Don't go out to eat on Valentine's Day, it's too expensive too crowded and definitely not romantic.
This year Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday, which is a pet hate for restaurant owners and operators. You see when Valentine falls on a Monday or a Tuesday that's a chance for some extra business, but when it is on a Friday or a Saturday that could mean a potential lose of business. On a normal Saturday night you have various sizes of parties 2,4, 5 10 etc but on Valentine it is only twos. So restaurants are faced with some stark choices to try to make sure they have a good business night. You can't generally ask 2 couples who don't know each other to sit at the same table; instead you try to reconfigure the table plan as best you can. It can greatly depend on the shape of the restaurant and how many tables of two the restaurant owns. The restaurant may also need to create 2 sittings to limit the time any one couple can stare wistfully across the table at each other. A table of two can sometimes take just as long to place their order as a table of four so the restaurant may need to schedule more wait staff.
Restaurants often feel the need to up the prices to counter act the potential under occupancy and then often feel the need to create 5-6 course menus to justify the higher prices. All in all the evening has all the potential for disaster rather than being a memorable evening.....so my advice is don't go out to eat this Valentine.
Game Plan
Get to know the food likes and dislikes of your date.
If you are a confident cook, plan a menu that is light and stress free as possible, no point in being stuffed with delicious food and so full that all romantic notions have been replaced by thoughts of a snooze on the sofa. Try to use dishes that can be prepared in advance and finished reasonable quickly to keep your time in the kitchen to a minimum.
Try To Be Original
If you don't cook all is not lost, find a top quality deli and buy a selection of finger foods to create a picnic. I'm not in the business of weather forecasts but with a little imagination it is possible to create a wonderful picnic in your living room if the weather in your part of the world is not co-operating.
With a blanket and a few cushions, some romantic music a bottle of wine, a few large house plants to give the sense of outdoors. Lying or sitting on the floor can have it's pluses if the mood begins to turn romantic.
Do's
If your not good at making desserts then why not try dipping some strawberries in white, milk and dark chocolate so you can feed them to each-other. Just make sure the strawberries and the chocolate are good quality.
Spend some of the money you might have spent on dinner on a gift for your loved one. It doesn't have to be expensive but it should be thoughtful, if it is clothes investigate their wardrobe to make sure you have the right size and it will also give you a guide to their sense of style.
Making an effort for your loved one on Valentine should not stop when you get married or have a family, it just means you got to be a bit more organised to whisk your kids down to grandma's for the night.
For one night of the year remind yourself your on a "date" not in the company of your other half. In other words no nagging, no arguing, and no discussing money troubles.
Don'ts
If you're planning to surprise your Valentine with a ring what ever you do don't hide in the pudding, or you may spend an unromantic few hours at accident and emergency.
Don't forget to remove the price tags before wrapping any gifts.
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