Valentine’s Day is often considered to be the most romantic day of the year which I personally can never understand. The only explanation I can come up with is that people who consider Valentine’s Day the most romantic day of the year are not totally happy in their personal life. Unhappy and unwilling to admit it, since the admission would lead to the inevitable realization that one’s personal life is, if not a complete failure, then not that enviable.

I have come across so many articles on the Net with somewhat dubious suggestions for Valentine’s Day gift ideas, most of which made me laugh. The funniest ones are written by men. Our poor men…. They really go out of their wits thinking up ideas on how to impress their loved ones on Valentine’s Day. Most gift ideas end up so boring and unimaginative – heart shaped chocolates with heart shaped cards accompanied by a bouquet of red roses followed by predictable gifts in heart shaped boxes decorated with red or pink ribbons with red hearts printed all over. And the hard and cumbersome task of getting a Valentine’s Day gift is complete. Perhaps, this is how most men will approach the task this year because this is how they have dealt with it in the past. And got away with it!

Various department stores are not helping men in their search for the perfect St. Valentine’s gift either. Their oversized display ads – with again, never ending red hearts and pink ribbons – lure inside men already exhausted from gift hunting and offer a selection of gifts to satisfy the most capricious tastes. And this is where most men end up laden with bottles of expensive perfumes, designer handbags and wallets, silk scarves and all sorts of other similar goodies their women already have.

Of course, a lot depends on what the woman is in your life wants and how materialistic she is. If all she wants is pearls and diamonds then the task of finding the right gift is easy provided you have a very fat wallet. Unless you intend to propose on St. Valentine’s Day, getting a diamond ring might set a dangerously high bar: what if she will expect a bigger diamond next year?

If a man is artistic and creative he can make a gift with their own hands. Unfortunately, not all men possess creative talents, and a big portion of men have hands that grow from the wrong place, so that self-made present is out of the question when even wrapping a gift seems like a colossal job. That is where it is better to stick to conventional gift sourcing channels.

So what is the best Valentine’s Day gift? Perhaps, there is no simple answer to this question because we all are different. Living in a shopping obsessed society as we are, receiving a standard gift is nearly inevitable. And if she wants that Vivienne Westwood handbag, or has run out of her favourite perfume, or wants a voucher to her favourite spa salon – get it for her. After all, a gift, as we all know, is not that important. What women want most from their men is attention. Attention does not cost money, does not require fancy wrapping, and does not entail delivery costs. Give her a bit of your attention every day and you will learn that romance will not be confined to St. Valentine’s day only.