How to Handle your First Valentine’s Day in a New Relationship
If you’ve recently starting dating someone, Valentine’s Day can bring heart palpitations; both those of excitement and of concern. Some people relish the day to be romantic with gifts, dinner or gestures thoughtful. Others feel the pressure makes it a false and cliched event. In their attempts to be sincere they might avoid being romantic at all.
When a relationship is new - you are both trying to second guess the other. Neither wants be the person who doesn’t give a card but who receives one, nor the person who sends a card when the other party doesn’t. Just as you are building your relationship it all can get too awkward. So here are five tips on how to handle your first Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day
1. Be yourself
It sounds old-fashioned, but if you are male, you can’t go wrong with flowers or a card. If you are female, be true to who you are. If you are romantic, then be romantic. Set the tone yourself. We don’t suggest going overboard, but a card is always a lovely simple gesture. If you have any concerns then go the anonymous route and sign the card with a question mark, adding both mystery or a safety net if one is required.
2. Don’t take it too seriously
Valentine’s Day is just a bit of fun. Don’t take the existence or absence of gifts as any specific sign. Its lovely to be romantic any day of the year, and many couples love celebrating Valentine’s Day. But equally, some may feel it is cliched and insincere. So allow your partner to be different and to celebrate your relationship their way. This might not mean red roses or a restaurant meal on Valentine’s Day. Or it might mean your favourite home-cooked meal. Romances comes in all shapes and sizes and by demanding it a specific way on a specific day might ruin the individualism your partner has to offer.
Love balloons
3. Mix it up
If you do want to celebrate Valentine’s Day, don’t be pushed into buying or doing what the retail industry insists. The day can get very commercial, but there are so many way to be romantic. Don’t be constrained by society expectations and feel free to do it your way. It might not be red roses, but red roses are always wonderful, so be you, whether that’s original or traditional.
4. Have realistic expectations
Sometimes the pressure to have a romantic time can be too much. Just as there is so much pressure on New Year’s Eve to have the best night of your life, it can lead to unrealistic and unachievable expectations. Which then in turn, can cause disappointment. By being open to the whole spectrum of possibilities the Valentine’s Day then romance can bloom even when you are caught in the rain. It’s just a question of perspective. So keep yours.
5. Communicate
As we always hear, the key to a good relationship is communication. So if you are worrying about your partner’s expectations this Valentine’s Day. Why not just ask them? You may learn something really valuable about each other, and you may just take all the fear out of it, leaving you both to have wonderful day.
If you are single and would like to meet a partner then a relaxed chat with one of our friendly matchmakers could be a gentle starting point on your dating journey. Click here to contact us.