What do you think about Valentine’s Day?

[JustineBMumsnet]

We know that Valentine’s Day tends to stir up mixed feelings and opinions, and we’d like to hear about yours. Whether you don’t give it a second thought or love a day about love, please share your thoughts on the thread below.

Will you be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year? Is that with a partner or are you celebrating platonic love instead? If you are celebrating, do you plan on exchanging gifts, or do you plan on focusing on quality time only? What would make it an ideal day for you? And if you don’t plan on celebrating, we’d like to hear a little about why… do you never celebrate the day, or is this year an exception?

Thanks!
MNHQ

[Januaryisthelongestyear]

Commercial bollocks pretty much sums it up.

[Always4Brenner]

Nice little meal for me at home I’ll be counting down to 11th March this is part of it. No cards flowers though I’m on my own now Mathew Modine on dvd.

[2o23]

Once you have "grown up" you need to forget about Valentines day. Commercialised tat. Complete rubbish.

If you want to "express your love" don't do it on that day. Any other day will do.

[EzzieM]

Been with DH 20yrs. I would love to receive a Valentines card or a flower or a nice breakfast, something to remind me I’m a loved and appreciated. Like my Dad does for my Mum.

Unfortunately DH thinks is all bollocks and gets me a card about half the time. One year he even reused a card he’d given me previously and thought this was both witty and thrifty (he earns £200k+).

Every 5 years or so he suddenly produces a pair of uncomfy frilly knickers as a ‘gift’ which I assume means he thinks I’m getting lazy in bedroom attire.

So now as Valentines approaches, I find myself feeling rather depressed… Do I still give him a card when it’s so depressing not getting one back…

[IntentionalError]

Commercialised bullshit for people incapable of independent thought.

We ignore it.

[Spanielsarepainless]

We ignore it.

[Shoxfordian]

We’re going to a pub for a meal, and we always do presents and cards too

[AutumnCrow]

Commercial, plastic-producing, waste-creating, emotion-messing, history-twisting, sadness-making fucking bollocks.

[gogohmm]

Never been a big thing for me, I think of it as something for teenagers or young adults. Perhaps dp will leave me a card or some chocolates (he's on a business trip that day overnight and will be gone before I get up) but I won't be heartbroken if he doesn't. You don't need a special day each year once you are in a committed relationship

[Baconand]

Load of twaddle and a source of stress when you are single.
We might use it as an excuse to open some fizz and DH might pick me up some inexpensive flowers. Sometimes I’ll splash out and cook a steak. But very low key here (10 years together).

[mydogisthebest]

Well me and DH will be giving each other a card as we have done for the last 43 years.

We will also either go out for a meal or get a takeaway.

Some years we go away for the night (or couple of nights).

We both show love all year and often buy each other a present but we like doing something on Valentines Day.

My parents bought each other a card for the 68 years they were married which I think is lovely. They also were loving to each other all year round.

I get that not everyone wants to celebrate it but all the "it's tacky, it's rubbish, it's bullshit, it's crap" are not needed and are pretty sad.

[BarrelOfOtters]

Neither of us Like going out on Valentine’s Day, even together, too many couple who don’t look v happy. One of us will buy something nice for tea, usually dh, cards and I’ll usually get given flowers. Been together 15 years….or so.

[BCBird]

When I'm in a relationship I like to give and receive a card and little gift. Might treat myself to something nice.

[AllTheWatersTurnedToClouds]

it’s for teenagers
I’m going to the dentist 😀

[ohdannyboy]

Agree for the young and in-love it's great - but it's got out of hand. with being over commercialised

[Comedycook]

We ignore it. I find it overly commercial and cringe worthy

[Appleass]

@AutumnCrow

Commercial, plastic-producing, waste-creating, emotion-messing, history-twisting, sadness-making fucking bollocks.

spot on !!!

[mydogisthebest]

@AutumnCrow

Commercial, plastic-producing, waste-creating, emotion-messing, history-twisting, sadness-making fucking bollocks.

In YOUR view. Others like celebrating it. Me and DH often buy each other a present for Valentines (and plenty of other days of the year) but we don't buy plastic tat.

DH sometimes buys me flowers for Valentines but never roses and he is not stupid enough to buy flowers that are suddenly overpriced because of the day.

[Zwicky]

I think it can be quite cute but in my waitressing days I found it agonisingly awkward. It was always the least atmospheric and tense night of the year (in different restaurants- not just because I worked somewhere awful). I think it’s quite nice to get a thoughtful something for your Dp or cook something nice and it’s sometimes a reminder to do that, and sometimes a ltr needs a bit of a kick up the arse. There is a shedload of hideous cards and awful tatty, cringy gifts but the same can be said of Christmas, and to some extent, Easter. Also St George and St P hardly cover themselves in non-tacky glory. You don’t have to partake in the tatfest if you want to participate, you can just do something nice together.

[RedDoughnut]

Commercialised Tat Fest.

Best ignored.

[Scarecrowrowboat]

Tacky nonsense.

[Megapint]

I love it. After 30 + yrs together we still celebrate with cards & flowers. Take away & wine and some great sex. Just what we need in the middle of cold, drery February 💕

[maddy68]

Americanised fake day.

[Topseyt123]

@Januaryisthelongestyear

Commercial bollocks pretty much sums it up.

Sums it up perfectly for me too.

[hashbrownsandwich]

I am happily married and my husband is a huge romantic, however, we both agree valentines is just one day of the year, love should be celebrated all year round. We will have a nice dinner and a glass of wine and totally not fall asleep on the sofa accidentally.

I used to work in hospitality and it always amused me how many couples would come to the pub all year round, have so many moans and fall outs, yet they would go the whole hog on valentines, then next day back to normality.