Valentine’s Day is a holiday that women usually love and men usually abhor. This Valentine’s Day we get both sides of the story. Why do men not like Valentine’s Day so much? Why do women love it?
The Men’s Thoughts on Valentine’s Day:
By Guest Writer Robert Levonas
It is well known that most men despise Valentine’s Day. Here are a few reason why we don’t like it:
Roses:
We never quite understood the concept of giving our significant other a dozen roses. I know your saying, “It’s a token of affection, dummy.” Okay, good point Sally. But shouldn’t everything we buy you be a sign that we care? From our point of view, roses—especially the overpriced dozen at the supermarket during Valentine’s Day—aren’t worth our hard-earned money. Plus, in two weeks they’ll be dead anyway. Is that how you want to remember our relationship? Dead and left at the curb for the garbageman to haul away? I think not.
Chocolate:
Another reason why we think Valentine’s Day is stupid are those $20 chocolates. Chocolate is good…sometimes. Heck, I’ll admit that I chow down on a Snicker’s bar once in a while. And honestly, we don’t mind buying you these tasty little treats. However, please do not pillage the box like you’re in desperate need to fill your calorie quota for the day. It’s not cute. Plus, what if we wanted to eat the milk chocolate cherry cordials?
The Gift:
Look, there is so much stuff going through men’s minds (i.e. Call of Duty: Black Ops, workout routines, food) that we can’t possibly remember your subtle hints about the specific gift you really want. And really, if we were able to get this far on Valentine’s Day without fighting, you should be satisfied with the $40 we spent on roses and $20 we blew on a box of chocolates. But we know gifts mean a lot to women on V-day, so we should find a happy compromise. You can give us a gift too ladies. A gift for a gift, savy?
Dinner:
This is probably the least hated item on the list. However, it remains here because after all the roses, chocolates, and gifts we still have to spend money on a fancy dinner. Ladies, these things add up. If we aren’t broke before dinner, we definitely will be afterward. What about the money we need to fill up our car with gas so that we can come over? What about our Xbox live subscription? Why can’t we have something simple like Panera bread? That’s affordable and fancy.
Movies:
Here’s where we want to stab cupid with his own arrows. We despise these stupid, overly sappy, romance movies (i.e. The Notebook or Twilight). Please women for the sake of Valentine’s Day do away with these. The last thing we want to do after being dogged around for a day is watch you drool and cry over Ryan Gosling or Robert Pattinson. It’s fine if you want to watch one of the movies the day before or the day after.
That is why we hate Valentine’s Day. We are held at such high expectations that you don’t realize we give up a lot to satisfy you. In the end, we want the day to be reciprocal. Toss us a gift, even if it is a poem confessing your love and dedication for our relationship. If you can’t do that, then lets end the night on a high note.
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The Women’s Thoughts on Valentine’s Day:
By HerCampus Kean Writer Sara Paczkowski
Why do guys hate it so much? They rant and rave about how it’s a “one-sided” holiday or complain about how much they spent on roses for them to die a couple days later. They must wonder why girls get so wrapped up in the roses, chocolate, dinner dates, and of course, the gift.
The simple answer is this: “it’s the thought that counts.”
You know when you’re in third grade and you make your parents a “present” in school that was supposed to be a wreath but it ended up resembling a bear? Then you bring it home, so excited to show off your hard work. Maybe your parents look at it in confusion BUT they are still happy and they still feel loved that you put in so much effort? That is Valentine’s day for girls… well most girls.
So, in order to be fair and stop all this complaining about Valentine’s day, I decided to give my view on why Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be that bad—
Roses:
Yeah, they die…eventually. However, they don’t die in a day, maybe a week or so. But for several weeks, a girl gets to walk by those roses. Do you know who she thinks about every time she looks at those roses? YOU! It’s a constant reminder of that person’s simple gesture. Guys should be happy about this. Also, Roses are a free-bee! You don’t have to give much thought into this gift and girls still melt every time.
Chocolate:
Okay, the chocolate does get a little out of hand. Yeah, I understand it goes with the roses, but one box is fine. Don’t show up with an agglomeration of giant hearts made out of solid chocolate, that’s a bit much… and it will probably end up in the garbage. Instead, buy us the cute little $1 to $5 dollar boxes with a cute little character on them. We find that more satisfying than a $20 box.
Dinner:
I agree, you don’t have to spend your entire paycheck on a girl at dinner, but make a reservation. Do you remember that movie “Date Night” when Steve Carrel’s character doesn’t make reservations, shows up to the restaurant, takes someone else’s reservations who ends up being in the middle of a blackmail fiasco, and gets threatened at gun point? That’s what going to happen if a reservation isn’t made. Just kidding, but really, don’t spend a lot.
Honestly, dinner is seen as an opportunity for women to dress up because let’s be honest here, we don’t get many opportunities. We like to get all gussied up and go out on the town. And guess who that woman is trying her best to look good for? Once again, it’s you! Dinner is just a way to show that you care and for us to show our appreciation. It’s not that hard.
The Gift:
Buy me the DVD of a movie that you may not necessarily like, but you know I do and we will be good. Easy peasy. You hit the “movie” and the “gift” in one shot.
See guys? If you give it some thought, it ends up being much simpler than you woud usually think!
PS- I’m single. Who wants to reenact the previous scenarios for me?