Ingredients for a romantic Valentine's Day

by Jacqueline Seng | 6 February 2012 8:56pm SGT

Survey from 06/02/12 to 09/02/12 166 votes

How much are you willing to spend on Valentine's Day?

Zero, I am going the DIY route.37 (22.29%)
Less than US$50.54 (32.53%)
Less than US$200.45 (27.11%)
Less than US$500.10 (6.02%)
The sky is the limit.20 (12.05%)

(Credit: Luke Hayfield Photography/Flickr)

If your significant other is expecting a romantic date night but you can't afford an expensive dinner, don't fret. A homecooked, candlelit meal certainly does the job well, but perhaps some of us are better at cooking up custom Android ROMs rather than a romantic dinner.

From a self-proclaimed geekette, here are some ideas for a romantic Valentine's for geeks. For best results, combine a few elements to really knock your Valentine off her feet. To quote a famous television character, "You'll thank me later."

Shoot from the hip

(Credit: Lomography)

Share your Instagram addiction and take your other half on a shoot. Issue a challenge such as only capturing shapes (preferably hearts), taking only one second to compose a shot or not stopping until the both of you have used every single Instagram filter.

To up the ante, try shooting with film instead. Buy a disposable camera or one of these Valentine's Day-themed Lomography cameras. You could be pleasantly surprised at how the photos turn out, and they may even go into a scrapbook as a future Valentine's Day gift.

The modern mixtape

It's a sad, sad world when no one makes mixtapes or even mixed MiniDiscs anymore.

Bring back memories of your school days with your own version of a love mixtape--i.e., an iTunes playlist. For maximum effect, give your other half a brand new iPod with her favorite songs already loaded on it.

Love song for a partner

To add on to the previous suggestion, turn singer/songwriter for a day and record a love song.

Audio software such as Audacity (freeware) or ProTools (paid) allow you to turn your computer into a mini studio and record and mix tracks together.

Extra brownie points are given if you play a musical instrument.

(Credit: Arcam)

Slow dancing in the dark

Using your iPhone and a speaker dock such as the Arcam rCube, put on some Barry Manilow or whatever ballad sets the mood for the both of you. Dim the lights (put on some candles, if possible) and ask your partner to dance with you. You're likely to feel less silly and awkward about your two left feet if the lights are low.

The amazing race

For the more adventurous, try to indulge your Valentine in a "The Amazing Race"-styled scavenger hunt. Using WhatsApp or any other messaging app, send photos or text messages as clues to a series of locations, eventually leading to the prize: You! Well, perhaps you and a nice picnic basket under the stars.

If that's too much work, you can try hunting down a geocache together. Geocaching is a hunt for treasure--known as a geocache--using GPS-enabled devices and coordinates that are published online by other geocachers.

Picnic under the stars

(Credit: Geneva Lab)

Pack some sandwiches, cheese and a bottle of wine for a picnic in a park. Pipe music (quietly) out of a portable speaker such as the Geneva Sound System Model XS, and then lie on your backs to gaze at the stars.

Even if you live in a metropolis where the stars are drowned out by the lights, Android apps such as Star Chart (S$3.99) or Sky Map (free) still allow you to do some star spotting. These apps use your handset's GPS and camera to identify heavenly bodies (your Valentine's heavenly body isn't counted).

Instant poet

(Credit: Razeware LLC/iTunes)

Use the Instant Poetry HD app (S$1.99) to create moving masterpieces for your Valentine, then sneakily change the wallpaper on her iPhone/iPad.

The app is inspired by those fridge magnets consisting of words which you piece together to form instant poetry. There are three different word themes to choose from--love, sadness and passionate--and you can even customize the background. Rather than using a corny shot of the two of you, our suggestion is to use a significant location in your relationship as the backdrop instead.

Video games

You can count your lucky stars if your better half prefers quiet evenings in to being wined and dined.

Ease her into the finer pleasures of console gaming with some perennial favorites such as Rock Band, Mario Kart and Need for Speed. Oh, and do let her win once in a while.

Favorite flicks

If your Valentine isn't much of a gamer, you can go the tried-and-tested route of watching a movie. Perhaps you can refer to our list of top 40 must-have Blu-ray Discs for suggested titles--Up!, Shakespeare in Love and Avatar seem to be the most Valentine-friendly for now.

For best effect, it helps to have a good Blu-ray HTIB, or even a projector.

(Credit: Code Parable LLC/iTunes)

A helpful romantic

For more suggestions that are tailored to your Valentine's personality, you can also download the Helpful Romantic iOS app (US$0.99). All you have to do is answer a few questions based on his/her preferences and the app is able to generate some helpful and romantic suggestions according to budget and effort.

About the author

Jacqueline Seng is a presenter/writer for CNET Asia, focusing on mobile phones. Her induction into the world of IT involved typing out stories on a computer in kindergarten--not that much has changed. The only girl on the editorial team (for now), she is also an avid potato chip connoisseur, heist movie enthusiast and indie/hiphop music aficionado.

Jacqueline Seng, Presenter/Writer