This is another addition to my series on Romantic Idea’s that I have either done or thought of over the years.  Lets face it, if you have been with your partner for many years you want to do little touches to keep the passion and romance alive.  These idea’s and tips are designed to have minimal cost and maximum impact in showing the person you love how much you care for them.

Flowers are something that every woman loves and likes to receive, and if you want to save some money instead of paying for a floral arrangement, build one yourself for a fraction of the cost.  Go to your local grocery store whether it be Fry’s, Safeway or even Walmart, and buy 1 dozen roses, 1/2 dozen carnations, and some Baby’s Breath.  Now, dark velvet red roses and baby’s breath are a classic and don’t need carnations but don’t always get red flowers.  Use flowers to express your moods, even get some mixed colors like white, yellow and pink roses.

Create your own Vase, or better yet, create 3 small vases of 4 - 6 flowers each.  Put one by the side of your partners bed, the other in the kitchen and another near her bathroom sink or bathtub.  Honestly I can put these type of floral arrangements together for around $30-$40 dollars, which would normally be over $150 if you bought at a floral shop.

Vary things up a little bit as well, sometimes having a floral arrangement delivered to your spouse at work or home can add flare.  I hear people like when they get a floral arrangement in front of their coworkers, the attention triggers more affection and appreciation.  If you make the floral arrangement yourself, you can ask a neighorhood kid to deliver it for you or have a friend deliver it for you while you are at work.

Hope this helps and remember, keep the romance alive people.

-Justin Germino

I have decided to start a regular new column called “Romantic Ideas Series” these will be semi-regular posts with new idea’s to keep love and passion alive in your relationship.  These are merely idea’s and suggestions, I can’t guarantee they will work and I can’t say they have worked for me all the time, they are just things I have done and show you that thinking small can sometimes show love in big ways.

One thing I did several years ago before leaving for a business trip was cut out about 25 paper hearts about 2 inches by 2 inches in size.  On each heart I wrote the # of the heart, and some sort of love quote.  These quotes were anything from “Your Beauty Knows No Bounds” to “I Love You”, or “Your Sweet”.  You can make them innocent, cute, loving, passionate or whatever.

I hid all 25 paper hearts around the house in locations that my wife would normally go to on a daily basis, in tea bag container, refridgerator…etc.  This way while I was on a business trip she would stumble across my little messages while I was away.  When she hadn’t found one in a while, I would give her clues as to where some may be hiding.  The anticipation and excitement she had finding each and every one of my hearts was something I cherished. She kept those heart notes in a tin for many years as a reminder of what I had done.

This was an example of something that cost me nothing but a little bit of time and creativity to express and show my affection.  Hopefully this will give all of you romantics out there an idea or two.  Remember to show the person you are with how much you love them and never take them for granted.

-Justin Germino