Sweet and Romantic Valentines Day Ideas and Tips Your Girlfriend will Love

We Light Up Queens' Top 15 Ideas and Tips for Valentines Day

Alright so hopefully most of you are realizing that Valentines day is right around the corner. Here is a list of little things and big things that can go a long way.

Remember preparation is key. Impress your Girlfriend or Wife now, because on March 20th it will be SBJ Day.

Lets Start with Valentines Day gifts that wont cost you a penny!

* Please note that it is not advised to only give her a free gift.

1. Make a slide show of all the pictures you have together, usually putting them in chronological order has the best affect. Throw on some background music that will be meaningful and some love quotes there and there and magically in a 30 minute time span, you have expressed your love without breaking the bank or causing you a huge headache.

2. If the weather is warm enough, take her on a picnic in a scenic park or garden area.

*Not Free but still not so expensive.

3. Chocolates and Flowers

4. In depth Love letter; the longer the better. Sometimes being speechless about your feelings is a good thing but don't be redundant of the sake of length. Throw in some love quotes, use them in moderation this is from you to her not from the author of the quotes.

5. Buy her a little hand bag and put little notes or poems in each of the pockets. If you are really short on the cash you can do it to a bag she uses all the time so she finds them for weeks to come.

6. Pay close attention to recent conversations about things she likes or wishes she had done. Work off the information you collect and surprise the heck out of her when one of her dreams comes true.

* Probe her through general conversation about her favorite foods, deserts, restaurants and color
(something you should already know).

7. Prepare the house for a romantic evening.

Ex: Light a fire in the fireplace
Rose petals over the bed
Candle lit dinner
Soft background music
Red Christmas lights around the house
Roses everywhere
Red Ribbon
"I Love You" helium balloons
Cut out hearts in Valentines Day colors and stick them all over.
Valentines Day Candy ( Custom made ones score points)
Satin Sheets
Bubble Bath
Champagne
Lingerie and Handcuffs
Romantic Movies

8. Go to a restaurant and make all the arrangements ahead of time such as reservations, limo or taxi, also make sure she is dressed properly for the place.

* Trying out a new restaurant? Go there before hand and find out what they make good, and spend a lunch break there to verify for yourself. Food can make or break the evening, no one wants to head home feeling sick or dissatisfied because that will ruin all your hard work.

* If something goes wrong, stay cool. If you get nervous or upset she will too. Remember the night is about spoiling her, not you scoring points. ( if you can't do both)

9. Have romantic music on a Cd prepared for the ride over to the restaurant.

10. Be a gentleman, open doors, pull out chairs, wear that special cologne that drives her wild.

11. Arrange for the waiter to come and take your picture together.

12. Send flowers to her workplace, but don't over do it and get her in trouble.

13. Make yourself look and feel like a million bucks, your unusual increase in confidence will really come across to her, and probably help the mood compared to Mr. Insecurity.

Get yourself all set up, The Checklist is as follows:
A. Haircut
B. Clean Shave
C. Extra Deodorant
D. Extra Cologne
E. Contacts if applicable
F. Work out for those extra cuts
G. Wash your car

* Mints and/or Gum is essential, make sure your breath is fresh before going in for a big sloppy kiss. Also offer her a piece before hand, you don't want to be turned down for a kiss because she thinks she has bad breath.

*Utilize bathroom breaks like a woman.
Fix your hair, brush your teeth to assure that there is no spinach in your teeth.
Bring a pocket sized cologne bottle to re-up on your irresistible scent.

14. Special Massage with Aroma therapy.

15. Late Night Themes Coupons ( very over used in the past but still good if your going to do that anyways)

Could January be the best time to shop for new Christmas lights?

Could January be the bets time to shop for new Christmas lights?

Because it sure is clearance time!

Well I know most of you who are reading this probably have not taken down their current Christmas decorations, however if you ran short or chose not to decorate this year because you didn’t get around to buying lights with the mad rush of Christmas presents for your friends and family, now is the time to buy. After searching for a mere 30 seconds I have found a website which seems to have everything on clearance. Although I do not know the quality of the lights, I can sure say that the prices look awfully good.Please remember I am not affiliated with any of the websites or stores that I mention in this post.

Over at www.christmasdepot.com they are having a “monster sale”. I took a quick peak at some LED lights I was interested in buying this season and the price has dropped from $16.50 to $5.78.

If you feel more comfortable with a well known store, one that you can physically visit, Home Depot is the place to go. HomeDepot Although when most think of Home Depot they cringe at the idea of spending hundreds of dollars on supplies and tools for home renovations as well as a mix of having what ever you are looking for being “out of stock” and the usually poor customer service. I certainly know I think of all those things as well as walking out of the store in a frantic race to get out of there, anywhere safe from all the items that are almost what you were looking for and oblivious customers pushing carts loaded everything from power tools to 2 X 4’s. Anyways I’m getting off topic here aren’t I?

Most of the people who I have come into contact with, prefer Lowes over Home Depot. But unfortunately there are no clearance sales that could be easily found on there website.

Good ole Sears has all your basic decorations for Christmas time on sale. ( Just like everyone else because they are already making room for Easter stuff.) The lights did not appear to be that great of a deal to be honest but all that other stuff that Mom loves such as Bath towels and wash cloths etc. Also for all you craft sale people, this could also be a good time to stock up on decorations and other household décor that could make great gifts once put into gift baskets. Myself only knowing this because my aunt has made a nice chunk change buying low and selling cheap however in large quantities could be a good business idea for any household mom who is looking for something to do that’s time consuming, relatively cheap to start up and there is no rush to complete your goal as you have another 11 or so months until the Christmas season gets back in full swing and Bam! What cost you roughly $10.00 to put together and 15 minutes of your time just paid itself back at a minimum double what you spent because next season the stuff will be back at full price.

Walmart, the conqueror of the retail industry has already sold out of most of its online stock. However if you have a Walmart in your local area its worth the trip. (Like you weren’t going to go anyway.J)

Amazon.com at first glance did not appear to have any great deals, after a few revised searches I was destined to find something. Most of the stuff you may see they’re really not your traditional lights; but hey there is always a chance to stand out in the neighborhood by having something no one else has.

Kmart the Faux Pax of retail actually has some good supplies you could use next Christmas season. From my own experiences, the suction cups work nicely when hanging wreaths and the shingle clips and similar models make the possibilities where you can string along lights endless.

Kohls, surprisingly was a major flop. I have a local one in the Fresh Meadows area over on 188^th Street and Horace Harding right off the LIE. If you get off at Utopia. They were certainly lackluster when it came to holiday clearance supplies. Yes I know it is more of a clothing store, but they do sell the occasional decorations. (I bought a group of snowmen for a co-worker there, relatively cheap to boot.)

Even Macy’s is having a 50% off sale on its holiday items. The real kicker with this one is that even at 50% off they still make 200% profit if not more. Anyways that is besides that the fact and if you like more expensive “higher quality” stuff (then you probably would not be reading my Blog in the first place) then Macy’s may be the place for you.

Well all my resources that I could think of off the top my head are spent, hopefully I have saved you some time and energy by reminding you to prepare for Christmas early can always alleviate stress later on. If you are not satisfied with my links, please email me and let me know or if you have another great site for cheap decorations. We appreciate all those who write comments on our Posts, both local and distant please feel free to do so.

Very truly yours,

Mike