No matter how silly and ultimately meaningless this “hallmark holiday” is, every girl hopes that someone will acknowledge her on Valentine’s Day.  When I was a single girl, I dreaded Valentine’s Day (and most holidays for that matter). But like most single girls, I still hoped and prayed that some secret admirer would send me flowers, candy, or some cute stuffed bear wearing a red tee shirt with some cheesy phrase like “be mine” on it . Hey, I’d even settle for a card.  I just wanted something that day. Just to feel loved, appreciated, alive. And sometimes I would get something. There are some sensitive gems out there that are willing to play along.  I had a male boss who always brought a single pink rose to every woman in the office as a gesture of appreciation. And of course there’s Dad.  Even a Garfield or Snoopy card from Dad could cheer me up on a day that depressed the hell out of me.

I think the majority of men think Valentine’s Day is just plain stupid.  But the bottom line is no matter how cool the girl plays it, she is most likely desperate for some offering on this day. She’s actually waiting and waiting for that moment to happen. When the delivery man comes to her desk at work with a huge monstrosity of roses, instead of passing her by and delivering to her neighbor, she is completely elated. Having flowers delivered may seem overboard for some guys but if she works in an office environment with a ton of women, you best be sending flowers.  And mind you they don’t have to be roses.  If you ask a woman what her favorite flower is chances are it’s not a rose.  Whatever the flower arrangement is though, the worst thing that can happen is being surrounded by bouquets that aren’t for you.  Even if you have a night out planned, send the flowers!  You’ll have a much better evening if you do. (In order to make this even easier for you, here’s a ProFlowers coupon for 20% off any order + free vase - or you can enter to win one of five $70 ProFlowers gift certificates we are giving away, just in time for Valentine’s Day.)

The best way to gently remind men they can’t get away with ignoring V Day is to sweetly say “I got you your Valentine’s present today”.  Then they are almost obligated to return the gesture (almost). Another way is to decorate your place. Put out some heart candles or fill a heart bowl with candy. If they are smart enough to catch on (the odds are against us ladies), they’ll realize that Valentine’s Day is not so silly to you.

For the men out there who think they can pretend the February 14th is just like any other day, well, you can’t.  You must realize that receiving nothing on this hyped up holiday can be devastating for us (even if we play it off). You have no choice but to give in to this retail ploy to buy romantic stuff.  We’re not asking for a five page love letter or even a pricey dinner. We just want to see that you are capable of giving in to your complete and utter dislike for this holiday just to do something sweet for us. We also want to brag to our girlfriends about the flowers you sent, the sexy lingerie you bought for us, or even just the little pink monkey you left on the bed.  Basically, we want to brag about how sweet you can really be so everyone knows how lucky we are.