Its Valentine Day and my friend Ogieva hasn’t bought a single gift for his girlfriend or made any plans to take her out. He seemed unfazed and unperturbed despite the chaos that surrounds him. He says that Val?s day to him shouldn’t warrant so much tension since it neither earns him an extra kobo in income nor helps improve his business. Much of his time, like always is spent on how to increase his bottom line. But that’s doesn?t mean he won’t spend money tonight or take his girlfriend out or spend time with whomever he decides to take out tonight. ?Things always work out fine provided you take any of the following options, which have positively worked, for him for years.
On days when I simply don’t have enough cash or can’t find a convenient restaurant to have dinner I simply just have a candle lit dinner at home with my date. Organizing a candle lit dinner within a short period of time is such an onerous thing to do as you only have to ensure that you have the right food, a bunch of sexy candles and a bottle of red wine or champagne. On days where I don’t feel like cooking, I simply just make an early order from a restaurant of my choice and have it delivered to the house by myself or via a dispatch. These typically won’t take more than an hour to arrange.?But I make sure the ambience if befitting for the night.
If I decide to eat out then that too isn’t a problem for me at all. On Val?s day loads of restaurants offer valentine specials and advertise such weeks before the day. I keep a list of them either via text messages, ?BB? messages or just stash their fliers in my drawers. Whilst not all restaurants of your choice may be available, there is always a chance that some very nice one can still take reservations at very short notice. That as well is not enough to crack my head and neither do I need to spend days planning or booking upfront for me and my date to have a wonderful time together.
I never consider buying gifts before Valentines day Sacrosanct especially with the flurry of online shops, discount shops, freelance sellers with loads of gifts to sell all through the weeks preceding Valentine and on the day. ?However, one thing I do is making up my mind on what to buy ahead of time. If it?s a gift that requires placing an order in advance then I do that accordingly. If I am not too sure I will find that gift available anytime and place then I simply just buy it and stash away until Val?s day. Gift items like, perfumes, lingerie, flowers, watches, accessories, chocolates, Smart Phones etc. can always be bought on Valentines Day without much haste and will always endear to most people.
Let?s be honest, not everyone has a special someone to spend Valentine with every year. Sometimes, the person is unavoidably absent or you are just single. But that doesn?t mean you can?t participate in the season of love as most call it.? That off course does not require any major planning, heartaches or last minute shopping. One way of enjoying the love that comes with Val?s day is by spreading it too.? You can decide to buy lunch for everyone at your workplace, send gifts to your parents, siblings or loved ones and still get all the joy and blessings that the day can provide.
Break-up to Make-ups is surely another cost effective way of spending valentine. Depending on what side of the argument you find yourself, breaking up a few days to valentine and making up shortly can be considered brave or cowardly. It is perhaps the most common trick used by people and can come in handy especially when you are broke and lack the courage to tell it to your partner.? Some even break up not because they do not have money but because they probably have other choices and can?t afford to be in two places on the same day. Whatever the case is money is saved and the fuss of deciding where to go to or what gifts to buy becomes irrelevant.
Finally, for the undecided on Valentines Day, a simple an effective way of avoiding all the hassles of the day is postponing it.? All you need is the courage to tell your partner not to see the day as a do or die affair and that you will surely make it up. That?s a tall order and you must have demonstrated a knack for following words with action to be able to pull this off. The advantage of this off course is that you stave o the pressure that comes with the day and avoid spending on items that are typically known to be expensive in the Valentine Season. It?s also better postponing that having a nightmare of a day.
As appeared on Punch Newspaper of Thursday 14th of February 2013
