If It's the Thought That Counts, Then I Think I'll Have a Drink ~ Valentine's Day Tips for the Hubbys

Before I begin, I want you to know that I'm inching my way toward 300 followers, and once I hit that magic number, I'll be hosting a giveaway for all of my fabulous readers! So, if you haven't yet signed up as a follower (see right side bar), please do so! I'm thinking of a spa gift card, wine gift basket, or a lovely collection of a few of my favorite things!!

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Ask any girl what she is doing for her lover on Valentine's Day and you'll probably get an answer that goes something like this:

"Well, I'm making his favorite dinner and dessert, and we will dine to a play list of our favorite love songs that I've made just for him.  After supper, we'll look through a scrapbook that I've assembled of the past 15 years of our romantic life together, then I'm surprising him with tickets to the NBA finals (or, in my case, a set of tools.)!

Ask any guy what he's doing, and you might get:

Uh, ummmm, Valentine's Day? When is that, now? Oh, yeah, I'll uh, probably, uh, just send her some flowers or something awesome like that.

Okay, guys, here's the deal: I think it's time we have a little chat about Valentine's Day and what it is exactly that the ladies want.  In order to avoid any confusion, maybe it would be a good idea to first discuss what we don't want.  Let's begin shall we?

1.  We don't want chocolate. I mean, we always want chocolate, but c'mon, if your girl really loves chocolate, don't you think that I am she is eating it every day anyway?  If my husband buys me a box, it's just gonna get tossed into mommy's 2:00 p.m. "I will survive"stash.  Right there with the bags of chocolate chips (for those cookies I'm never going to bake), and leftover chocolate Santas that I "forgot" to put in the kids' stockings at Christmas.  I will admit, a fancy box of artisan chocolates would be a bit of an upgrade from the status quo, but nonetheless, I think you have the potential to reach for a higher mark than a box of chocolates, don't you??

2.  Flowers shmowers. If you want to send a girl flowers, do it on the day(s) when she least expects it.  Sending flowers to your sweetheart on Valentine's Day just screams, "LAY-ZEE." How much effort does it really take to dial up the florist, convey the credit card numbers, have them deliver the goods and voila! 2.5 minutes of effort, and you can check another holiday off your list.  Please also consider the fact that we have to remember to keep those flowers watered.  When we can't even remember to water the dog, chances are, the roses are going to experience a pre-mature death. Are you following??

3.  Leave the bears on the shelf.  Please, please, please for the love of the Lord, please don't buy us bears.  Teddy bears belong to the Jr. High crushers.  Teddy bears harbor allergens and dog drool.  Let's just save our fuzzy friends for potty training prizes, m-kay?

4.  Lingerie?  Let's not tip-toe around the truth here: Lingerie is not a gift for us, but a gift for you. Honestly speaking, most of us hate it.  It's really uncomfortable. And, for those of us who have had babies, we're gonna need surgery to get all that ribbons and lace to actually fit right. Lingerie just isn't practical. It's not like we're going to sport little more than a doily around the house while we bake cookies and fold the laundry.  And, who can recline on the couch for a relaxing evening in the middle of February wearing lace? We're simply not all that thrilled about being painfully cold for the sake of sexy.  You should know by now that sexy to us is simply wearing something mildly attractive that doesn't have spit-up or play dough on it.  And, if we're just saving the lingerie for the evening "cuddle" well, you know it's going to end up on the floor in seven seconds or less anyway, so what's the point?   There is one exception: If you plan on whisking her away on a romantic weekend alone without the kids, then by all means, proceed with the lingerie purchase!

Now that we've covered those important points, let's move on to WHAT WE DO WANT:

We want to RELAX after a hard day, to have HELP with the children, to experience a BREAK from the kitchen, and to be loved, admired, and PAMPERED.  Okay, so you think that's a tall order, hmm? Well, it's your lucky day, boys, because I'm here to help. All you have to do is follow a simple recipe:

1 - Cocktail (or glass of wine, bottle of beer, or other beverage of choice)

1 - Card attached saying that she has the evening off and you will take care of E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G (this includes, dinner, kids, dishes, etc. etc.)

1 - Warm Bath (in a kid-proof bathroom with bubbles, candles, music, and her favorite book or magazine)

1- Pair of soft, comfortable NEW pajamas (to replace the worn out sweats she usually wears)

1 - Romantic Husband who is ready to flirt after the kids are in bed and the house is quiet. 

(Please shower and shave first).

LET'S TALK COCKTAILS: Purchase her favorite spirit, and attach a card to match. Need some inspiration? It just so happens that I made a few. These are not printables, so quit clicking on the design. You didn't think I was going to make it that easy for you, did ya?  They are simply some ideas to get the creative corner of your noggin' workin'. I think it would be super-charming if you dug some crayons out from between the couch cushions and penned a little message of your own (if you have girls in the house, enlist their help, their markers, their glitter).  Momma LOVES handwritten notes, and she's gonna love yours!

VODKA (Absolute Peach):

{Recipes Here}

BREWSKIE:

GIN (My personal fave, Hendricks only):

If she likes a standard G-n-T, try Fever Tree Tonic, it's delicious! {Recipes Here}

WINE:

Making dinner? Use this site to help you pick the perfect wine!

WHISKEY:

{Recipes Here}

THAT'S ALL, BOYS!! 

NOW LET'S MAKE THIS VALENTINE'S DAY THE BEST ONE YET!