Shortcuts to a Romantic Valentine’s Day
Easy ways to spice up your holiday
Make Valentines from Household Supplies
Paint samples, playing cards, sponges, sugar packets, matches…
Original Purpose: Taking up space in your kitchen and desk drawers.
Aha! Use: It’s all there, and now you know why you’ve never gotten around to throwing it out: a private, inexhaustible stock of Valentine-card-making props. Dead AAA batteries ("I get a charge out of you"), old lollipops ("I’m a sucker for you"), stray keys ("the key to my heart"). Sit yourself down and grab a pile of craft supplies — construction paper, scissors, markers, tape, X-Acto blade, large-eyed needle and strong thread (or dental floss!), doilies, ribbon saved from the last party. Don’t worry about getting the edges straight. It’s the message that counts.
Reward: Recycling with heart.
Candy Canes as Valentine’s Day Treats
Original Purpose: Adorning Christmas trees and stuffing stockings.
Aha! Use: Valentine candy. With some minor melting, they can decorate cupcakes and gift boxes, or cards that will be hand delivered.
How to Do It: Remove the cellophane wrapping from the canes and form hearts by placing them hook to hook and tail to tail on a nonstick baking sheet or one lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350º F for 2 to 4 minutes (depending on the canes’ size) or until they stick together when you pinch the ends lightly. Cool thoroughly and remove with a spatula. If you want to make flat hearts with psychedelic stripes, bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Reward: Leftovers that say "love."
Greeting Cards as Gift Tags
Original Purpose: Mantelpiece clutter, proof of popularity.
Aha! Use: Gift tags. Last year’s holiday and birthday cards may be too pretty to throw away, but they’re probably not meaningful enough to keep. Cut out hearts, flowers, or any other whimsical illustration from the card’s cover, avoiding handwritten notes on the opposite side, and stash them with your ribbons and wrapping paper.
Reward: It’s not regifting; it’s recycling.
Quick Valentine’s Day Treat
In between dropping the kids off, picking up the dry cleaning, and making your to-do list for the week, you’re supposed to fit in romance? Try this easy trick: Melt a Hershey’s bar in a saucepan over low heat and dip some fresh strawberries in it to make a treat for your sweetheart. Let them cool on wax paper. Candles and canoodling optional.
DVDs for an Instant Holiday-Theme Party
Struck by a mad urge to play Cupid, you’re throwing a Valentine’s party. First head over to Blockbuster and pick up an appropriately themed DVD—preferably a romantic favorite like When Harry Met Sally, Casablanca, or An Affair to Remember. Come party time, pop it in the machine, press Play, then mute the sound so the film can serve as a quiet but not-too-subtle backdrop for the evening. Bonus: If a partygoer gets tired of small talk, he can zone out and tune in to the on-screen romance until he makes his own love connection with bachelorette number three.
Wrap Presents with Newspaper
Original Purpose: Looking up words, getting the news, finding your way.
Aha! Use: One-of-a-kind wrapping paper. Leftover paper of all kinds — wallpaper, old maps, last week’s Sunday comics — begs to be recycled as gift wrap. You’ll see: Almost any mundane printed matter is transformed by a big, shiny ribbon. Use a copying machine’s enlarger function to make much of small things. Choose a dictionary definition to suit the occasion: love for Valentine’s Day, shamrock for Saint Patrick’s Day, ageless for an anxious friend’s birthday. Photocopy the page onto an 11-by-17-inch sheet of paper (if possible) at the highest magnification, repeat as needed to increase the word size, and squeeze in the choice part of the definition. When the boss catches you wasting paper and toner, offer to run off a set for her wedding anniversary.
Reward: Oohs and ahs from the impressed recipient.
Other Use: Lining a birdcage.
Decorate Plates with Ketchup Squeeze Bottle
Original Purpose: Dressing French fries.
Aha! Use: Decorating dishes like a professional. Run an empty plastic ketchup bottle through the dishwasher (or pick up a fresh one at the Container Store; $1, www.containerstore.com), then fill it with your favorite sauce or condiment. Drizzle some rosemary-scented olive oil across a bowl of white bean soup, a squiggle of fudge or raspberry sauce around the rim of your Valentine’s dessert plate. (If calligraphy is not your strong suit, practice on a paper plate or stick to abstract designs.)
Reward: Five-star-chef presentation in less than five minutes.
Other Use: Fill with a week’s worth of homemade salad dressing and squirt as needed.
Create the Perfect Setting
For a romantic and fragrant centerpiece, float a few small orchids and some tea lights in a glass bowl.