Valentine's Day Card Messages

Rather than relying upon the same old clichés and greeting card conventions this Valentine's Day, why not consider expressing your feelings in a more complex and personalized way? Make your own Valentine's Day (or Anti-Valentine's Day) card or choose an appealing card with a blank inside so that you can fill your Valentine with your own unique and memorable word choices, sure to hold significance for your special someone.

If this is a Valentine's Day card for a parent, why not take the time to recount a parent/child anecdote from the past that encapsulates a moment when you realized that your parent genuinely cared about and loved you? Recount this memory in specific descriptive detail and your parent may be wonderfully surprised, delighted, and touched that you recall these details. Remembrance and honoring of personal history will certainly hold more special significance for your parent than a prefabricated catchphrase of generic love ever could. Better yet, why not read the story of your special childhood memory aloud to your parent to share a special bonding moment?

If this is a Valentine's Day card for a spouse or sweetheart, decide what kind of tone you want to go for. Playful and flirtatious? Sexy and salacious? Warm and affectionate? Intense and passionate? Loving and very grateful for their presence in your life? Once you've chosen the tone that feels right to you, two bits of advice of the utmost importance are to be authentic and be specific in what you write. Don't be fake and don't resort to churning out the usual clichés. Your partner is not a generic stock character and the sentiments you choose to express your love and adoration and attraction to your partner should be just as genuinely unique and multifaceted and dynamic as he or she is.

Don't just tell your partner that you love her; tell her why and be specific. Make mention of some of the positive attributes and traits that make her a one-of-a-kind delight. Don't just tell your partner that you appreciate him; let him know some of the specific qualities that you especially value about him. Feel free to incorporate inside jokes, pet names, and other special little terms of endearment into your Valentine's Day message for your sweetie. Think about what you're saying and mean what you say. Make it real, colorful, vibrant, and maybe even frisky.

If you're the type of person who is usually more stoic and less lovely dovey, your partner might really cherish it if you let your guard down a little and expressed yourself in a more open and vulnerable way. If you're the type of person who rarely compliments your significant other's appearance, your partner might really be overjoyed if you took this special opportunity to gush a little. Let your honey bunny know exactly what you love about the way she looks/feels/smells. It just might make her giddy this Valentine's Day. If you're the type of person who tends to be rather reserved in the budoir, your lucky lover might feel all warm & fuzzy if you use the inside of your Valentine's Day card to express a few naughtier notions or perhaps include a special aphrodisiac recipe. Don't be bashful. Give it a try. It just might lead to a delightfully amorous Valentine's Day or night for the two of you.

Another wonderful addition to a Valentine's Day card message is poetry, which can run the gamut from sexy to wacky to romantic to exceptionally expressive in any number of other styles. One option is to try writing your very own original poem for your Valentine. It doesn't have to be perfect or publication-ready. Just be creative and concentrate on unique descriptive details, authenticity, and specificity. Try to stay away from clichés such as the whole 'Roses are Red, Violets are Blue' bit. Remember, you're not trying to state the obvious here; you're trying to state the specific truths that apply to your special someone and you. You're trying to avoid greeting card clichés.

If crafting your own Valentine's Day poem for a Valentine's Day card message seems like too much pressure, be aware that there is a whole world of already-written poetry out there for you to choose from. If your personal book collection does not include many poetry volumes, just visit your local library and spend some time browsing the poetry section for interesting looking poetry anthologies or single-author collections that you think might appeal to your sweetie. As far as love poetry goes, some people find Rumi to be very inspirational and affirmative; others' swear by Pablo Neruda for amorous passion or e.e. cummings for quirky charm. Some might want to stick to the classics, whether this means Shakespeare or a favorite Victorian poet; others might desire to represent their feelings via a contemporary poet's words. Perhaps you will want to seek out a whole poem to transcribe inside your Valentine's Day card, or perhaps you prefer the idea of incorporating snippets of poetry, interspersed with your own words.

To offer just one more specific idea, which might help catalyze an extra-special idea of your own, allow me to describe the Valentine's Day card that I created for my husband last year. First of all, in my ongoing quest to support independent artists, I purchased a card through etsy (www.etsy.com), my favorite online marketplace for unique handmade goods. I chose this strikingly beautiful Hummingbird Card from the frantic meerkat shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14442464

This lovely card was blank inside and I set about creatively filling it with my own words, as well as a special poetry selection. Some of my words were very specific expressions of what I love about my husband, but I interspersed these loving sentiments with something a little different. To fit with the theme of the card design and because my husband is a nature lover, I conducted some online research about hummingbirds and included some interesting, colorful, and exotic informational tidbits about hummingbirds within his especially creative Valentine's Day card message. To supplement the hummingbird theme even more (and more romantically), I included a poem by Raymond Carver, which is entitled 'Hummingbird' and which was written as a love poem to his wife.

Here is that plainspoken yet poignant little love poem in its entirety:

HUMMINGBIRD

For Tess

Suppose I say summer,

write the word "hummingbird",

put it an envelope,

take it down the hill

to the box. When you open

my letter you will recall

those days and how much,

just how much, I love you

Raymond Carver's poetic repertoire includes numerous delightful possibilities for accessible yet touching love poems, especially if your Valentine recipient is also a nature lover. Another contemporary poet who speaks to the heart of many nature lovers is Mary Oliver. Tess Gallagher (who happens to be Raymond Carver's wife and was the designee of the hummingbird poem copied above, but is also an excellent poet in her own right) also has a poetic repertoire brimming with many moving love poems. I could write about poets and poetry all day, but it is ultimately up to you to discover the right poetic content that is a good fit for your Valentine and you.

Have fun creating your own uniquely expressive Valentine's Day card message! I know I am looking forward to brainstorming up a creative new idea for my husband's card Valentine this year. Your very own words are always a wonderful idealand poetry might be a good addition, too. Most importantly, though, be creative, be specific, and be yourself.

Happy Valentine's Day!