Written by Paige Tamasi
I tend to find that people fall evenly distributed on the scale of “I care about Valentine’s Day 2025” to “I couldn’t care less about it”. I, personally, fall right in the middle of that scale —I think you shouldn’t need a special day annually to do something romantic with or for your partner. However, I also find that people want to celebrate it, but don’t know where to start, they don’t want to be cliche.
Communicate
First things first, as it should be with everything in a relationship —it is generally considered a good idea to communicate with your partner. Talk about expectations —do they want something big, small, cheap, or perhaps expensive? How do they want to celebrate? Do they want to be surprised or participate in planning? Do they want to surprise you? Should you get gifts for each other? All of these are good questions to ask before moving further in a Valentine’s Day 2025 celebration.
Cliche
Cliches can be found in everything we do, and it’s often seen as something common, overdone, and meaningless. But cliches can be very heartfelt and feel unique. Take, for instance, a candle-lit dinner. That may just be one of the most classic cliche Valentine’s Day celebrations ever, but it can be modified to feel special to each individual. What if you substitute classic red roses with your partner’s favourite flowers? Or a basket of beloved snacks? Or a Lego bouquet they can keep forever? What if you cooked their favourite meal? Or maybe you could have fun cooking and preparing your dinner together! The base idea here is to make it personal, think of what your partner would prefer if you think they wouldn’t like the base forms of a cliche.
Another example is the classic dancing in the rain. Naturally, I understand it is still winter and cold and there is a storm currently passing through, but dancing in the rain remains a feature in many romance films for a reason. It’s a great way of being carefree and close to your partner at the same time. But if you know they don’t like (or can’t) dance, what about a race? Or playing a game of football? The concept of dancing in the rain is that the rain makes any outside activity feel ridiculous and thus fun.
Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broke
If you already know what your partner enjoys (in general for dates or for Valentine’s Day specifically), you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. If date night is watching a movie with a bucket of popcorn, do that! Maybe make it feel special by getting a new set of pyjamas, a new cosy blanket, or a new sweet to add to the snack board. Overall, you can always do what you already know makes a good date for you and your partner.
To Gift or Not to Gift
As university students, gifts can be a little challenging due to the monetary feature, so this should be something agreed upon by both partners (whether you are or are not doing gifts). However, if you are doing gifts, the main recommendation is to make it personal and heartfelt. Think of something that they believe you would have forgotten them mention. Are they running out of a special perfume or cologne? Maybe you will surprise them with a new bottle or set!
If you haven’t been dating long you can also do a classic move and get them chocolates and a stuffy, or maybe you agree to not do gifts this year!
Enjoy Your Person
The end goal of Valentine’s Day 2025 is that you and your partner feel connected and appreciated by one another. If whatever you do achieves that —well, then you’ve done Valentine’s Day ‘correctly’. So have fun with your person! At the end of the day, you are dating them for a reason.
To read about another holiday go here!
Written by Paige Tamasi. Edited by Natalia Lech. Photography by Helena Lopes. Published by Paige Tamasi.