Valentine's gifts for husbands Archives - Hot, Holy & Humorous

One Week Until Valentine’s Day (Are You Ready?)

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 16:36:59 +0000

Every year, couples around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day, and this celebration hails back to at least the 5th century when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. Who was Saint Valentine? There are three potential saints who might be linked to this holiday, but many of us favor one particular legend:

Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.
“Valentine’s Day 2024: Origins, Background & Traditions.” History.com, January 19, 2024. https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2.

On top of that, back in those Middle Ages, “it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.”

Now, some point out that the holiday may have been introduced to counteract or subsume the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, but let’s face it: by now, your average person has zero idea what Lupercalia is but certainly knows about Valentine’s Day. So I’m not bothered that the dates overlapped at some point or that the choice of date to celebrate St. Valentine might have involved practical considerations.

What I definitely like about the legend of St. Valentine’s is the emphasis not merely on romance but on marriage—the relationship that should include a lifetime of romance. You know, in between paying bills, doing laundry, and cleaning up after your kids. But that romance stuff can make the more boring stuff more doable.

With all that in mind, today I wanted to provide readers a quick-and-easy way to access my Valentine’s Day ideas. With quite a few posts, you may want to scroll through and look at titles before deciding which ones to click!

Remember my caveat, though: If Valentine’s Day is important to your spouse, it should be important to you…because your spouse is important.

If Valentine’s Day is important to your spouse, it should be important to you…because your spouse is important.

How We Think About Valentine’s Day

Gift Ideas

What to Do for Valentine’s Day

And For the Ultimate V-Day Gift…

Click to Learn More!

That’s it! Maybe you can see why I didn’t write another ideas post this year. I have so many already! Best wishes celebrating in the way that you and your spouse do.

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Hour-by-Hour Marital Intimacy on Valentine’s Day

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 14:46:00 +0000

You know those songs that claim a couple made love all day or all night long? I’ve always wondered who has that kind of stamina. (So have many of you.) While having actual sex for 12 to 24 hours isn’t likely going to happen, you can create a sensual, intimate experience that lasts the whole day and into the night. Valentine’s Day might just be the very day to try it out!

Let’s walk through the day and see how you can create a passionate setting for this special day of romance.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This post includes one or more affiliate links, meaning if you click on the link and purchase an item, I receive an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.

Morning

Start the day right by giving your beloved a bouquet of flowers, breakfast in bed, an invitation to pamper herself or himself later, and/or something that makes her or him feel fresh and appealing.

Here are some gifts to launch your Valentine’s Day with romance and intimacy in mind!

Kissing mugs!

Breakfast in Bed Tray
Flowers
Kissing Mugs
Mani-pedi gift certificate
Perfume or body spray (and the link is to my favorite store for customized scents: Bath Junkie)

Midday

Lunchtime can also be an opportunity for some good lovin’! (You have heard of a nooner, right?) Put together a special treat or lunch and serve it up with a kiss and your special style.

Here are some gift ideas for midday amour:

Picnic/cooler basket for two (add your favorite foods)
Restaurant gift card
Champagne flutes with champagne or sparkling cider
Chocolate-covered strawberries

Afternoon

It’s time for a bit of afternoon delight! That doesn’t have to involve sex just yet, but perhaps the flirtation and anticipation of what’s coming later today. Tease now, please later.

Help your honey start preparing by presenting one or more of these:

Evening

The sun has set, and you’re excited to set the stage! Or maybe celebrate what you already did. ~wink~

Regardless, now’s the time to step up the sensuality and take your intimacy to a deeper level. Here are a few items to assist:

Nighttime

Pick your classic. Is it Ray Charles’s “Nighttime Is the Right Time”? Neil Diamond’s “Thank the Lord for the Nighttime”? Or hey, how ’bout the little-known Strangeloves’ “Night-Time”? Whatever your music style, songwriters and others have long noticed that nighttime is a good time for feelin’ sexy and goin’ for it! Some options:

Scented candle
Lingerie (for her or him!)
Couples’ bedroom game
Personal lubricant
Handwritten love letter — no link, just write it from your heart.

What’s your favorite day time of day for romance, affection, and/or lovemaking? And how can you make this Valentine’s Day special for your spouse?

If you really want to make this Valentine’s extra special, give the gift of a marriage cruise!

2023 Hot, Holy & Humorous Cruise
w/J. Parker AND Brad & Kate Aldrich

October 14–21, 2023

Learn More

Check out my other Valentine’s Day gift posts:

Clock images by Gustavo Rezende from Pixabay

The post Hour-by-Hour Marital Intimacy on Valentine’s Day appeared first on Hot, Holy & Humorous.

Do You Have to Celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Mon, 30 Jan 2017 13:33:52 +0000

In two weeks, it’s St. Valentine’s Day — a holiday celebrating romantic love. Given what I write about, this should be my wheelhouse. I should be excitedly touting the beauty of romantic gestures, sex-themed gifts, and marital bliss. And I have. You can find those posts here:

But I’ve also written about my own view of Valentine’s Day:
Valentine’s Day for the Rest of Us

What I really want:
What I Really Want for Valentine’s Day (Maybe You Do Too)

What men want:
Does He Just Want Sex for Valentine’s Day?

And my belief that we can make this holiday carry more weight than it should:
Is Valentine’s Day Too Much Pressure?

Some of you are like me: You have a billion things going on in your life, and the thought of stopping all that for something extra-special for a holiday designated by other people seems like another to-do you don’t need on your list. Besides, you frankly couldn’t tell anyone just who St. Valentine was anyway or what that cupid baby has to do with anything. (Seriously, little arrow-toting dude, put on some clothes.)

So here’s a question: Do you have to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Is it in the marriage contract somewhere? Does the fact that you are a couple mean you that must do something for this event? Would you be remiss if you breezed through February 14 not giving flowers or candy to your beloved and not even wearing the color red?

It depends.

On your spouse.

If this day is important to him or her, reconfigure that to-do list and make Valentine’s Day a priority.

But don’t assume. Because in an interesting conversation with some wives lately, I discovered that most of us didn’t care for a big to-do for Valentine’s Day. We wanted subtler gestures of romance — a quiet evening at home, a single flower, a greeting card, an extended time of physical intimacy, a whispered, “I love you. Happy Valentine’s.”

My husband and I tend to trade greeting cards and a long kiss … and that’s it — what constitutes the entire Valentine’s celebration in my marriage. Which both of us are happy with. We personally prefer to go out for a date on a night on which the restaurants aren’t so crowded or to exchange gifts on a day personally significant to us, like our anniversary.

But if I were a flowers, candy, or jewelry person, my husband should oblige, considering and cherishing the wife he married. Likewise, if my husband considered a proper Valentine’s celebration involved extra-sexy sex, I should oblige, considering and honoring the man I married. It’s simply biblical love to seek the other’s good and to show kindness.

I could write another post about what you can do for Valentine’s Day, but I’ve already written a bunch and it’s all a waste anyway if you don’t know what your own spouse desires and enjoys. So have a conversation and see what they think about this holiday.

While you’re at it, maybe talk about other holidays too. My husband and I evaluated our Christmas experience and decided to make some changes next year, and we’ll be talking soon about how to spend our anniversary, making sure our expectations are reasonably met.

If your spouse does want a bigger to-do, I have all of those resources up there you can consult for gift and activity ideas. Plenty of other marriage websites have ideas as well. And I’m sure your local retailer would love to walk you through some possibilities.

But you might be surprised to find out that you don’t have to do quite as much. Many couples are content to take it easy on this holiday of love and find small ways to celebrate.

That said, never ignore an opportunity in your marriage, whatever the day, to express love to your mate. Make that an ongoing goal.

Reminder: Valentine’s Day is special in that we are launching our podcast that day. Click on the banner below to head to our website and learn more. And mark your calendar to listen that week!

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