The week-long celebration of romance has begun. This month, also called the love month, is dedicated to couples, young and old, who fall in love with each other over and over again every day and stick around through thick and thin. While spending a romantic evening together outdoors and sharing the table over fancy dinners are way too common for couples (make no mistake, we’re not underrating their charm) to step up their love game, we have created a V’Day mood board that you may consider doing for your partner to set off powerful sparks and keep the spirit of romance alive. Make the most romantic day of the year delightfully unforgettable for your significant other without having to break the bank.
1 Arrange a charcuterie board at home to make a simple dinner into something special. Have lunch, relax under your blanket and get on the charcuterie board somewhere in the early evening time when the glorious red sky as the sun sets collides with the darkness of the night sky. Choosing the right time is important as the stomach should not be too full from lunch.
Variations of cheese, crackers, bread, meat, veggies, fruits and candies, anything can make up your charcuterie board, and enjoy the liberty to customise it as per your food preferences. The fun part is you can fill it up with snacks and appetisers for a lighter meal or even slices of meat and cheese and other treats like mini chocolate bars and candies to make for a fuller meal, maybe dinner. Sit down with your partner and get creative with colours and textures as you add elements to the delish spread of proteins and high calories. Forget counting calories for a day and indulge! Cheese is a staple in a classic charcuterie board. Go on to include soft, semi-soft, medium-hard, semi-hard and hard cheese, from Brie to goat cheese, from fresh ricotta to Buratta, Havarti, Gorgonzola, Jarlsberg, Parmesan or Pecorino, the choices are plenty. You can incorporate nuts, fresh and dry fruits as well. Add more nutrition with meat and let the piquant condiments and accompaniments, like pickles and kimchi, lend a savoury taste to complement the richness of the tender, juicy, flavourful chunks of meat or seafood, be it your simple salami, smoked salmon or sauteed jumbo shrimps.
2 Go wine tasting: Set off the evening with a touch of luxury as you go on a wine-tasting spree at the best bars in the city. Given the nippy weather, hitting up a bar will be suitable to warm things up and what better than Valentine’s Day to celebrate the colour red, often associated with love and wine? If budget is not a constraint, plan a vineyard vacation. Book your tickets and make it to the picturesque Sula Vineyards in Maharashtra or the majestic Grover Zampa vineyard in Karnataka, two of the finest wineries in the country. Visitors are also pampered with food and accommodation.
You can revel in the clinking of the sparkling wine glasses as light shines right through them. A quick look at the website of Oberoi Hotels reveals The Oberoi Grand Kolkata’s in-house wine specialist provides classes on indigenous grapes and how to choose wines as per different cuisines every day from 3pm to 5pm for Rs 2,500 per person.
3 Engage in board games: While watching a romantic movie together and bonding over a candlelight dinner are all great ideas, you two can also go off the beaten path. Get competitive this V-day, engage in some intellectual games and put to test your presence of mind, albeit in a lighthearted manner. While there is a bit of joy and envy in seeing your loved one win, winning challenges will be one of the best ways to garner compliments from your partner and feel special. Engage in popular creative board games such as Tiny Towns, St. Noire and Fog of Love. Tiny Town brings out your constructive capabilities as you find yourself entrusted with the responsibility of building a thriving town from a shared pool of resources. A cinematic board game powered by Alexa, St. Noire provides you with clues, truth and lies to solve a murder mystery. Fog of Love is a mini masterclass on handling relationships through awkward situations, hearty laughs and compromises and making a relationship work. A game like We’re Not Really Strangers is a relationship simulator and will be perhaps the most meaningful way to know your partner and deepen the understanding between you two.
4 Breakfast in bed: While breakfast in bed may be a common morning practice for some of us, pamper your partner by serving a special spread right in the bed. Enjoy your breakfast together while watching your favourite TV show from the ’90s maybe? No matter whether you have taken leave from office, or you are a homemaker or a student, throw all worries about work out the window and enjoy your morning with your bae, slowly relish your plate of English, or desi depending on your taste, breakfast. Indulge in a hands-on, heartfelt experience by whipping up the most important meal of the day for your loved one.
5 Cook together: It is said food is the way to a person’s heart. So, how about cooking dinner together and having a candlelight dinner set-up on the terrace? Economical, comfortable and romantic, it’s a masterstroke, we promise you! You can deck up the terrace or verandah with dim lights, flowers and wireless music speakers and set up a table for two. Ideally, you should make a list of your favourite dishes and stock up on groceries and ingredients two days ahead to run things smoothly on the 14th. While the dining out route is easy and convenient, personal involvement and efforts will go a long way in strengthening your relationship as you seek to spend some quality time with your partner in the familiar surroundings of your home.
6 Attend a concert/ virtual concert: If there’s a concert happening in town on the same day, waste no time in grabbing your tickets. Reignite the romance by attending your or your partner’s favourite singer’s concert, appreciating each other’s music taste, feeling the melody and grooving in each other’s company. It is not always about you. It is about you two. A music concert will be a beautiful way to know each other better with stolen glances and tight hugs as emotions will come out unabated. Alternatively, you can opt for virtual and recorded concerts of your favourite musicians.
7 Go on a scenic long drive: If you’re a long-drive person, take your partner out on a scenic long drive at the break of the day or dusk. Long drives are always a beautiful way of connecting, accompanied by some soul-stirring playlist and deep conversations. The nearest you can go are Raichak, Falta and the Sunderbans. You can simply put up in a hotel for the night, spend some quality time by the river and come back next morning, if you have the privilege of spare time.
8 Go stargazing: Make this V’day a starry affair as you go searching for the clearest night sky for stargazing with your partner from locations near Calcutta. Take out that telescope from your drawer, lay back with your partner in an open field and enjoy the surreal experience of gazing at the infinite beauty of the galaxy together, making it a memorable, romantic experience. You can have bonfire arrangements done too, but the calm and dark of the night will be best viewed without a streak of light. If you two are into star-lit sky and celestial bodies, you can also sign up for the night sky observation camps organised by the Kolkata Astronomy Centre under experts’ guidance. This will also serve as a mini getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city for a day or two.
9 Binge-watch: It is absolutely fine if you just want to slip into your pyjamas and spend the evening doing nothing. In the run-up to V-Day, soak in the nostalgia of old-school romance with titles from Yash Raj Films like DDJL, Veer-Zaara and Mohabbatein, which will be showcased at select cinemas, something the iconic production house has brought back by popular demand. However, on 14th evening, you can plan a cosy night simply in the comfort of your bed, with a movie that is special to both of you. Lounge in and chill with your partner. Stock up on your snacks and enjoy a movie treat.
10 Take a ghost/ heritage walk:If you like listening to horror stories and your inquisitive mind also wonders if there are really some truths behind such stories, you can join a ghost walk with your partner and some knowledgeable friends, as doing this alone might turn out a little uncomfortable if you are faint-hearted. If you find solace in the majestic, colonial-era structures, you two can also sign up for a heritage walk.
11 Recreate your first date: Going back in time and reliving the special moment once again will be another great way to spend the evening. You can make the effort to arrange everything to the T, if it was your first lunch/dinner date or take your partner to the place where you first met, and recreate those moments. You two can probably wear the same outfits that you wore at that time to mentally be at that moment one more time.
12 Make a bucket list: Spend the evening in a useful manner as you draw up a bucket list, not necessarily only “important” things. This can also include the things you have always wished to do as a hobby. Pay attention to your partner’s interest and show how much you care to do things together.