Valentine thoughtsand gift giving ideas

Valentine thoughts
and gift giving ideas

The more people who know you, the more cards you are likely to get for Christmas, and possibly, for your birthday, but for Valentine's Day it's a different story: the older and better known you are, the fewer the cards you get.

For kids, Valentine's Day is a friendship day. I clearly remember giving and getting quite a few cards back in the early grades, from girls and boys alike. By my pre-teens, the volume of cards was down considerably. All that changed in high school, by which time I was getting into "that special someone" territory. Now I only cared about getting one card, preferably with (I cringe as I recall this) something like a statute of a little bear saying, "I wuv you this much."

Now, having had the same valentine for over twenty years, the day is less significant for me, only because my wedding anniversary and other personal observances with my wife are more important and romantic than this commercial holiday. She doesn't eat chocolate, and already gets flowers from me once a month. Nor does she care much for fancy jewelry, though I get a kick out of ads from a certain company that suggest that giving diamonds is all but an out and out necessity for properly celebrating Valentine's Day, Arbor Day, April Fools' Day, etc.

Even so, I don't want be a Valentine's grinch. It's still a fun day for friendship, romance, getting an early start on your taxes, whatever.

There are quite a few on-line sites for valentine shopping for gifts and cards including traditional items at macdirectory , and some wackier gifts and greetings, both real and cyber, at valentines and blue mountain. And lest we forget those whose affection for us knows no bounds, particularly in the absence of a pet holiday, you can shop for that special four legged someone at petcelebrations.

Thinking along the lines of "gifts that keeps on giving," instead of buying a bunch of cut roses, consider buying the bushes. My wife's favorites are David Austin Roses, which are also available at Wayside Gardens. Keep in mind that they go like hotcakes, so don't even wait until you read this to order.

The history of this day is not what you might think. The main man, Valentine, was a bishop in the third century who regularly performed weddings, in defiance of Roman emperor Claudius II, who thought that married men made lousy soldiers. Arrested, Valentine fell in love with his jailer's blind daughter. Just before his execution, a miracle restored the daughter's sight, enabling her to read a parting message from Valentine. It was signed in the special words that are still with us today:

From Your Valentine
By Vincent Kish

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