A date that won’t break the bank or a heart

  February often brings thoughts of pink hearts, chocolates, and flowers. Many people look forward to this as a month when their significant other will sweep them off their feet, counting the days until the calendar boasts the beautiful number 14.

  For some, however, Valentine’s Day is just another “Hallmark Holiday”, causing them to tally the rising cost of sweeping someone off their feet.

  “I think it [Valentine’s Day] is an excuse for businesses to exploit human emotion,” said HCC Student Franky Jackson.

  Whether you believe that Valentine’s Day is a great way to celebrate your love, or if you believe that it is a holiday invented by card companies and lonely hearts, there is one opinion that seems to be the same across the board: the cost of showing love is too high.

  According to Time Magazine, the average American forked out $126.03 on Valentine’s Day last year. American consumers as a whole are expected to spend $3.5 billion on a night out with their lovers in 2013.
With heightened expectations every year, many couples are looking to cheaper date ideas for this over-hyped holiday so that they can avoid swimming in more debt. Here are a few ideas that will help temper the sting of a pricey holiday:

  1. Picnic at a local park. The dinner you pack, whether it is peanut butter sandwiches or an elaborate salad and chicken concoction will seem fancier being pulled out of a basket under the moonlight. My personal favorite park is the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, located next to the Glazier Children’s Museum in downtown Tampa.

  2. Making homemade cards and gifts. Even if the card has sloppy hand writing and looks like it was made by a small child, it will mean much more since you took the time to sit down and make it. If you are self-conscious about your artistic ability, you can visit skiptomylou.org/printable-valentines, where you can create a custom valentine to print.

  3. Cooking a fancy meal at home. You can find tons of recipes on foodnetwork.com, add a few candles and nice romantic music, and you have something better than you could find at a four star restaurant. You could even satisfy the chocolate requirement of the holiday with home-made chocolate fondue!

  Whether or not Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark invented holiday or not still remains to be discovered, but hopefully the stress of the budget won’t put stress on the romance.