This year, my boyfriend and I decided to keep things casual. As we live together, we began the morning serving up a good old homemade English breakfast! Accompanied by a glass of orange juice, we sat at the dinner table, munching down our hearty grub while listening to our shared Spotify playlist.
Since my boyfriend had a stacked day of lectures, we were separated for a few hours. I took this opportunity to head over to the Pink Lane Bakery to surprise him with a sweet pastry and watched the debut of Yellowjackets season three.
As my boyfriend arrived home with flowers and chocolates in hand, our Valentine's Day plans commenced! Since we were staying in this year, we decided to shake things up to make it feel special compared to our usual evening plans by building a fort in our living room to have a “sleepover.”
Our chosen meal for the day was our favourite local takeaway, Pizza Globe in Jesmond. We ordered a New York pizza, made up of pepperoni and Italian sausage, along with a side of garlic parmesan wings and truffle fries. We put on a special Paramount+ screening of our chosen cheesy rom-com of the evening, Failure to Launch (2006), and tucked into our delightful feast. Who needs gourmet steak and wine anyway?
As the credits began to roll, a night of competition, cooperation and camaraderie ignited as we fired up the Xbox. Starting strong with Trivial Pursuit, we fought tirelessly using our general knowledge, continuing the fun with classics like Peggle, Lego Star Wars, Fifa and Dead by Daylight. After an evening filled with fun, laughter and love, we sank into each sofa in our makeshift fortress, with Family Guy playing in the background as we fell asleep.
Despite not going out for a glamorous meal or gifting fancy jewellery and aftershave, we had an incredible time together. I hope my Valentine's Day serves as a testament that you do not need to spend money to have a good time with your partner. The holiday of love should be for creating more meaningful memories with your person rather than a display of materialism.