- Illustration: George Heaven
LOOK, WE'RE ALL some sort of hipster. Whether your "hipster" is vinyl, French press coffee, or writing Yelp reviews for urban goat farms, I get it, YOU'RE COOL! So before you start rolling your eyes and hollering about how greeting card companies invented Valentine's Day, hear me out: Just because the man invented it doesn't mean you can't enjoy it for yourself. It's a holiday about LOVE! ARE WE TOO COOL FOR LOVE NOW?
Movies and YM magazine ruined everyone's expectations of Valentine's Day—but the good news? Now is the time to rebuild! What if the jaded masses decided it wasn't just another Black Friday for fancy restaurants and B&Bs!? What if we took it back to honor the relationships that don't fit into the molds of pricy nights out and 1-800-Flowers?
Whether you're married, single, vigorously copulating, or totes single, you are SWEET on someone right now—and someone is sweet on you, too. Why don't you get that person a little something? I'm talking to you ladies, as well. Post-modern Valentine's Day is not about clueless men wandering around department stores looking for tennis bracelets and perfume! Here are just a few suggestions:
CANDY! Okay, fine, I happen to like Whitman's Samplers at Rite Aid. But there are also hella options for the locavore foodie types: Alma Chocolate, Missionary Chocolates, and Batch PDX are a few of my favorites. If you and your honey are on the casual (or the down-low) just get something they like. If someone gave me a Milky Way Dark and a Post-It note with "xoxo" on it, I'd swoon forever. Maybe your healthy/diabetic boo would enjoy a bag of Cuties. IT'S RIGHT THERE IN THE NAME, COME ON ALREADY.
JEWELRY! It's a traditional V-Day gift: a sparkly bauble, so precious and intimate, worn next to the tender skin of your beloved! But you're poor, right? Me too. Jewelry is probably out of reach for most folks, and even if my fuck buddy could afford it, jewelry makes me feel guilty. Blood diamonds aside, my relationships are not "tennis bracelet" serious. However, $10 in costume jewelry can make the same statement. Or go to Goodwill and pick out a piece that looks like something she already HAS. Of course, you can buy boys jewelry, too. But briefs are a nice way to say: "I think your body is worthy of adornments... especially your junk." If you want to buy him something shiny, try a tie clip. (Way cooler than archaic cufflinks.)
