How To Have A Romantic Valentine’s Day At Home

If the idea of going out for what is supposedly the most romantic day of the year makes you green at the gills, fear not – you are not alone! My husband and I have never gone out for Valentine’s Day for a few reasons: you have to book super far in advance if you want to eat at a normal time; the prices are always artificially inflated; and quite frankly, it’s just too soppy and awkward for our liking! Having said that, it doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate! Yes, we do keep it low-key because we prefer to focus more on birthdays and bigger holidays like Christmas. But it’s nice to have an excuse for a slightly fancier date night. Here are some ideas for how to have a romantic Valentine’s Day at home.

Order a dine at home box

We pretty much do this every Valentine’s Day now. This year, we’ve gone for Rick Stein’s Valentine’s Steak Menu. But in previous years we’ve tried other boxes from some of our favourite restaurants (unfortunately, they don’t all still exist post-pandemic!). Steak is always our go-to slightly fancier at-home dinner choice. These boxes can seem expensive at first but they typically work out as a lot cheaper than going out to eat at a restaurant, particularly once you’ve added drinks.

Set the table

Once you’ve chosen your dinner, whether you’re cooking from scratch or ordering something in, it’s always nice to set the table properly. We usually eat in our kitchen and the dining table is reserved for more ‘special occasion’ dining. It doesn’t have to be super complicated, but candles, nice silverware and glasses and napkins go a long way to making your dining experience closer to that of a restaurant.

Buy flowers

It wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without some gorgeous flowers! Roses are lovely but can be very expensive, especially at this time of year. So really, any red or pink bouquets will do the trick and bring those romantic vibes. I personally love alstroemeria at the moment to add a bit of colour around the house.

Make cocktails

Cocktail making is one of our favourite couples activities, Valentine’s Day or not! This year I’ll be on the mocktails but some of my standard alcoholic favourites include:

• Passionfruit martini
• Kir Royale
• Classic gin martini

For non-alcoholic aperitif alternatives, this year I’m going to be going for:

• Alcohol free rose wine
• Alcohol free G&Ts (Seedlip is my go-to non-alcoholic gin)

Cook dinner together

Maybe this is a good idea or maybe not such a good idea, depending on how much you enjoy cooking… but it can be a really nice way to spend some time together to connect when you’re having Valentine’s Day at home. It also means you’re not relying on just one person to do all the heavy lifting to prepare the food. If you find cooking stressful, I’d highly recommend choosing a straightforward meal or ordering something in that’s easy to prepare. M&S have a good ‘Dine in for two’ deal for Valentine’s Day for £20 that includes a starter, main, side, dessert and drink.

Spend time together in the evening

With our busy, hectic lives and work schedules, spending time together in the evening is a bit of a rarity for my husband and me. So Valentine’s Day is a good reason to commit to setting some time aside after dinner to watch a film and spend some quality time together, without being interrupted by all the usual distractions (i.e. our phones and computers). Other ideas for things to do could be to do a puzzle, play a board game or even set up an at-home spa experience to relax and unwind as a couple.

For more Valentine’s Day inspo, check out 50 Gorgeous Valentine’s Day Gifts For Her.