So, you survived the madness of Christmas. Congratulate yourself: you made it to the New Year! You’ve quit everything you most love in this world: chocolate, loafing about, smoking, drinking, eating out and here you stand bold and proud in your tracksuit with your carrot sticks and your Nicorette patches, ready for another revolution around the sun!

But don’t get too complacent because although in this depressing monotonous month of January, you and your bank balance do have a little time to recuperate, something nefarious lurks around the corner. Although it’s not as dastardly and all-consuming as Christmas: it’s nonetheless another challenge for you grasshopper.  What am I going on about? Big fluffy hearts and love day, that’s what (more commonly known as Valentine’s Day). That’s the day that you get the opportunity to prove how much you love your partner and quantify everything you think and feel for them with a material token of your affection. Oh what total joy and elation you must be feeling! Yes, this is the day that makes all the card shops happy again after the greeting-less slump of January.

Detecting a note of sarcasm in my tone? Well you’re right. Valentine’s Day (or what I will be referring to as ‘Friday’ nearer the time) irritates me on many levels and I know it does you too, don’t deny it. After spending a small fortune on your loved one for Christmas, stressing about finding them the perfect gifts to show them how much you love them and how well you know them, come February you have to do it all over again. And what’s worse about Valentine’s Day is you’ve probably exhausted all your best ideas on Christmas! Let’s take a moment to reflect on just how much Valentine’s Day sucks, I’m sure you’re with me on this one (or else I’m just overly cranky from the lack of nicotine, caffeine, sugar and salt in my body).

Now take a deep breath (which now, incidentally, I’m finding much easier to do without a mouth full of chocolate and biscuits. Something to be said for abstinence I suppose) and let me help you get through this difficult time. Why am I being so nice to you? You’re quite right to be suspicious. Well it’s not because I give a flying fluffy fudge about Valentine’s Day that’s for sure! It’s because I don’t want to see you in the dog house, or suffering any more stress than you absolutely have to. And plus, I happen to know a thing or two about gifts and none of my other friends will listen to me babbling on about work anymore so I’m targeting YOU for my work related waffle.

Working for Buyagift, you hear the phrase “life’s an experience: it’s up to you what kind” quite a lot. And at one point I started to worry that it was infiltrating my brain in a bit of a ‘1984-thought police-brainwashy’ sort of way. And maybe it has because I actually have come to really agree with that statement, especially when it comes to Valentine’s Day. Don’t succumb to the pressures of getting into debt for diamonds and designer labels just to prove your undying love to your partner. Instead why not treat them to a day completely outside of the realms of reality. A bubble in time away from the monotony and domesticities of their everyday work and home life.  Something that they can think about and smile about for years to come.  After all time is what’s really precious in life and I think that’s what makes a gift experience day so valuable, especially when it comes to showing someone you love them.

There are tons of experiences on our site to suit every type of person but if you’re anything like me then you’re probably bored of looking through them all and will just buy anything to spare you from the eye-strain of relentless product description after product description. So I’ve put myself in your shoes (very comfy they were too, thanks) and found a nice variety of experiences that might suit the more tricky other halves out there!`