Valentines cards and gifts.

Cards only but every year I remind DH that I have never had a dozen long stemmed red roses. Unfortunately I'll be saying the same next year too!

Is it just me ? I would be offended if my husband decided I was not worth the going rate for flowers or actually stole or picked others. We don't normally celebrate Valentine's Day as it is my husband's birthday the next day, which we do celebrate although sometimes if we are going to a hotel for his birthday we might book in the previous day so that we are there for Valentine's as well. My husband is romantic every day and objects to being told on a specific date that he shows his love on that day.

Despite the rip off prices that I and my lovely husband object to, he always gives me a dozen red roses, a romantic card and this year a silver heart necklace with an infinity sign through it. We are hopelessly romantic about each other. We have been together nearly 14 years, but we each with the wrong person for 30 years!

I give a gift and a card to him for Val day / birthdays etc. I usually just get a card back. And he says I'm the unromantic one.

Valentines day is also our wedding anniversary so we exchange cards and gifts, and indeed I was given 2 lovely bunches of flowers. It is also my son"s girlfriend" birthday so we sonetimes go out for a joint meal out. Mr Growing Old and I had been planning a day out instead this year but abandoned that as we were invited by son and girlfriend to go and view houses with them as they are house hunting.

Like a few of the ladies on here I had a lovely Valentine's day cuddle from my furry companion Kaspar a very loyal and loving Mini Schnauzer. He listens to everything, seldom complains unless I am taking too long to put my jacket on for our walks, then he is a bit vocal. Shares the bed and swaps sides without any fuss. A true gentleman.

Used to exchange cards only when young and impressionable. Grown up since and don't bother with anything.

We only exchange cards but this year I splashed out on a box of Ferrero Rocher (DH's favourite) for us both to scoff. My birthday is at the weekend so we'll be out for a nice meal then.

We exchange cards but not gifts. I usually have to make do with a Valentine's card from the local corner shop!

Sago’s OP reminded me of when our first child was born. All the new mothers in the ward were getting beautiful bunches of flowers, sometimes arranged in a little cradle in the requisite pink or blue. My husband arrived clutching two bunches of flowers wrapped up in brown paper (fashionable now but utilitarian then) and proudly told me that he got two because they were two for the price of one! To say I was disappointed doesn’t describe it. However my beautiful baby boy made up for it.

We exchanged gifts but they weren't romantic things. Just things we thought were amusing or necessities.

With regard to Valentine’s gifts, I always bought a card for my boyfriend (now my husband) but never received one back, because he said, Valentine’s Day is a load of American rubbish! Many years passed but still no card. And then, mysteriously he started to buy me a card, and then started to include flowers. Yesterday I received a card, a lovely bunch of roses (red, pink and white) and a box of Neal’s Yard toiletries.

Our anniversary is 14/2 because it fell at half term Pre marriage we did cards we still do plus anniversary cards gifts and dinner

Valentine cards I thought were sent unsigned to someone you were attracted to and then maybe dating - not your husband/wife. The year we got married was the year we stopped observing valentines day but always celebrate our wedding anniversary instead. Anniversary in August so not linked in anyway.

My friend always goes out and gets me a lovely card and a rose and says it's from my dog lol. Well she is my wee love and I absolutely adore her ?

My husband always gives me a hand written poem, customised to me. At one time I was ungrateful and thought I would rather have some sort of cargo, flowers, chocs etc. But then I came to think, what sort of nasty mercenary person are you? I do put the poems in my common place book. Yesterday I gave him a card which I never usually do. I usually forget about Valentine’s day but my daughter mentioned it and I saw a very beautiful card when I was buying stationery on line. He seemed pleased. Particularly as I had written a loving message. So I should after all these poems.

My dp says he tells me he loves me everyday and not just on valentines day so I get nothing I wonder if this is a cope out lol xx I don't mind as its so commercialised and expensive now

Valentine's Day was never traditionally celebrated in Denmark, so no, we don't exchange gifts or cards on this day.

Like Halloween, it has made its way in - mainly amongst the young, due to all the American films and TV series shown.

In Denmark, you traditionally (if you were unmarried) sent a card that you had stuck snowdrops into and wrote a number of dots corresponding to the number of letters in your name and a little verse, which would sound rude in translation, but isn't in the original, so I shan't attempt a tranlation.

The recipient had until Easter to guess who the card was from. If they guessed correctly, you gave them an Easter egg on Easter Sunday. If they could not guess who had sent the card, you claimed an Easter egg from them.

Sadly the tradition has more or less died out here, being only remembered by children in kindergarten or day-care and their grandparents.

Originally, like Valentine's Day cards it was a way of telling the person you were in love with that he was welcome to make some kind of advance.

Yes we do - and this year I got a Valentines card with a big badge to wear…..we’ve been married for over 40 years and I wouldn’t call him romantic!

We have been married just less than a year, both second marriages.
We agreed, no Valentines cards etc. Very definite.
Today I got the card and my favourite chocolates that were delayed in the post from yesterday.
I feel really bad.

Soroptimum

humptydumpty

Soroptimum why did you need to change the red/white colours? - sounds lovely to me (not sure if the addition of a daffodil would be an improvement!)

As others have mentioned, it’s a superstition thing, blood and bandages. My DH knows I don’t like red and white flowers, but forgot to mention to florist. I know it’s superstition but can’t help it!

My Grandmother had this superstition, she always told me it started from nurses in the field hospitals in WWI who had seen enough red and white (bandages) to last a lifetime.

Yesterday was our 8th V-Day together and the 8th year I've received nothing.
Every year I've got him a card at the very least but never got anything in return, in fact, if those 8 V-Days, I've one only seen him on 1 of them and yesterday we didn't even speak, so I've decided it's time to stop bothering with it (and maybe him) altogether.

@ Sago,
Our son (our only child) was born on St.Valentine's day 1987!
Husband was organised in those days and had already bought me a very lovely card. He stayed with me throughout my 19 hour labour, dashed home to walk the dog (a neighbour had done the lunchtime dog walk), and was back within an hour with a beautiful Orchid!
Since then we've never really celebrated St. Valentine's day as a romantic event, it was parties, discos, bowling, paintball and so on as DS grew up.
Even now that he's married with a son of his own, we all have a meal together on 'the day'.
I still get a single Orchid every year though!
I'm in no way high maintenance, but I would probably have crowned your husband with the Courgette!

Few grans mention red and white flowers not good match, i have never ever heard of the superstitious before....

A new thread could be started about superstitions !!!!

When I was young Father Valentine knocked on the door and when I went to pick up the gift it disappeared. Pulled by string by my Dad. Was this just a Norfolk custom?