When I think of Valentine’s Day, I think of the classic, heart-felt gifts. The candlelit dinner beside a fireplace or at a nice restaurant, music playing in the background, rose petals scattered everywhere, a single rose with a ribbon around it, maybe a bouquet of flowers. The traditional gifts seem like the best.

This isn’t to say, of course, new ways of celebrating Valentine’s Day aren’t great. Getting serenaded by your boyfriend’s Fraternity, going to a theme park, having a quiet night watching movies; those aren’t bad, I just prefer the classics.

Perhaps it’s because of the classic and modern movies that are shown on television during the holiday or through the year. Maybe it’s because somewhere, deep inside of me, I’m a romantic whose a stickler for the old ways. And, perchance, it’s because that’s how products are being marketed.

The classic gifts don’t just include the dinner idea mentioned above. The traditional gifts are flowers, chocolates in a heart shaped box (or just in a box), heart shaped jewelry, heart shaped anything, candles,  and a cute note expressing to that special someone how much they mean to you. Timeless, meaningful things that can be enjoyed by both parties.

Some may say that the “traditional ways of celebration are just an excuse to be lazy,” but that’s not necessarily true. The classics could take a lot of thought, effort, love, and care, and that’s what really counts: the amount of thought put into a gift, not the shelf value.

Classic gifts don’t have to be expensive, generally they’re not, but that’s not why they’re great; that’s not why they’ve been carried through time. They’re still used today because of how meaningful they are; because of the thought, care, and love put into them by the person that matters most. The classics can be, to some people, the best way to show someone that they care.