What kind of Valentine's Gifts do you give your sweetheart?  

If your looking for ideas on what you can do for your sweetheart on Valentines' Day, Valentine Gift Ideas, or just want to learn about some Fun Valentine Facts and Do's & Don'ts, then you have come to the right place. 

Valentine Fun Facts

• Approximately 110 million roses, the majority red, will be sold and delivered within a three-day time period.
• About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged in the U.S. each year. That’s the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas.
• Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased for Valentine's Day in the U.S.
• Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates for Valentine's Day in the late 1800's.
• Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.
• About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets.
• California produces 60 percent of American roses, but the greater number sold on Valentine's Day in the United States are imported, mostly from South America.
• 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
• In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned onto their sleeves for one week for everyone to see. This was the origin of the expression "to wear your heart on your sleeve."
• The ancient Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia on February 14th in honor of Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses. Juno was also the goddess of women and marriage.
• Every Valentine's Day, the Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet. 
• In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, and Italy.

Valentine's Day Ideas

• Romantic Evening at Home - Cook a nice dinner together, turn on some soft romantic music, light the candles, dance, watch a romantic movie.
• Romantic Getaway - Rent a Cabin or Hotel Room - Make sure it includes a jacuzzi tub for two. 
• Visit a local Bakery - You have to admit Valentines Day is all about the sweet treats.  What a better way to pick out something you will love. 
• Go out for a Romantic Dinner - Let someone else do the cooking while you enjoy the atmosphere of the restaurant. 
• Go see a Romantic Movie at the Theater
• Plan a day trip.
• Go Stargazing - Or go to a Planetarium

Valentine Gift Ideas - Besides the usual card, flowers or chocolate 

• Message in a Bottle
• Valentine Fortune Cookies
• Handwritten Love Poems
• Spa Package (for both of you)
• Sexy Lingerie
• Gift Basket
• Stuffed Animals
• Weekend Getaway
• Jewelry
• Have a song written just for your sweetheart. 
• Name a star after your sweetheart.
• Create your a music CD with all of your favorite love songs.

Top Valentine's Day Movies

• Ghost
• You've Got Mail
• Pretty Woman

• While You Were Sleeping
• When Harry Met Sally
• Don Juan DeMarco
• Casablanca
• Titanic
• Notting Hill
• Breakfast at Tiffany's
• Message in a Bottle
• Twilight
• Sleepless in Seattle
• 50 First Dates
• Moonstruck

Valentine's Day Do's & Don'ts

• DO find a creative way to say I Love You.
• DON'T contact your ex.
• DO rent your movies or make reservations early.
• DON'T break up with your girlfriend or boyfriend on this day.
• DO plan a date that is outside of the box.
• DON'T expect your significant other to love Valentine's Day as much as you do.
• DO take the time and effort to make sure your gift is sincere or creative.
• DON'T reveal the amount you spent on your Valentine.
• DO be romantic and loving to your sweetheart not just on Valentines' but every day.

Bill and I will be celebrating at home with a Romantic Seafood Dinner, Dancing, and a Romantic Movie. There are no seafood restaurants around here and I have been just dying for some good seafood.  I found some great deals on King Crab Legs, Lobster Tails and Shrimp at the local supermarket.  So we will prepare our own Red Lobster type dinner at home, including baked potato, ceasar salad, and even garlic cheese biscuits.  Mmmmmm... can't wait! 

I wish you all a very Happy Valentine's Day!