
{"id":4756,"date":"2009-02-03T08:40:22","date_gmt":"2009-02-03T16:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=4756"},"modified":"2009-02-03T08:40:22","modified_gmt":"2009-02-03T16:40:22","slug":"guidelines-for-valentines-day-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2009\/02\/03\/guidelines-for-valentines-day-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"Guidelines for Valentine&#8217;s Day giving"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>By Margot C. Lester<br \/>\nStaff Writer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>You can recover from giving somebody a less-than-ideal birthday or Christmas present. But when it comes to Valentine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day, love\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not only not blind, but it ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t unconditional either. During my seven years as a love advice columnist for Match.com, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard horror stories from men and women about inappropriate, unoriginal and down-right tacky gifts that have caused everything from giggles to get-out-of-my-lifes. Here is some of what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve learned:<\/p>\n<p>Invest in each other. Surveys by Match.com and Jewelry.com found that a night of pampering, cuddling and being together with only simple gifts given is a perfectly acceptable way of spending Valentine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s night. This doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give you carte blanche to cheap out though. Plan something that you both enjoy or that makes it clear to your sweetie that she or he is the object of your affection. (nudge, nudge)<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>CAUTION: If the thought of spending hours hanging out with your honey makes you wince, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good sign that you shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be together in the first place. It may be time to exit stage left. <\/p>\n<p>Do it yourself. Remember those handmade Valentine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s you created for your mama or daddy? They weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t destined for the Louvre, but your folks couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have been happier. You can bowl over your baby by making something by hand \u00e2\u20ac\u201c candy, cupcakes, jewelry, a slide show, a card or a full-on romantic dinner. <\/p>\n<p>CAUTION: Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait till the last minute to throw something together. Without the thought, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a low-rent present that shrieks, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I guess I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just not that into you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Consider candy carefully. Those celo-wrapped heart-shaped boxes from the grocery or convenience store have turned a perfectly delicious treat into a clich\u00c3\u00a9. If you know your sugar has a sweet tooth, put forth some effort and buy hand-crafted fancy chocolates or candies, preferably from a local provider.<br \/>\nYou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get all kinds of style points for creativity, and a little extra love for supporting the local economy. <\/p>\n<p>CAUTION: Beware lite or sugar-free sweets. You may be trying to say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I care about your health,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but your special someone is more likely to think something more along the lines of, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I knew he thought I was fat!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Sayonara!<\/p>\n<p>Say it with flowers: I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know many women who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d turn down a gorgeous bouquet of roses, but, despite the dramatic look, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another tragic clich\u00c3\u00a9. On the upside, a lot of dudes dig getting flowers (nothing says \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chicks dig me\u00e2\u20ac\u009d more \u00e2\u20ac\u201c at least nothing that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s acceptable for delivery in the office). So skip the obvious and send a mixed bouquet based on your flame\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s favorite color. And if your romantic partner really does relish roses, make sure they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re sustainably grown so you can show Mother Earth some love too. <\/p>\n<p>CAUTION: The allergist down the street asks me to remind you to make sure your sweetheart\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not allergic to certain flowering plants. Inducing an allergic reaction (or worse, anaphylactic shock) is no way to say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I love you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Bag some bubbly. Champagne is another traditional V-Day item. I like mine bone dry, but why not buy a few splits and do a tasting flight to see which appeals to you and your sweet thang? If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing the chocolate thing, the right red wine would make a fine accompaniment too. <\/p>\n<p>CAUTION: Cheap champagne (as opposed to reasonably priced good stuff) is another way of saying the bearer wants to have his or her way with you and doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care if you both have a headache in the morning. If your babe bestows this stuff on you, hand it back and give him or her the Heisman in return.<br \/>\nThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the low-down on Valentine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day gifts. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hoping Cupid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s aim is true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Margot C. Lester Staff Writer You can recover from giving somebody a less-than-ideal birthday or Christmas present. But when it comes to Valentine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day, love\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not only not blind, but it ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t unconditional either. During my seven years as a love advice columnist for Match.com, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard horror stories from men and women about&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-mill"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4756"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4757,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4756\/revisions\/4757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}