The Dos and Don'ts of Planning Your First Date on Valentine’s Day

So you have finally gone ahead and asked out that special someone you have wanted to ask out for ages. Unfortunately, the timing of your first date has been set on none other than Valentine’s Day, and you're not sure what to do. Don't panic, as sometimes these things happen! You are lucky in that this is the day that symbolises love and romance, however there will also be a lot of pressure to make sure the date goes really well and that you express only the perfect amount of romance. Here are a few first date dos and don'ts, specially tailored to fit a Valentine’s Day first date.

Do Make a Thorough Plan
There is nothing worse than a first date that is scattered and directionless. This is your moment to show that you can really step up and take the bull by the horns. When your date sees how everything has been planned right down to the last detail, he or she will be very impressed and pleased that you have put so much thought and effort into making the date fantastic. Please do your best to avoid the dreaded “so, what do you want to do now?” as this will greatly jeopardise the chances of date number two ever happening. This is your chance to show your creative side and break away from the first date doldrums by doing something different to set yourself apart from all the others.

Don't Do Anything Too Cliché
Valentine’s day is one of those days that openly invites over-the-top romance. Normally this could be fun, but generally not on a first date. It may be tricky, but try not to partake in any of the following: an intimate candlelit dinner, bringing your date home to candles and rose petals scattered on your bed, or taking your date out on a horse-drawn carriage. Although these things all have their place in the world of romance, the first date just isn't it. Another good reason to not do anything too crazy this time is that if date number two does happen, you will have to be able to follow up date number one!

Do Bring Flowers and Gifts
It's good to avoid extremes at this stage, but having a bouquet of flowers and another token gift to give your date is absolutely necessary. Valentine’s day flowers are the staple of any good Valentine’s Day date, and will be expected at some point throughout the day. Other gifts such as chocolates, cards or cute toys are also a good idea without being over the top.

Don't Expect to Make Any Big Moves
Even though it's Valentine’s Day, it is still only your first date. Don't scare off or creep out your date by unleashing your inner Casanova too early on in the relationship. It's way more classy to get to know someone before you bust out the big moves, and you and your date will have a chance to enjoy the anticipation of what may come on subsequent dates. It may be difficult to resist getting swept up in Valentine’s day romance, but if you can keep your hands to yourself this night, you will benefit later.

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Dying

Can you notice that this poor dragonfly had no longer lower body? He’s hanging on my towel. I saw it when I wanted to take the towel. I let the dragonfly. Wondering why what really happened. The dragonfly was alive just for two hours ahead. Poor creature.

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How to Throw a Great Kids Party Outdoors

If you are planning a kids party a great way to avoid a mess in your home is to have it outdoors. Kids love running about outside and it will save your breakables once they start getting hyperactive on all that extra sugar. It is best if you have a shaded area where you can set up the food and table, verandas are always good for outdoor entertaining, or if you don't have a covered outdoor area you could install a retractable awning, which are great because they can be folded away when you are not using the space or during winter when you want more sunlight to get into your home.

Theme

Themed parties are fun for children, particularly for younger kids who love dressing up. Girls love dressing up as princesses, fairies and characters from fairy tales, whereas boys like super heroes, sports themes and cowboys. Children around the age of ten like Harry Potter parties but once they hit their early teens they probably won't dress up.

Furniture

If you don't have enough chairs and tables for everyone you can hire furniture. Otherwise you could plan the sort of party where you don't have a sit down menu. Barbecues are good because it is easy to eat a sausage in bread or a steak sandwich without having to sit up at the table. If you have enough furniture you might want to create separate areas in your back garden where kids can sit and talk, have an area where they can play and have the food away from where it might end up with a ball kicked into a salad bowl.

Food

Party pies and sausage rolls are easy for a kids party but they are a bit boring. You don't have to cook a gourmet meal but try thinking outside the square a little. Serve dinner rolls with cocktail Frankfurters, like mini hot dogs. Have a Mexican theme and serve nachos, tacos, enchiladas and a big bowl of fruit punch. If your child is having a themed party then supply food to match. Make up your own recipe for Butter beer for a Harry Potter party and fairy bread goes down a treat with little girls done up as fairies. Don't go overboard with the food. Often children get too excited at parties and don't tend to eat that much and you end up throwing half of it away, or the parents stand around and eat it.

Games

Having an outdoor party is great when it comes to games. If you have a pool and your party is being held in summer then you don't have to try too hard to keep kids entertained. Otherwise you can have competitions like sack races, three legged races, set up an obstacle course and have a race or get one of the parents to volunteer and let the kids try and hit them with shaving cream pies. You also have the space outdoors to hire entertainment, such as a clown, a baby animal farm, a snake handler or have a jumping castle.

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At a Restaurant

That day, after visiting Cangkuang Lake (Garut, West Java, Indonesia), we got starving. Fortunately, there’s a good restaurant nearby. We (my late father, my husband and I) had our lunch in comfortable and relaxing surroundings. I link this post to Watery Wednesday, as the restaurant has a large fish pond.

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