It’s okay to admit that you take your partner for granted. We often forget how love began simply because it’s been so long. This Valentine’s Day shows your partner that you do truly love them by giving them more than a heart-shaped box of chocolates or flowers. Because while all of that is nice, doing something extra such as giving them a unique gift that not only says “I love you” but rather “I love you more today than the first day we met.” We’ve featured some really special gifts that will make your partner feel loved like never before.
A group Valentine’s Day party.
Unsplash
Who says Valentine’s Day has to be just between two people? Instead of having a dreadful dinner for two at an overcrowded restaurant, host a party with other couples and celebrate love with a real bash. It’ll be a lot more fun, we can assure you.
A scavenger hunt.
YouTube
If you’ve seen the movie “Amelie,” you’ll know there’s lovely scavenger hunt seen in which the protagonist leaves a trail of clues for the man she desires. Think about that kind of concept for your partner. Leave notes and questions with clues to the next location that will lead them back to you.
Personalized book for couples.
Instagram/@lovebookonline
Do you always get asked, “so how did you two meet?” Instead of retelling the story, show them the actual story through LoveBook — a printed book with your personalized story. Go to lovebookonline.com to submit your story and get a published book with the story of how you met.
Recreate the day you met (or your first date).
Unsplash
For those that have been together for a while, have you ever gone back to that one restaurant where you two had your first date? This Valentine’s Day goes back to that city, that bar, or wherever your first date was to remember how it all started.
Personalized mixtape pillow.
uncommongoods.com
No one makes mixtapes anymore, which sucks so bad because that was one of the way’s you could tell your crush that you liked them. For $58 you can lay your pretty little head on a soft mixtape made just for you and your love. Bonus points for listening to your favorite tunes while using the pillow.
The Lovebox Spinning Heart Messenger Box.
instagram/@lovebox_love
This personalized “love box” is basically like a regular text message only it’s more special and saved in a special love box. Get it? You buy the love box, send a message via the app, and your person will get an indication (via a spinning heart) that they have a message. They open it, and bam. Love delivered, just go to en.lovebox.love.
A personalized map that shows your two worlds coming together.
Etsy
These days, it kind of rare that two people fall in love who happen to be from the same area. Thanks to social media, people from all over the world are coming together all in the name of love. Commemorate these two worlds coming by framing your individual cities, or hoods, or countries in one picture. You can purchase them on Etsy for $45.
Hire a mariachi to serenade your love.
Unsplash
“Ay, ay, ay, ay/ Canta y no llores,” imagine hearing those words from a mariachi that is hired to sing just for you. That is the ultimate gift that no one would expect.
Give them the moon.
Amazon
The next time your loved one says “I love you to the moon and back” respond by saying “Oh yeah? Prove it!” Now you can. For $20 you can get a 3D LED dual color light in the shape of the moon that will light up any room. And more importantly your lover’s heart.
Luminous dice game for a little sexy time.
Amazon
Let’s get real for a second. Your sex life probably needs a jumpstart, and that’s only natural especially for a couple that’s been together forever. These dice will help you the boost you need. You just can’t beat a $13 deal on Amazon.
Go on a long weekend getaway staycation.
Instagram/@curiocollection
If you truly can’t get away for a trip somewhere abroad, why not just take a break for a couple of days without getting on a plane. Don’t you deserve at least a night away at a grand hotel? We suggest visiting a Curio Collection hotel (they have 74 beautiful hotels all over the world and probably near you) where it will feel like you’re in a world far far away.
Play the Fog of Love.
Facebook/Fogoflove
Love is magical, sometimes even not of this world. Fog of Love — a board game — that tells a “powerful, cinematic love story that will leave a lasting impression and the best way to experience any great movie is to not know how it will end, so we won’t give any spoilers away.” Now that’s a game we can get into, especially on Valentine’s Day.
One book for all of your special meals.
Amazon
One of the things couples do more than anything is else is go out to eat. But are their certain meal experiences that stick out more than others? Certianly! That’s why this book — Menus: A Book for Your Meals and Memories — is a perfect gift. You will be able to keep forever those special meals and recipes that you can pass down your children, and be remembered forever. The book is available for $14 on Amazon.
Forget tattooing your lover’s name, get a personalized ring instead.
Amazon
We know you’re in love, but do you really have to get a tattoo to prove it? Nah. Get a cute tiny ring with your love’s name on it instead! These rings are available on Amazon for just $24.
A rain shower head will change your life.
signaturehardware.com
There’s a reason why we people love going to hotels, one of them being the bathroom. Bring a little piece of heaven with you and present your partner with this incredible gift that will transform both of your lives.
Talk to each other.
Amazon
We know it’s hard to talk to your partner after years of being together, but TableTopics can change that. They have a TableTopic for all kinds of situations including for family and friends, but for Valentine’s Day, we suggest you get the one for couples. It’s just $25 on Amazon.
A personalized liquor bottle.
Amazon
If your partner likes a fine glass of liquor, this personalized gift on Amazon for $45 is perfect for them.
Get to know each other again as if you were on a first date
iciclesgame.com
Is it possible to break the ice with someone you have been with forever? Yes, in fact, it might be harder than if it was the first date. The Icicles Game is a fun question game that will help you learn about your lover all over again.
Hire a cleaning crew for a month.
Unsplash
Sometimes the everyday stuff gets in the way of really enjoying life and your partner. Why not give them a treat of no work at home? If that doesn’t say “I love you” nothing will.
Get them a celebrity shoutout.
cameo.com
For as little as $50 your partner’s favorite B-list celebrity will send them a special message right on their phone. We did this for our loved one, and believe me they cannot stop telling all of their friends about this unique gift.
After weeks of speculation, Karol G and Anuel AA have confirmed their breakup. Anuel was the first to reveal that the reggaeton power couple split up four months ago.
Anuel said that his relationship with Karol simply ran its course.
On Tuesday night, Anuel AA hosted an Instagram live where he revealed that he and Karol G called it quits on their relationship. To the surprise of his fans, the Puerto Rican rapper said they actually broke up around four months ago. He further explained that the split was just “something that happens in life.”
With rumors of cheating breaking them up, Anuel AA also said that was not the case and no “third party” was involved. He mentioned the split was amicable and there’s no bad blood between him and his ex-fiancée, Karol G.
After Anuel AA went live, Karol G posted a few messages to her Instagram story about the breakup. The Colombian reggaetonera reiterated that she ended on good terms with Anuel. That’s why they were spotted together at her recent KG0516 album party in Miami.
“If just accepting it is hard enough, imagine having to do it in front of millions of people,” Karol G wrote. “For a long time, we tried to keep our relationship away from social media in order to take care of ourselves. We have never used our relationship for marketing purposes. Not today. Not even 3 years ago.”
Her song “El Barco” appeared to hint at the split.
On her KG0516 album, Karol G sang about heartbreak in the song “El Barco.” There was speculation that she was singing about her breakup with Anuel.
“Thank you all for joining us in our crazy antics,” she continued. “I love you, Emmanuel. My gratitude to you, your family, and everything we lived, grew, and learned together is infinite.”
Todos "ayyy el tatuajeee" yo creo que Anuel no se lo va a quitar busquen en youtube "anuel habla del tatto" y verán ya que Karol dice que el cuerpo es un diario donde se plasma lo mas importante!!!!!❤ pic.twitter.com/yX0JDrlecl
Anuel AA and Karol G met in 2018 while filming the music video for their collaboration “Culpables.” Anuel has a whole back tattoo of one of his favorite photos with Karol.
So often we hear the words “never settle” from our own mamas and father. Never settle. Not on our dreams and hopes, not on our hearts’ most desires. And while, oftentimes, settling isn’t an option for those without certain privileges a recent post on Reddit is highlighting what happens when you DO settle in love. When you settle for someone who isn’t The One.
Like Mary Fiore almost did for Massimo in The Wedding Planner, these women settled on love.
“Finally ended it just under three years ago, after a decade of on and off. Now living a happy life with someone, who is definitely the one.”- messyaurora
“Similar situation. Spent many years in a meh relationship, on and off. Finally ended it and now I am very much in love in a healthy relationship. Ladies, don’t settle! On the long run is better to change.”- Messageinabottle17
“Decently well. We have some communication issues to work on (as well as emotional maturity on my partner’s side), but otherwise it’s functional and I’m mostly happy.”-GoddessOfPlants
“I’m kinda in your camp. I don’t know if I really fit in this question. Let’s just say… I had doubts. Serious ones. But I also thought he had strong potential to be a really great dude for me and I knew I loved him so I married him 6 months after we met.
3 years in we’re still going strong. We started a business together, got two dogs, went through infertility together, moved into a new house that were in the process of turning into our dream home. He’s really worked on fixing the parts I had doubts about, and we’ve really worked on our communication. I also work on not being so demanding and being better about my admittedly short temper. We still have struggles from time to time but every month gets easier.
He’s kinda like Captain America. He isn’t a perfect husband but he’s a good man, and that makes him work to be the perfect husband and as long as he’s putting in the effort (and I am too!) we’ll make it.”- frostysbox
“I kinda relate. I love my significant other and I know he loves me but we clash and see life in two different ways. He is more down to earth and stays to himself while I may be more likely to be caught in a spontaneous adventure. We do go well together though and coexist well. Sex is far and in between but I have adapted to that. We do show random appreciations, or obviously celebrate birthdays and milestones together but Sometimes we seem more like roommates than lovers- but it isn’t a bad thing. Being friends with your significant other over romantic isn’t the worst thing on the world is it?”-idk_about_this_J
“I will be amicably divorced and officially single on 4/19/21. It’s insane to think I’ll be single again after 13 years. I’ve been living alone for the last year and once I get my second dose in a week or two I will be back on the dating scene (that is scary!)
But overall, I’m so excited to see what comes next!”- EarthtoLaurenne
“Same. I thought my ex-husband was a good person. Turns out he wasn’t. I was finally able to get away 9 years ago. Soon after realizing that I deserve better I did meet someone who I knew I was meant to be with and we have been happy ever since.”-princessducky11
“Same. I never thought he was “the one,” but I would have stayed with him till death do us part had he remained a good, kind, caring person. I think my “one” was an ex from a while back, but I was unwell and he had a drinking problem. Perhaps I will meet another one in the future or perhaps I will find a man who stays good.”- DeSterrennacht
“This is what I’m trying to do. We have a cat that I absolutely adore and mostly care for and I’m terrified that I might have to leave her with him, which is honestly one of the main reasons I haven’t been able to move forward with this.”-Selthien
“It became clear after 8 months in that he never wanted a relationship, just a girlfriend as a sign of successful “adulting” and to not show up at family functions alone anymore. All the time, I was completely committed to the relationship even though I knew he wasn’t the one from the get-go.
My saving grace was that I found my dream job roughly 2 hours away from where we lived (we lived in the same town, just not together). I was eager to move away and finally pull the plug. I still would have broken up with him anyway, but I was glad to be moving far (enough) away.
Two weeks before I officially ended it, he told me that if one of his friends was dating someone like me, he would tell him to run and never look back. So I quoted this in the breakup and asked him what exactly he thought would happen? If he felt that I would want to stay after being told something like this? He said, and I kid you not, that he thought that by saying this to me that I would try to be a better girlfriend
The audacity.
Edit: he was otherwise a decent guy, but he wasn’t honest with himself. He does not want to make the effort to build and maintain a relationship. My interactions with his family especially made me realise that there was some pressure or expectation for him to be in a relationship and have children. But I never got the idea that this was what he wanted for himself.”- Watto_007
“My dad married my mom for the same reason – he was insecure and just wanted to show off to the world that he could “score” a smart and beautiful woman. After they got married and had three kids together, my dad became increasingly controlling and abusive until my parents got divorced 15 years later. The deadbolt on my mom’s bedroom door is still there today and reminds me of the terrifying nights when he’d pick the lock and beat and rape her in her room. You dodged a huge bullet, friend. I’m glad you saw the red flags early enough.”- TheYellowBuhnana
“Don’t get me wrong, my SO and I definitely make fun of each other, but we would never make fun of each other for being a bad partner. That’s a serious disrespect and boundary issue, I’m glad you got out and found someone hopefully who treats you the respect.”-alilminizen
“Fairly well, ups and downs for six years now. He works long hours and I love spending time on my own! It’s harder when we have his kids as I have no desire to be a mother, but I’m better at organizing than him, so take on a child minder role anyway. Hoping for the world to open up soon, as one of the things we enjoy is a romantic get-away. I love him, but I’m not in love with him. But that’s enough for me, as he is one of three men I have ever been interested in. I don’t(and have never) get crushes. I think I’m a bit asexual. Oh and even greater now as we found a rental house instead of a flat and I have gotten cats!!!”-SunshinePipper
“Married for 28 years! We have had our ups and downs, but to be honest he was the one, I just didn’t know it at the time. Sometimes “the one” is an ideal based on youthful priorities, but with maturity, you realize some of those qualities aren’t as important anymore. My husband is my best friend, but whether you marry “the one” or someone else, a good relationship requires hard work and give and take. We have been through many events together, and we grew closer as a result. We are a team!”- LoopyLadyCA
“Something my therapist said to me a while ago completely changed my perspective on my current partnership: “usually what makes a relationship exciting and dramatic is not what makes a good long term partner, those are the tradeoffs.” A lightbulb went off in my head, and that put to rest so many of the lingering demons I had about whether my partner and I were good matches for each other.. or if he was my “one.” Now that I’ve let those obsessions go, our relationship is so much better. I’m so, so happy.”-wabisabister
“I don’t like the idea of “the one”. When I met my ex, our eyes literally met across a crowded room, it felt like he had a spotlight on him, and the world stopped still and moved at the same time. I knew I had met “the one” I was going to marry.
Turns out my gut feeling is a pretty bad judge. We lasted a couple years, mostly because I was so hung up on not losing the one. He isn’t even a bad dude, just not somebody with my life goals, my sense of humor or anything that would be compatible with me.
When I met my fiancé in grad school I didn’t even notice him until we had to do a project together. Now I couldn’t wish for a better partner, I’m so much in love with him and so excited to go through life together.”- AlternativeCover3379
“It went bad. Staying in a relationship like that for me felt like giving up a piece of me. It’s mature to compromise yes, but do it for the rights reasons with the right person for you. If your truth is to feel safe, if that’s the most important always, then go for it. I personally felt a void, something missing..I felt ultimately lonely and we broke up.”- tinaple
“Hmm to offer a different perspective — my partner (of a little over a year) recently told me that he doesn’t feel intensely in love with me/sexually infatuated with me, and hasn’t since after about a month into the relationship (which is when we began cohabitation, thanks covid). But he does love me, very much, and of that I have absolutely no doubt.
We are definitely best friends, have no shortage of emotional and intellectual intimacy, go on countless adventures together. We both really think our partnership is awesome and want to build lives together. Which means we are having a lot of tricky conversations about what this (intense romantic/sexual attraction imbalance) means for us.
Practically, we are monogamous (each has gone on a date or two since meeting) but are more philosophically aligned with ethical nonmonogamy.
This has spurred on a lot of conversations about “the one”. For people struggling with this, I really recommend the book “Designer Relationships”. Even if you’re monogamous, it’s a hugely helpful book (& short! Like 120 pages) for reflecting on your various relationships.
A takeaway is that the invention of the romantic ideal as our life partner is a fairly new one, like as recent as the last century. Prior to this, marriage and life partnership was often based around a “shared goal or project” and romantic fulfillment was sought beyond the relationship (helloooo affairs).
There’s another really good book on the conflict between the domestic and the erotic, called “Mating in Captivity” and it proposes that often times familiarity can cause difficulties in erotic spaces in the relationship and that maintaining a strong sense of independence allows you to maintain erotic energy.
Anyhow, we are both in therapy but have a lot of working theories about the imbalance. Part of it is due to me being attracted to what I can’t have (I could always tell he was a little less sexually thrilled by me, we’ve had some difficulty where he wants sex every couple weeks and I could go every other day, it’s not due to a low libido on his part hahah), part of it is the guilt he put on himself for not being “as in love with me”, part of it is that we spent every freaking minute together since this pandemic started and while familiarity and platonic love breeds sexual desire in me, he likes distance in his erotic relationships.
But honestly, I’ve never grown so much from a relationship. We continue to amaze each other with our ability to navigate this. I’ve cried a good bit, because yeah, it hurts, but our conversations always end with each of us feeling more emotionally intimate and empathized with.
Seeing all of these comments, I’m really wary of people believing they need to find “the one”. No relationship is perfect and takes absolutely no work, and oftentimes, you can cultivate a relationship that is fulfilling and adds a richness to life for both parties. The expectations we put on finding a life partner are honestly ridiculous and downright damaging.”-toomanyblankspaces
“I was convinced the one was going to give me butterflies and be overwhelmed by my presence, when I met my current partner none of those things were true. I kept questioning it being like somethings wrong I don’t know if he’s the one. We’ve been together for a while and I’m glad I didn’t listen to those shreds out doubt. Butterflies are overrated, my partner shows up for me everyday and we have built a really strong and solid foundation. He isn’t overwhelmed by my presence, and turns out it’s a good thing. He pushes me to be a better person everyday and is willing to push himself to be better too. He’s completely changed my understanding of what love is and is supposed to be. I never grew up with a good role model and took my understanding of love from mass media. Turns out that mass media love isn’t real for a reason. I’m incredibly happy with my partner now even though there were times in the beginning where I really thought he wasn’t the one. I’m not saying stick with people you aren’t right for, but that definitions of love change as you get older. And passionate flame sparking loves with no foundation don’t last for a reason.”- killerwheelie
“You are so right with the statement it’s “easy after every issue to think I knew I never should have stayed with him”. There’s something in our brains I think as humans that really makes us goto to that negative area ABOUT US. Like, your husband does something to hurt the relationship intentionally, or unintentionally, and your first thought is to be mad at yourself because you didn’t leave X amount of time ago? Why do our brains do that?!
This is something that my husband pointed out to me was a really unhealthy way that I think. Its not only hurting the relationship because it if we voice that, it seems like we’re always one foot out the door…. but it’s beating me up AND letting him off the hook for any responsibility in the matter, when it should be us against the issue.
It’s been a struggle to recondition my brain to stop thinking like that, and I’ll admit I still struggle especially during big issues (we struggle from libido mismatch as well! I’m so sorry and feel your pain!!) but I’ve got to tell you, working on that has been one of the single biggest improvements on my side for my self worth, our relationship, and well being.”-frostysbox
