February 1
Make the dinner reservations or get out the recipe books and plan a meal.  Don’t make the mistake of trying something new, Valentine’s night is the one night you don’t want to look haggard and frustrated by complicated hors d'oeuvres.

February 2
If you have children arrange to have a babysitter for the evening.  Do this early before said baby sitter realizes February 14th is Valentines Day and makes plans of her own.

February 3
Buy your last minute goodies for Valentine’s Day.  Don’t wait till the last minute to get the chocolates and a card.

February 4
Take the evening off to pamper to yourself. do your nails, deep condition your hair and try on your ‘red’ dress to see if it still fits.

February 5 
Want to add that personal touch by writing your own words into a Valentine’s card? Start drafting today. Looking for inspiration? Reflect on your relationship by rereading old love letters and by gathering old photographs of you as a couple so that you can reminisce on how it all began.

February 6 
Plan a romantic scavenger hunt.  Wrap up chocolates from an assorted box and leave them in places he utilizes in his daily routine. Label them as 1 out of 5, 2 out of 5 and so forth so that he knows just how many he should be looking out for. A few good hiding places to try are next to his toothbrush, next to his favorite cereal and on the side table where he leaves his house keys.

February 7 
Music - select the music for the night. Perhaps some light jazz will set the mood, or you could create a mix tape of your couple favorites. 

February 8 
If you have kids get them involved in making the day memorable by preparing to say a poem or presenting your significant other with flowers and a card.  Have a practice run to make sure everything will goes smoothly. 

February 9 
Do a quick ‘mini spring clean’ of your home.  Make use of a few fabric softener sheets in your linen cupboard to give a fresh scent to any towels and table linen you will be using on the night.

February 10 
Mail the Valentine’s Day card before midday at latest to ensure it arrives in time for February 14th.   It is better for it to arrive a day early and thus avoid the disappointment of it arriving too late.

Valentine's Day has high volume traffic for mail so post your packages early to ensure delivery on or before Valentines day.
(The US Postal Service expects local card deliveries to take +/- 2 business days while national mail will take +/- 4 business days. Express mail service guarantees overnight delivery.  International mail can take anywhere from 1 – 3 weeks for delivery.)

Loveland’s Valentine postmark re-mailing program allows your love letters to be postmarked from Loveland. All you need to do is send in your letter or card pre-addressed with the correct postage and Colorado’s senior citizen volunteers will do the rest.

February 11 
Reconfirm dinner reservations and flower arrangements.

February 12 
Rent a romantic film or one that both of you will enjoy.

February 13 
Why not surprise him by setting a compact disk or tape his car stereo so that upon ignition ‘your couple song’ plays?  It’s guaranteed to bring a smile to his face.

February 14 
Happy Valentines Day!  It’s time to put into action all your plans and enjoy your special time together.

by Leanne Naidoo - Staff Writer