Setting the mood for Valentine's Day

Heather Little-White, PhD, Contributor

You want to get it right for Valentine's Day by setting the perfect mood for you and your partner to enjoy in a special way.

Whether you have been married for a long time, newly-weds, or just dating, you should learn the ways to use romance to spice up your love life. According to Ezilon.com, "A union with romance is like seasoning on salad that makes your love so much more interesting."

So what can you do that is different for this year's Valentine's celebration?

It is a week night and you have to think of work the next day, so you should consider what is most practical and affordable. Entertaining at home may be your best option to avoid going back into the traffic after a hard day's work and spending more than you want to on eating out. Home is where the heart is anyway, so it is a good place to start.

Planning

You will have to work out the plan carefully if you want this celebration to be special. Paul, who followed Outlook's advice a few years ago, reports that he will always entertain a home as he finds that it brings out his creativity which his wife enjoys. The children know that they will be with grandma for the night and the housekeeper has a night off after she has helped with some prepping during the day.

Paul learnt to cook gourmet meals from a gift certificate his wife gave him for their fifth wedding anniversary to attend a cooking course, so he has the culinary skills to create a perfect menu.

Like Paul, you have to be highly organised to get the place in the mood for love. It means mapping out your strategy for how you will entertain depending on the layout of your home and how you will keep most of it a surprise. You should make the assessment early to identify what you will need to get.

Home décor

Dinner is a given in this romantic home surprise but what comes before dinner? Make a headstart by adding some changes to the home décor, especially in the bedroom. You could hang a cupid or place a picture of when you were dating on the bedside table. You may want to add soft furnishings or use red and white themes in the curtains. You can change the lighting to add that special touch.

Sensuous bath

Before dinner, you may want to take a bath together. If you are giving the treat, get home before your partner and set the bath. Pour bath oils, foam bath or bath salts so your spouse can smell the oils upon entering the home after a stressful day at work. It will have a tranquilising and relaxing effect as he or she approaches the bedroom and bathroom. Enhance the mood by placing small votive candles around the bathtub and put on some soothing background music. This is one element of your foreplay.

Let's eat!

You should have prepared for your romantic dinner well in advance, so you have very little to do after your bath so you can enjoy dinner together. Set a small table, if possible, so your knees will touch when you are seated. If you do not have one, you can rent one for the occasion, along with tablecloth and napkins in red and white or rose. This is a great occasion to use your best china and crystal and fine silverware.

You can prepare the meal alone, but it is an unexplainable sensual feeling when you can have your lover in the kitchen to cook with you. It gives you a chance to be playful, another important foreplay activity. Leading up to Valentine's Day, write down ideas that will enhance the cooking experience.

Candles and flowers

Since your task is to please your partner, candles and natural flowers must be included to excite and evoke pleasurable aromas and thoughts. Be careful in using highly scented flowers or candles as these could trigger sinuses and spoil the evening. Besides, you do not want to compete with the mouth-watering aromas of the meal.

Soft lights and sweet music

Soft lights and sweet music is an age-old advice. Set up soothing background music and use candles or the dimmer switch to bring the lights down low. Make sure the answering machine is on silent and turn off cellphones. You should have put your champagne to chill before dinner so it will be ready for popping and pouring.

Gift

Surprise your lover by presenting a special gift, something that he or she has been wanting. Have the gift specially wrapped and make the opening an event in itself. With dimmed lights and soft music, blindfold your lover and make him or her unfold slowly and guess what it is.

Holding hands

After the meal, rekindle the romance by spending time with each other. Relax on the sofa with soothing music and just hold hands. This element of touching is the icing in foreplay as it leads to intense fondling and caressing. Just spending time close to your partner is often enough to rekindle romance. Share your dreams and talk of the past and of your hopes and desires as you move forward together.

Massage

You can give a sensuous massage as you wind down the evening's activities. You may move to the bedroom and turn out the lights. You would have already put on clean bedlinen, possibly some satin ones. Gently lay your partner down and carefully massage the muscles, feet, and arms. Use one or two drops of a scented essential oil for better application. Candles and soft music are a natural complement to the massage procedure.

Valentine's Day is an ideal time to rekindle the flame of love. In many cases, a romantic surprise is not difficult to organise and the romance and spark it generates can last for weeks. Also, it clearly indicates to your partner the depth of your affection. So why not surprise your lover this Valentine's Day with a special home-made treat that is sure to make him or her think of you in a loving way?

Send feedback to heatherl@cwjamaica.com.