Valentine’s Day Ideas for Couples in 2016

Valentine’s Day can be a great time to reconnect with your spouse or show your new special someone how much you care, but that ubiquitous candlelight dinner can get old real fast. This year, truly make it a night to remember with one of these unexpected activities.

Target His Sweet Spot

Skip dinner and go straight for dessert. “Pinpoint a few of your neighborhood chocolate shops or bakeries, and pick a special item at each spot,” says Samantha Daniels, dating expert and president of Samantha's Table Matchmaking. You can even create a scavenger hunt of out it and have him have to guess which place is next.

Head for the (Snow) Hills

With snow expected to blanket the Northeast just days before Valentine’s, it’s a great time to hit a local ice-skating rink or simply relive your youth by making snow angels in the backyard or going sledding. Come inside after and warm up together with a romantic fire and a mug of hot cocoa, suggests relationship coach, speaker, and author Ana Loiselle. Those in warmer climates can simply grab a soft blanket, a bottle of wine, and a picnic dinner, and lie in the grass and check out the stars—the prettiest and cheapest show in town.

Be His Latin Lover

No dance is sexier than the salsa, so find a salsa club or take a private lesson. “Whether you know how to dance or not, the ultimate benefit is you’ll be really close and touching your partner 95 percent of the time, making it easy to build the sexual tension,” says Thomas Edwards, a.k.a. The Professional Wingman. A heart-pumping activity that allows you to tease your man? We’re in!

Make Him Sweat

Couples that workout together typically have better sex lives, says Andrea Metcalf, bestselling author of Naked Fitness. That may be just the info he needs to be convinced to join you for Bikram yoga. “Studies have shown that sweating it out through exercise has a positive effect on a man’s libido,” Metcalf says. Bonus that a lot of people will be out to dinner, so you’re likely to have a less-crowded class. And once you’re done sweating, it’s time to clean up together in the shower or bath.

Drink and Draw

Wine and painting classes are popping up all over the place and let you get creative with your cutie, says Susan Trombetti, matchmaker and relationship expert. “It's a fun time for both men and women, and you don't have to be Picasso to come out with a quality piece of art.” Try Google for a class near you, or check out one of the 70-plus locations of Painting with a Twist. Hang your finished product above your couch, and you’ll always be reminded of Valentine’s Day 2013.

Give a Little Bit of Your Love

Choose a cause you both care about, roll up your sleeves, and donate two or three hours to a non-profit organization, suggests Mike Domitrz, founder and executive director of the Date Safe Project, a Wisconsin-based organization that deals with helping teens make smart choices when it comes to dating and intimacy. “Nothing feels better than giving back, and it’s even better when you can share this moment,” he says. Then, when you get home, discuss how you'd like to give to each other.

Get Close-Up and Personal

Pick a scenic location near you and surprise him with a couple’s photo shoot, says Brian Borgia, founder of Romantic Room Designs. “Hire a photographer who can meet you there and take a special portrait so you’ll always remember this day.” If you prefer DIY, buy a Polaroid and snap pictures together and of each other, says Ben Patton, star of the upcoming NBC series Ready for Love. “Collect everything in a photo book so you can look back on of all the amazing experiences from that day together,” he adds.

See the Future

Always wanted to go to Paris or buy a bigger home? Create a “vision board” together and plan your future goals, hopes, and dreams. “Spend two hours making a collage of pictures or magazine tear-outs that reflect precious memories and wishes you have as a couple for the future,” says New Jersey-based psychologist Sam Von Reiche, Psy.D. “Post pictures of your future dream house, your honeymoon—anything that reminds you how truly grateful you are for each other or inspires you about your futures together.”

Turn Up the Heat

It doesn’t take a genius to think of cooking a homemade meal, but you can turn this into a unique experience. “Sign up for a class at a local culinary institute, hire a private chef for a few hours in your home, or create a menu, play hooky from work, and spend the day shopping for gourmet goodies,” suggests Brenda Della Casa, author of Cinderella Was a Liar. At home, uncork a bottle of wine, turn on a playlist of your favorite songs, and leave the dishes for tomorrow!

Suite Retreat

If you want to let someone make dinner for you but can’t stand the noisy, unintimate atmosphere of restaurants, book a room at a nearby hotel and order a romantic room service dinner for two. Some places will even arrange special requests, such as your guy’s favorite meal or your favorite wine, says Grace Pamer, founder of Romance Never Dies. (Never hurts to ask!) Bring some candles and flowers for ambiance, but pack light—chances are you won’t be dressed for long.

50 More Ideas

Bundle up, pack a dinner picnic, and head to the park for some stargazing.
Watch Contact (for the millionth time).
Go to a science museum.
Hit the natural history museum and check out your favorite dino bones.
Go retro — grab a roll of quarters, a slice or two, and hit the pizza-parlor arcade.
Build your own planetarium with glow-in-the-dark stickers.
Catch up with the Doctor Who craze by watching the series from the beginning.
Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Visit Nerdy Day Trips and find geeky stuff to do near you.
Go to the planetarium.
Take a dream vacay to the Hobbit Hotel in New Zealand.
Spend a few romantic nights in the Hobbit House of Montana.
Visit the actual Lord of the Rings movie set.
Travel to the Chott el Djerid salt lakes in Tunisia, which were transformed into Luke Skywalker's home on Tatooine.
Sing a duet with these karaoke apps. Might I recommend "More Than Words" by Extreme?
Break out the Legos and build your own colorful city.
Make some Lembas bread and watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Tackle career mode and tour your way through Rock Band together.
Walk through a vivarium to check out some exotic reptiles.
Create a photo scavenger hunt. Each of you writes down a random clue, rhyme, or abstract fact about three locations, then exchange clues and have the other person take photos based on the clues received.
Take a trip to Stovepipe Wells Village in Death Valley, CA, where R2-D2 wandered the same sand dunes in Star Wars.
Build a mobile phone-based scavenger hunt using SCVNGR. The prize? You, of course!
Grab this molecular gastronomy kit and get geeky in the kitchen.
Bake some geeky sweets using Star Wars- or Marvel-themed cookie cutters.
Create your own cocktail and top it off with nerdy ice cubes.
Gift a geeky cookbook and try out a recipe together.
Take a pilgrimage to Lake Como, Italy, to visit the place where Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala were married — on the terrace of the beautiful Villa del Balbianello.
Grab your cameras and spend the day snapping photos of your hood.
Honor your shared love of photography by baking some camera cookies.
Top off a retro gaming session with Pac-Man treats.
Go to the physics-defying Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, CA.
Play a story-centric game together, like Heavy Rain or Alan Wake, from start to finish.
Make a pink Captain Picard cake to celebrate Valentine's Day and your mutual love for the captain who is number two in your heart.
Build a blog together . . . who knows, it could be worth millions one day!
Take in a killer sci-fi classic at your local drive-in.
Visit an air and space museum.
Go to a children's science museum to explore the laws of physics on simplified and fun terms (aka a building full of toys to play with).
Download a DJ app on your iPad and spin some tunes.
Pack a tech suitcase and get to know your city (or a new location) with the help of some apps.
Take a Segway tour or walk through an audio app tour of your city.
Take a walking tour through Tall Trees Redwood Grove in Humboldt County, CA, where the Endor scenes of Return of the Jedi were filmed.
Use as many Scoutmob, Gilt City, and Groupon coupons as possible in one day.
Attend a silent disco (a silent dance floor where you bring your own headphones and dance to your own music).
Convene with animal couples at your local aquarium.
Do a bar crawl to hit up the city's best photo booths. Take a set of pics and have a different cocktail at each.
Make funny GIFs of your favorite memories together.
Battle it out in an epic match of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Say cheese and challenge yourself by posing for self-portraits together using every filter in Instagram or every film style in Hipstamatic in different locations.
Make some Earl Grey tea and watch a Star Trek marathon.

Valentine’s Day Ideas for Couples in 2016

25 Creative ways to tell your Spouse, “I love you.”

On small pieces of paper, write down every kind of kiss that you can think of (examples: passionate, on the cheek, etc.). Then fill an inexpensive red felt bag with your “kisses” and give it to your spouse. Ask your spouse to pull several pieces of paper from the felt bag, and then give your sweetheart whatever kind of kiss is described.

Make a book about why you love your spouse and why you are thankful for him/her. The woman who sent this idea wrote, “He loved it! Said it was the best gift he has ever gotten. And it helped me to focus on the things I love about my husband and not his shortcomings.”

Take your sweetie on a scavenger hunt. Ask him/her to answer riddles to find the clues to items that you placed somewhere around town. The last item should give instructions that lead to your Valentine’s Day activities.

After enjoying a candlelight dinner for two at home, give your spouse a massage and watch a romantic movie. The woman who suggested this wrote, “Last Valentine’s Day when I got home from work, my husband … had our bedroom set up with a candlelit table for two. He is NOT a cook but he made an awesome meal … grilled steak, sautéed shrimp in lemon, garlic, and butter, a vegetable, and [he] bought a chocolate fountain that was flowing—surrounded by fresh fruit for dipping. After dinner he led me over to his homemade massage table. … We ended our special night with a romantic movie.”

Surprise your spouse with a special getaway together. The man who suggested this made reservations at a bed and breakfast, arranged for childcare, asked for time off from work for himself and his wife, and packed his and her bags. When he asked his wife to go to lunch on Valentine’s Day she was in for a wonderful surprise. “The little bit of effort I put into that weekend paid off huge for weeks to come.” (For an extra special experience, take your spouse to one of FamilyLife's Weekend to Remember® marriage getaways. It's one of the best investments you could make in your marriage. Find an event near you.

Give your wife a dozen roses. On each stem attach a note for a future date—to do something that she would enjoy. (For example, “Go to the symphony.”)

If possible, go on a date with your spouse to a restaurant that you enjoyed when you first met. After you order your meal, take some time to write down favorite memories from the past year. Then share your lists.

Have 11 roses delivered to your wife, and then give her a 12th yourself while reading her a love poem.

Fill a large box with helium balloons and special gifts for Valentine’s Day. The woman who suggested this said that her gifts included “new sleep shorts for him and a new nightgown for me, a box of chocolate-covered strawberries and red napkins ... some new candles, and a romantic CD. He got the hint. And loved the weekend.”

Create an intimate Valentine’s Day evening at home, without the children. The woman who suggested this idea said that she and her husband “enjoyed planning the menu, shopping for the meal, and ultimately preparing the meal together. Cooking to soft, romantic music can really be a turn on! While dining, the same soft, romantic music is a wonderful mood-setter. Dinner was followed by just the two of us having the whole dance floor, our den, to ourselves. I won’t say what all this led to, but it was a truly romantic night that would not have happened at the local restaurant!”

Order food from a take-out restaurant and have a picnic for all the Valentines in your family on your living room floor. The person who suggested this said, “The kids look forward to this every year. When we tried to change it, they wouldn’t allow it ... it has become a tradition. The kids see the value of family and a loving marriage.”

Privacy and weather permitting, watch a romantic movie on your deck or patio.

If you are separated across the miles, send a care package filled with things that are red.

Make a meal with symbols of love. Examples: Write I love you with string beans, make a tart in the shape of a heart …

Hide little heart candies in your spouse’s shoes, coat, car, etc. The woman who suggested this said that she’s been doing this for decades. “Now a couple of the grandkids help me with delight.”

Wives, show up at your husband’s office before lunch. Call him from the parking lot and tell him you are going to take him for a lunch rendezvous and that you will be waiting for him whenever he can take a break. Wear a nice outfit and tell him you have something sexy on underneath for when he gets home. Take him to a nice place for lunch and back to the office. Give him some great kisses telling him how glad you are to be married to him, and tell him you will be waiting for him when he gets home.

Fill a jar with Valentine candy and notes for your spouse. Examples of notes are: Good for a backrub, 10 kisses, etc. Notes could also express your love and respect: “I am so glad that God blessed my life with such a great husband like you.” Individually roll each note and tie it with a ribbon.

Surprise your spouse by taking a vacation day from work and enjoy Valentine’s Day at home. Have a relaxing morning together on the porch, deck, or patio. Then go to a favorite restaurant for lunch. The man who suggested this idea had also reserved a spa treatment and tanning session for his wife. “While she was doing that,” he says, “I went home and made her a special dinner.”

Write a poem for your spouse and frame it.

On individual note cards, write why you love your spouse. Insert these cards in a small photo album. The woman who suggested this idea began her album with a honeymoon picture and introductory note card, and ended it with a love note.

Surprise your husband when he comes home from work on February 14. Place a welcome sign on the kitchen table and leave a trail of red foil-wrapped Hershey kisses to your bedroom.

With roses in hand and permission from your wife’s boss, go to her workplace and read a love poem to her. The woman who shared this idea said, “I am a teacher in an inner-city school. Last year my husband dressed in my favorite suit and tie, came to my school with roses in hand. He got permission and assistance from the office staff to open the speaker system into my classroom and proceeded to read a long and beautiful love poem to me. He then came to my classroom and presented me with the bouquet of roses which I received while wiping my tears of joy and love for this wonderful man whom I have been married to for just under 30 years.”

Make a special “14 Reasons I Love You” Valentine’s Day breakfast for your sweetheart. On his/her plate, leave a letter or card listing 14 reasons that you love your spouse.

If possible, send a card postmarked in a town that has a romantic name such as Loveland, Colorado; Valentine, Texas; or Romance, Arkansas.

After your spouse goes to bed, tape notes to his car’s steering wheel with reasons that you love him, or decorate the bathroom mirror with lipstick kisses or Valentine’s window clings.