No holiday has more of a love-hate connotation with people than Valentine’s Day. It great to have an entire day devoted to showing someone how much you care about them. What isn’t great is that people tend to focus on the presents involved with the holiday rather than the overall feeling of

the day.

Valentine’s Day is actually kind of awkward.  A lot of couples wait to officially begin dating until after Christmas break, so Valentine’s Day is their time to exchange gifts. A present from a new squeeze on Valentine’s Day usually consists of a few DVDs, different kinds of candy and something along the lines of perfume or cologne. None of this is bad, it just doesn’t seem that special.

Then you have the couples that have been together for quite some time. Between Christmases, anniversaries and birthdays, they are running out of ideas of what to get each other. If you just got your girlfriend some great jewelry for Christmas, you are probably groaning at the thought of already buying her another special gift. In situations like this people often turn to ideas like gift certificates. Again this is thoughtful and everybody loves a good massage, but it doesn’t seem like a lot of effort was put into the idea.

Personally, I like Valentine’s Day. I just hate how people give gifts just because they know it’s expected. People will run out and drop tons of money on a gift that didn’t require much time or thought.

I always encourage the use of chocolate and flowers. Let’s be serious, I treat dark chocolate like a required food group. But I encourage gifts like chocolates or beautiful bouquets to be given on March 22 or June 1. I think gifts like that should be given on a random day because it would be more appreciated when it

is unexpected.

I encourage you to take time this year to give a gift that is unique and special as the person you are dating.

So if you’re dating a girl who is a Twi-hard and makes you watch something from the Twilight saga every time she gets to pick the movie,  I honestly question your judgment.  But if you’re into her and she’s into vampires, maybe you should look into ordering the new “U-Star Novel” called “Blood Lust.”

Now instead of constantly talking about the sparkling Edward Cullen, you can be the starring vampire in her life. “U-Star Novels” are books where you send in information about yourself and your significant other and they print a book using your names and physical descriptions. There are more kinds than just vampire stories though, so if your gal is a bookworm of any kind this could be something to look into!

Or if you’re dating an animal lover, you can elaborate on that. Look up places where you can “adopt” an animal. I have been an elephant fanatic as far back as I can remember, so I’d go weak at the knees for a certificate from a zoo saying I was the proud new adoptive mother of an African elephant. Even if your boo isn’t as vocal as I am about his or her favorite animal, this is still a good option to look into. Maybe your fist kiss happened while watching “The Hangover,” so you could “adopt” a jungle cat for your sweetheart. The possibilities are endless!

College students are notoriously broke so I looked into some less pricy Valentine’s Day present options. My original Google search for “inexpensive gifts to give” brought up a lot of good options, but I feel like all of them might be a little awkward if you were to say “Oh babe, now let me show you what I read about in

‘The Creightonian.’”

Maybe you like the idea of these previously mentioned “adoptions” but you don’t quite have the money to make it happen. Let me suggest adopting a cockroach. I’m not kidding. The Bronx Zoo is allowing people to “adopt” and name roaches and they send you a certificate confirming everything. What? You don’t think your beloved would enjoy having a cockroach named after him or her? Name it after something or someone they despise! It will show how much you listen and care about the things they say.

Another inexpensive option would be to tap into the elementary school days and buy a box of kids Valentine’s Day cards. On each card write something special, anything from what physical feature of theirs you admire most to inside jokes that you share.

Or buy a calendar and circle one night in each month and label it “date night.” Also fill in important dates like your anniversary, your birthdays and anything else. Just remember, this gift idea only works if you can actually plan and follow through with twelve different date ideas. This also might not be the best option if you feel your relationship has been a bit shaky lately. If you think things might end before you ever reach one of the marked “date nights” on the calendar, you could be talked about for years to come as the person who gave him or her a scribbled-on calendar for Valentine’s Day.

Clearly all of these ideas are rather cheesy, just as the day as a whole tends to be. So you can always suggest foregoing the gift-giving and just spend the evening enjoying each other’s company because in any good relationship, that is always the best gift of all.