Twelve Boutique And Flowers

During your dating years, Valentine's Day was an eagerly awaited day - filled with love, romance and togetherness. Well, why should it be any different now that the two of you are married? Celebrate your first Valentine's Day after marriage with equal enthusiasm and lay to rest all assumptions that marriage is a romance killer.

Successfully wooing the female of the species calls for three main ingredients - romance, imagination, and tact. The first Valentine's Day after marriage is also, in a way, an acid test of your romance quotient - is passion still burning strongly or has the daily routine played spoilsport?

Tip: Try and be different from your dating days. Experiment with some offbeat and innovative ideas instead. After all, romance thrives on the unexpected!

1. Ditch the traditional 'dinner at a restaurant'. Steer clear of the overpriced restaurants on Valentine's Day. Crowds and noise are not the best romantic partners. Does she normally do all the cooking in the house? Swap roles for this day (even if you are a disaster in the kitchen). Enlist the help of a good cookbook (or a friend) and prepare a complete meal for her - appetizers, main course and dessert and serve them with style. Pull out your best crockery, have some silver cutlery ready and top it all with a centrepiece of a silver candle stand and flowers. Oh yes, dim the lights and have soft music playing in the background.

2. Take a surprise 'mini' break. Take a much-needed breather from work and rushing around and whisk her off to a romantic destination. Who says getaways are only for birthdays and anniversaries? Go on, take an unscheduled break and see how it revitalises everything.

3. Give her a massage. Which woman wouldn't love a nice, relaxing massage from her man? Create the ideal ambiance with drawn curtains, dim lights or better still, scented candles placed strategically around the room. Invite her to lie down on a soft mat and get down to work with her favourite aromatic oil. With some soothing music playing in the background, knead every ounce of tension and stress from her body. After you are through, ask her to return the favour!

4. Make the most of technology. It happens. Either or both of you are stuck in the office or one of you is away on an office tour on Valentine's Day. Don't stress over it. Make up for it by making technology work for you. In other words, the good old text messaging. Practically drown her in an avalanche of text messages throughout the day. Be romantic, sensuous or plain erotic - just make sure they come steadily on the hour. Your words and her imagination will eat up the miles between you.

5. Enjoy a picnic together. Escape the Valentine's Day revellers and head for the great outdoors. Enjoy a quiet picnic in any secluded park in the city. Pack a hamper with her favourite goodies, pop in a bottle of champagne, paper napkins, paper cups and a bright tablecloth. Enjoy being together in the serene environs.

6. Give her a coupon book. Arm yourself with some chart paper, scissors, crayons, glitter ink and whatever else you need to give the necessary colour and flair. Fill each coupon with a favour you know she'll enjoy, chuckle over or plain blush furiously. Each coupon will be 'cashed-in' by her whenever she wants! It could range from offering to do the dishes for a whole week, to making breakfast for her on a Sunday morning, or some more erotic and intimate favours.

7. Send her a recorded message. Most women can't hear enough of the three magical words. And the sound of their man speaking aloud his innermost feelings and desires about her can be a delightful experience. Floor her with your recorded love message. Be imaginative and slip the CD in her bag if she is leaving for work and let her listen to it while at her workstation. Her colleagues will be wondering at her secret smiles!

So, make this Valentine's Day - the first after your memorable wedding - even more rocking than when you were dating!

Daya is an experienced former journalist who brings her considerable creative writing experience to the UK gift industry. Her specialty is wedding anniversaries, Valentine's Day, birthdays, the tricky etiquette involved in relationships and romance, and most of all, gift giving - that sabre-toothed monster that brings most men to their knees! Jewellery, flowers, chocolates, cute gifts - Daya leads you to a treasure trove of that makes both, giving and receiving a real pleasure. She also helps you choose from tons of that range from mushy and sweet to sophisticated and classy.