Valentine's Day

You wake up to birds chirping, just kidding, you don’t, because it’s February and it’s freezing, and also you have a kid. 

Valentine's Day is the perfect time to spend a few hours showing ourselves the love we deserve.

Valentine's Day is upon us and the topic of love is ubiquitous. Even if you wanted to, you can't escape the pink hearts, gender normative clichés, and doe-eyed couples.

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Before we’ve even had time to digest the festive season (and the last of the mulled wine), the overwhelming abundance of red hearts, teddy bears, and all things contrived come out to taunt us. They’re everywhere. From the zillion greeting cards, custom chocolates, gift ideas, sex toys, you name it — all in the name of a dude called Cupid.

My sexual assault is the main reason my girlfriend and I didn’t celebrate the love-infested holiday for the first six years of our relationship. Last Valentine’s Day, a month after we celebrated seven years together, was our first time embracing the holiday as our own.

It’s nothing you can buy at See’s or Hallmark. You won’t see a commercial for it. Frankly, it’s a lot easier to buy a dozen roses on FTD.com than it is to do the things that women have been asking for since the dawn of time.

If you’re going down the gift route, here’s a guide so you can pick up the best gift to give the person you’re “sort of” dating on Valentine’s Day.