Frugal valentines doesn't have to be a dead squib

It's coming up to the middle of February and every man knows what this means. Time to drudge down to the best restaurant in town and empty your wallet all over an ungrateful sommelier who will then bring you the cheapest wine they have yet charge you the earth. Or is this just my idea of what the Valentine's sheeple seem to be doing next to the candle and flowers in every restaurant in town come the 14th of the month.

I have to say I have been known to fall into the lazy chocolate and flowers brigade and especially this year with my wife 8 months pregnant I don't think we'll be having too much of a romantic getaway as others may have.

Yet we will still love each other and not just on this day but on every day of the week/ month / year decade and hopefully for most of the century to come.

What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to show your love by buying things for your significant other, there are many other ways too. This sometimes gets forgotten in this crazy world of overpriced phones and under valued devotion.

So here are some other ideas for bringing down the cost (there probably will be some element of cost) of V day whilst showing your partner that your love is more important than shiny trinkets and red flowers.



COOK - to me the way to my heart is definitely clichéd and full of fat. But I do love a good potato dauphinoise, and really what's not to like cheese, potato, garlic, cream = yum. Recipe here, this is usually a side dish but I'd be quite happy eating it just with salt and pepper!

TIME - spend time with each other and I don't mean watching tv. Get out and about, walking is a great way to stir conversation, going to the pub can go one of two ways either its chocker due to everyone going on there v day routine or it's dead and the owner wants to shut early. Of course it's always a good idea to get the kids into bed early and have some quiet time alone, but this doesn't have to be limited to valentines.

WORK - not go to work, work at making something, grow some flowers, grow some vegetables, use your talents to paint a picture or write a poem. They love you because of who you are, use those things they love to show your devotion.

WINE - who doesn't like a little social lubrication and if your drinking at home maybe combining it with some COOKing you can get a good deal. Most bottles of red around £5 are pretty decent these days and sell for around £15-20 in a restaurant.

Seems pretty simple but so many people don't seem to put the thought in, like so many things in life!

What will you be doing for Valentines?