It's the day when usually rational people pull out all the stops to show their beloved how much of a sap they can be when they REALLY make an effort.

Did she cook for you? Did you get crumbs all over the bed and spill scalding hot coffee on your pyjamas during a comical attempt at breakfast in bed? Did you spend loads of pounds on an 8ft-tall bunny rabbit and card so big that it barely fit in the boot of the car? Maybe you turned up at Exchange or Timber Quay at silly o'clock and queued like livestock in a bid to get a table two hours down the line. Or maybe you knew better than that.

Back in the day, February 14th was all about would-be Romeos, and Juliets, sending anonymous cards to that special someone. The point? I'm unsure. It seems like an exercise in futility - if the person likes you back, how are you supposed to find out when they don't know who you are? Or worse, if it's a 'friend' you like - imagine the feeling in the pit of your stomach when they tell you they received a Valentine's card and how much they hope it's from Mr X or Miss Y, aka 'anybody except you'.

The whole point of Valentine's Day was to encourage nervy, shy teenage folk to take the plunge and reveal their feelings to the object of their affections.

Only the worst kind of sadist could dream that up and think it's a good idea.

Nervy, shy teenagers suffer enough without having their hearts ripped from their chest when they realise the person they fancy is much more keen on one of their mates.

A likeable bunch

Awkward teenagers are a likeable bunch and shouldn't have to suffer the gut-churningly awful feeling of rejection year in, year out. They have enough on their plate with school and spots.

They don't need the added strain, especially on Valentine's Day, when the feelings of hurt and embarrassment will be heightened to proportions not experienced since a full year beforehand.

Normal people don't deserve that kind of punishment and shouldn't be forced into setting themselves up for a fall with aggressive advertising.

Valentine's Day marketing is so aggressive and full-on that no one can claim it has passed them by. The first 'heart-shaped balloons' I saw where in a popular citycentre card shop before the middle of January.
It has been estimated by the U.S. Greeting Card Association that approximately one billion Valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. Whatever way you look at it, that's a lot of cash we are 'guilted' into spending.

Type Valentine's day into Google - the fount of all knowledge - and the first thing that pops up is those romantic souls at GHD trying to get you to splash out £109 on a pair of straighteners for your loved one. Nice.

As my colleague Erin Hutcheon so eloquently put it in Wednesday's Foyle News: "Valentine's Day is strictly for idiots".

Faux-romanticism

Despite ranting about the faux-romanticism of February 14th, I am not a complete cynic. Displays of affection are great but the more spontaneous the better. There are loads of opportunities to do it every day without building up to the inevitable anti-climax of Valentine's Day.

If you want to get all soppy then, by all means, go for it. But there are far better ways to do it than by buying cheap flowers and extortionately priced cards.

A hand made card in the middle of October telling your wife/girlfriend that you think she's class will go down far better than an expected monstrosity from Hallmark on Valentine's Day.

Every day

The opportunity exists every day to cook her a nice meal, whip up breakfast in bed or run her a bath after a hard day at the office.

Personally, I don't even understand why breakfast in bed is supposedly such a luxury. It's nothing but a 'pure handling' involving an uncomfortable twenty minutes eating cold toast and trying to drink orange juice at a ridiculous angle - with the majority of it spilling on your cheek. Tables were invented for a reason.

If the stress of Valentine's Day led to an unmitigated disaster do it tonight when there's less pressure. Stay in, put the fire on and have a bottle of wine. Rent out Casablanca, Roman Holiday, Pretty Woman, An Affair to Remember or my housemates favourite - You've Got Mail.

Basically anything revolving around a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan axis is a safe bet.

The easiest way to get into anyone's good books is to combine 'making an effort' with 'an element of surprise'. Valentines Shmalentines.