14 Ways to Celebrate Your Love on Valentine's Day

Plans for Valentine's Day should not be left for a last minute dash through your grocery story to grab a rose and a box of chocolates. Your gift should not be given out of responsibility, but out of love. Your gifts don't have to take much time, but should show your love that you appreciate them and that you are thankful for the time you have had together. Valentine's doesn't have to mean a gift of diamonds or a weekend away. Showing someone that you love them takes more time than cost. Here are fourteen different ways to celebrate Valentine's Day and show your love:

Cut out tissue paper hearts. Hang them from ribbon or yarn from the ceiling over your bed. This may seem corny, but having done this once myself, I will tell you that it was a big hit. The time it took to cut and hang each heart showed my husband that I had thought about our time together and was willing to go to even bizarre lengths to show it. Plus, looking up at the hanging hearts was very interesting.

--Total Time: 30 minutes
--Total Cost: $5
--Supplies: tissue paper in red, pink, and white, scissors, yarn or ribbon, tape

Make your partner a heartfelt surprise breakfast. Make heart shaped pancakes with a delicious strawberry or other fruit glaze.

--Total Time: 30 minutes
--Total Cost: $10
--Supplies: Pancake mix, heart shaped pancake mold or cookie cutter, fruit , syrup, coffee, OJ, a single rose, vase, and a tray to carry it on.

Clean up together. Plan a bubble bath or shower each other.

--Total Time: 30 minutes
--Total Cost: $5-50
--Supplies: Plush towels, specialty soap, scented candle, bubble bath, silk robes

Dance to your wedding song again. Dim the lights and decorate the room with lights and candles.

--Total Time: 5 minutes
--Total Cost: $0-10
--Supplies: Copy of your wedding song, Christmas white lights or candles, a way to play the music

Chocolates are always a traditional gift for Valentine's, but if you sweetie is watching their weight; maybe your gesture will not be well received. Try dipping a few strawberries in a bit of chocolate. Feed each other grapes, sliced melon in whipped cream, or another healthier option.

--Total Time: 20 minutes - 1 hour
--Total Cost: $5 - $15
--Supplies: depends on choices

A good old fashioned love note is always in fashion. You do not have to be a great author; You just have to be honest and write from the heart. The note can be as simple as a few lines or go on for pages.

--Total Time: 5 minutes - days
--Total Cost: $0 - 5
--Supplies: Pen and paper

Take your partner to an unforgettable site. This one may take some planning. Do you have a favorite waterfall? Or love the way the ocean kisses the shore? Does the sunrise take your breath away? Or do you love the stars? Maybe you could even "kidnap" your spouse to the spot.

--Total Time: depends
--Total Cost: depends
--Supplies: Blindfold, directions, maybe a snack or drink

Invite someone newly in love to share dinner with you. You can eat at your home or out to dinner. It may seem counter intuitive to invite another couple to share the day with you, but there is something contagious and restorative about new love.

--Total Time: 2-4 hours
--Total Cost: $25 - 150
--Supplies: Groceries or Reservations

Create something from your hand. Sometimes it is hard to convey how often someone is on your mind, but when you make something the time is shown in the quality of what you make. Use one of your talents to create something beautiful for the one you love.

--Total Time: depends
--Total Cost: depends
--Supplies: depends

Learn something new together. Plan to take a class together. Cook. Dance. Learn Yoga or a new language.

--Total Time: 1 - 3 hours
--Total Cost: $25 - $125
--Supplies: reservations at a school

Spend some time together. Play a game that you enjoy together. Sometimes amidst all the responsibilities, the fun of your relationship can get lost. Play Boggle. Go Bowling. If you want to spice it up a bit, play the game on your bed in some special night clothes.

--Total Time: 1 - 3 hours
--Total Cost: $0 - 50
--Supplies: game

Make a mix of memories. Create a mix CD of some of your favorite songs. Create a photo album or montage. Maybe your memories are tied to food and you can create a walk through history on a plate.

--Total Time: hours - days
--Total Cost: $12-50
--Supplies: depends on choice of project

Get away at home. While it would be wonderful to get whisked away to an Italian villa to celebrate, this is not an economically viable option for most people; but with a little thought and care the Italian villa can come to you. Use your home as a canvas. Brainstorm all the ways that you can create the dream location i.e. music, food, colors, fabrics, smells. You can take it as far as your creativity will go. Your partner will not only love the result, they will appreciate the time and thought that went into it.

--Total Time: hours - days
--Total Cost: As extravagant as you would like
--Supplies: Vary

Make a coupon book. Although this is a common gift from children to their parents, it can be a very thoughtful and possibly seductive option for partners. Coupons can be very practical, "Good to walk the dog" (or some other chore that your partner is normally responsible for), or can be very sexy (I'll leave that one to your imagination). The coupon book can be as simple as a stapled pile of papers or a complex as a bound book.

--Total Time: 30 minutes
--Total Cost: $5-25
--Supplies: paper, ink stapler

Most importantly don't treat Valentine's as just another day. Let your partner know that they are appreciated and loved, and that they're not taken for granted. Whether you show your love in a small token or a grandiose extravaganza just make sure that you plan something special.