Unique Ideas to Make Valentine's Day Special

Want to give something a little more special than the traditional flowers and candy this Valentine's Day? Try some of these ideas or use them as a way to get you thinking of something unique for your sweetheart on this special day.

Try leaving little love notes where you know they will be found. Some great ideas are:

· In their favorite cereal

· In their purse or briefcase

· Sneak into their office and put love letters in their desk

· Tape a love letter onto the mirror in the bathroom or on the closet door

· For an even bigger statement write "I Love You" on the sidewalk or driveway with chalk.

Instead of going out for dinner, create a buffet of your sweetheart's favorite items, and let them indulge! Other unique dinner ideas are to have a certain theme. You could go Italian. A traditional Italian meal always includes soup, pasta, meat, ended with a salad and fresh fruit. Or you can do any number of themed dinners such as Hawaiian, Chinese, English or French

Is your sweetie a softie for romantic movies? Get gourmet popcorn and some favorite candy and settle in for an evening at home. Not sure what movie to get? Here are a few classic romantic movies: Casablanca, My Fair Lady, Singin' In the Rain, Sleepless in Seattle, Ghost, While You Were Sleeping, Pretty Woman, An Affair to Remember and When Harry Met Sally.

Create a Valentine's Day "advent calendar," or a "Twelve Days of Valentine's Day" special. I've done this before and it was a huge hit. I got a small treat or present for my husband for each day leading up to Valentine's day and then a larger one for Valentine's day. He felt extra appreciated and had a fun time anticipating the next gift. The gifts don't have to be expensive. Some ideas are: a favorite candy bar, love note, pen or other small item that they will use consistently, handmade card, a favorite drink, a coupon for a massage or any other item you think they might like. With many of the gifts I tried to come up with a fun way to present them. One day my husband went on a scavenger hunt, another day he found his gift hiding in his lunch at work, another time I hid the gift in the pocket of his pants. Other ideas are to get a small gift related to a special event in your relationship and then write a short letter explaining it. For example on our first date, my husband hit a deer (crazy, he still jokes about what a first impression that made). So I found a small deer figurine and attached a letter relating what I remembered about the first date.

The best way to create a memorable Valentines Day is to plan and make it personal. Your significant other will know when you have spent time thinking about them and those gifts are always the best.