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Illustration:
Yuko Shimizu
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Valentine’s Day can creep up on the unsuspecting. Your driveway is
still streaked with bottle-rocket residue from New Year’s, you haven’t
even taken down your Christmas lights and then it hits you-it’s already
February. So unless you’re a diehard single, you need to start thinking
about what to do for that special someone in your life. Again.
Instead of freaking out, read on for some simple, yet potentially
butt-saving tips from Honolulu’s leading V-Day authorities:
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THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE BEST TABLE
“As soon as you figure out you have a sweetheart, that’s the time to
make your dinner reservations,” says Rainer Kumbroch, regional manager
of Roy’s. Valentine’s is one of the busiest nights of the year for Hawai’i
restaurants. Roy’s started taking V-Day reservations in December. You
know what that means. Start dialing, buddy.
DON’T JUST DO IT FOR HER. DO IT FOR HER CO-WORKERS
Valentine’s Day falls on a Monday this year, which means many women expect
a bouquet delivered to their office no later than, oh, say, 2 p.m. That
gives them just enough time to brag to their co-workers and give you a
giddy thank-you call. “Flowers are mostly for women to show off that they
are loved,” says Michael Miyashiro, owner of Rainforest at the Ward Warehouse.
Of course, “Contrary to popular belief, guys also love to receive flowers,”
he says. For bonus points, try something other than the expected red roses-tulips,
daffodils and hyacinths are also in season.
GET PROFESSIONAL HELP
Two days before V-Day strikes, and you still ain’t got a clue? Macy’s
at Ala Moana will hold a free workshop on Valentine’s gifts on Feb. 12-just
RSVP to special services manager Lisa George at 941-2345. She’ll help
you make the perfect gift basket, but you’ll need to do some investigative
work first. “For guys, especially, I suggest they snoop in their wives’
closets, write down their sizes, the brands they like and we can put together
some clothes and matching jewelry,” George says. “Even women sometimes
don’t know what to get for someone who has everything. If he likes golf,
for example, we might suggest a golf shirt or cap and adding a gift certificate
for the driving range.”
BIGGER DOESN’T MEAN BETTER
“Gifts can be very small or simple, but the more special they are, the
more they touch them,” say P. Gregory Frey, who’s been married for 18
years. His downtown law firm, Coates & Frey, handles thousands of divorces
every year, so he knows a lot about relationships, good and bad. One of
the best Valentine’s Day gifts Frey ever received? “My wife and my children
gave me Captain Crunch for breakfast and lima beans at dinner. Those are
two of my all-time favorite things that I never get to eat otherwise,
because no one likes them.” Hey, it doesn’t always cost a bundle to make
someone happy.
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO SOMETHING
Frey’s advice for couples who don’t want to end up in his office? “Carve
out at least 15 minutes every day when you and your spouse commit to just
talking to each other.” Special occasions, such as Valentine’s Day, count
big time, too. “So many of our clients say, ‘She doesn’t pay attention
to me’ or ‘He doesn’t remember I like red flowers and not yellow,'” Frey
says. “Little things matter a lot, especially for women.”
There aren’t many good excuses for forgetting Valentine’s. Miyashiro
once took a long-distance order for flowers from a soldier in Operation
Desert Storm. “I could hear shooting in the background, and I told him,
‘Your TV is on too loud,'” Miyashiro recalls. “He said, ‘I’m actually
calling from the battlefield.'”
The lesson here: If he made Valentine’s Day special, so can you.
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