How do you feel about Valentine's day?

We exchange cards but that's about it. For one of our daughters it's the anniversary of getting together with her partner - 16 years ago - so it's special for them.

It’s my sons birthday.
I suggested Valentine as middle name.
It was a firm no!!!

Don’t think we have exchanged Valentine cards since we got married (1972).

Was really surprised a couple of years ago to see an older friend buying a Valentine card for her DH. They had been married over 50 years, and are notoriously frugal, but still buy each other cards every year.

She is always ‘on’ at him as well, so it seemed pointless to me.

DH and I have stopped exchanging birthday and anniversary cards as they were just building up in the box files. We now keep a few favourite ones, and just swap them on the appropriate day.

My semi-detached and I met in 2012, I have bought the perfect card. It says 'Its remarkable how long we've tolerated each other'

Mollygo - my daughter and son-in-law exchange the same cards every year and date them. I love that and wish I’d thought of it! They also make family cards with the children that they give each other just to say I love you.
We don’t really celebrate but lots of the shops do excellent meal deals for Valentine’s Day and as it’s near my birthday we often treat ourselves to an M and S special. Ps. Other deals are available!
Enjoy the day wherever you you and whatever you are doing.

Never had a valentine from my darling husband. He’s never said “I love you” since we were married 55 years ago. But I know he loves me by his actions everyday and I thank heaven I have him.

If you choose to express your love for someone than Valentine's day is the day to do it . It's not compulsory to celebrate it , so each to there own .

With my husband (together for 12 years, married for 5), we do celebrate it. We both object to the ‘over the top’ commercialism of it in recent years, but he is a romantic and always gives me beautiful roses. I have a weakness for him and for roses

We have been together 37 years and yes we celebrate Valentine’s Day, buy each other cards, and present each, and why not! Not bothered about how commercialised it is, it’s something we’ve always done, we appreciate each other everyday of the year too

My husband died two years ago on Valentines Day, so you know how I feel about it. Stay in bed I expect.

My adult children also buy their partners gifts n cards too

Like mollygo and Callendergirl hubby and I have appropriate cards for each occassion which we exchange each year, adding a new verse usually reflecting events of past year. This year lockdowns have been the obvious theme . I too feel a need to grab any excuse to celebrate this year, probably an M&S meal for us. I did have a colleague who sent both his wife and daughter a card every year, could never understand why.......daughter I mean not wife! Actually couldn't understand him sending wife one either but that's another story

We get the same cards out every year. My 78 year old husband was buying wine, chocs and cuddly toy from Sainsburys and the assistant asked if there was one or three lucky ladies.

Mohum ??

It's our wedding anniversary Not my chosen date but it was half term and pre lambing so suited us for family reasons

I love it because it’s my husband’s birthday, so we usually go out for a nice meal somewhere as lots of places put on special deals. Last year we met friends for the day in St. Albans and ate heart shaped biscuits with our coffee. The city had done Valentine (and my husband) proud with several heart shaped ‘sculptures’ around and we have a lovely photo of us by one of them. Such fun! Happy memories as we’ve not seen the good friends for months and of course we’re not going anywhere this year.

Lyric by Janis Ian
I learned the truth at seventeen, that love was meant for beauty queens,
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles, who married young and then retired.
The valentines I never knew, the Friday night charades of youth,
Were spent on one more beautiful, at seventeen I learned the truth.

And those of us with ravaged faces, lacking in the social graces,
Desperately remained at home, inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say "Come dance with me", and murmured vague obscenities.
It isn't all it seems - At seventeen.

A brown eyed girl in hand-me-downs, whose name I never could pronounce,
Said, "Pity, please, the ones who serve, they only get what they deserve".
And the rich relationed hometown queen, marries into what she needs,
With a guarantee of company, and haven for the elderly.

Remember those who win the game lose the love they sought to gain,
In debentures of quality and dubious integrity. Their small-town eyes will gape at you,
In dull surprise when payment due exceeds accounts received. At seventeen.

To those of us who knew the pain of valentines that never came,
And those whose names were never called when choosing sides for basketball,
It was long ago and far away, the world was younger than today,
When dreams were all they gave for free, to ugly duckling girls like me.

We all play the game, and when we dare to cheat ourselves at solitaire,
Inventing lovers on the phone, repenting other lives unknown,
They call and say, "Come dance with me", and murmur vague obscenities
At ugly girls like me - At seventeen.

As a teenager getting a card was exciting and not getting one was disappointing. I once received a card and didn't know who it was from. It wasn't a funny one, but I still suspected it was a joke from a friend. A few years later I received a letter from a male friend and recognised the handwriting and realised he had had feelings for me for quite a time, but for me we were just friends.

When I started going out with my, now ex, H I discovered he was very big on occasions. Unfortunately his birthday was 4 days before Valentine's day which meant 2 major celebrations in one week. I found it very pressuring and stressful, as his expectations were so high and I worried that what I bought or did wouldn't be good enough. I even made myself ill worrying about it in the early years! It was a family thing - all his family were like that - whereas my family didn't make a big deal about occasions. My DD was born on 12th Feb, just adding to the stress of the week, as I then had another birthday party to organise as well.

Now I'm single with little prospect of being otherwise it is simply a relief!

Missfoodlove

It’s my sons birthday.
I suggested Valentine as middle name.
It was a firm no!!!

If my ex had been born 4 days later his middle name would have been Valentine. His initials would have been PVC! I think he was relieved to have Bruce instead.

We got married on Valentines Day 22 years ago. We give each other an anniversary and a Valentines card, but never go out ( not that we could this year) because restaurants put their prices up, the food is a ‘set menu’ and the general atmosphere schmaltzy!

Love that song sandelf.

So sad and poignant.

I sent this one last year . Love him really!

I was too lumpy and ungainly when I was a child to ever get an anonymous valentine from an unknown admirer in the traditional way. Before I was much older that genuine tradition was in its death throes and we were all under pressure to buy over-priced flowers and cards for our significant others, because "it's traditional".

I never did, not on 14 February. Not because I was mean with my affections but because I'd much rather give and receive flowers and romantic cards on almost any other day when a huge markup wasn't slapped on them. For that matter, I'd also rather wait until the summer to give/receive a simple posy of meadow flowers (not illegally picked in the wild) than have hothoused long-stemmed red roses flown halfway round the world in the dying throes of British winter. And I'm one who loves giving and receiving flowers.

I have maligned my DH. After saying on here that the day would be a wash out because he doesn't know how to do online orders, he is now struggling to buy me a card, his first ever online transaction. Bless him.

My husband and I exchange cards but no presents, for years he would buy me roses even though I told him I'd much rather have carnations. My american penpal always sends me a valentines card which I've always found very odd but I think is normal for the USA. I can't imagine ever sending a valentines card to my female friends.