Julie Rath: 5 Genius Valentine’s Day Date Ideas

Today’s post is courtesy of the queen of romantic planning, Sarah Pease, The Proposal Planner (TM). Whether she’s taking over the flight deck of the Intrepid for an epic proposal, or organizing the perfect picnic in Central Park, Sarah knows what’s what when it comes to making romance happen.

For some, Valentine’s Day is the most romantic day of the year filled with love, red roses and candlelit dinners.  For others, it’s a commercialized, manufactured holiday rife with cheesy teddy bears, silk boxer shorts and exorbitantly priced prix fixe menus.  Regardless of your opinion, it’s a great excuse for organizing a fun date with your loved one (even if it’s just your most-loved friend!).  Here are five of my favorite ideas for Valentine’s Day:

1) For the Wallet-Conscious: Create your own wine tasting.  With a little research done online or with your local wine shop, select 2 reds and 2 whites and pair them with cheeses or chocolates.  Using a scarf from your closet, conduct an official blind tasting by candlelight.  Not only will you expand your knowledge of wines, but you’ll also enjoy the flirty part of blindfolding each other!  Budget not an issue?  Hire a sommelier to do a private tasting!

2) Starry Night: Research the hours at your local planetarium or night-sky observatory and arrange to have a private tour.  Whether you’re strapped into an IMAX seat watching the latest space-themed movie, or gazing at real stars in other galaxies, you’ll be in a romantic mood under all those stars.

3) Love is all Around: Plan an entire evening around love. Meet your sweetheart at the Museum of Sex near the Flatiron Building – who says a museum can’t be fun? Once you’ve explored all the newest exhibits, head to your favorite cocktail bar to sip on the cocktails she loves.  From there, treat her to her guilty-pleasure food – is it cheesy biscuits from Red Lobster?  Coconut Invasion cake from Asia de Cuba?  Tonight is the night to indulge.  End the evening by sharing three reasons why you love each other.

4) Futuristic Love:  Want to know what the universe has in store for you?  Do a psychic reading together!  Make an appointment or stop in to see what the crystal ball or tarot cards say.  If you really want to tempt fate, try a few different fortune tellers to see if their predictions overlap.

5) Ice Skating and Hot Chocolate:  Strap on your skates and join the crowds for a lively spin around the ice rink.  If you’re in New York, you can blend in with the tourists in Central Park, Rockefeller Center or Bryant Park, or discover some of the smaller rinks around the city.  Reward all of your activity with a cab ride to City Bakery and test out the “drinkable chocolate” of the day. Got a sweet tooth? Plan to come back every other day for the rest of their Hot Chocolate Festival which runs the entire month of February. That way you can try a new flavor every night.

Many thanks to Sarah for sharing her fantastic ideas. For more info on Sarah, check out her website.

And now that you’ve got the best date ever planned, read here for what to wear.