Neither Ben or I are massive Valentines Day fanatics but at the same time we do like to mark the day with a card and token gift as well as some time spent with each other. As this is our first year in our own home and the 14th happens to fall on a Sunday we’re planning a very quiet and cosy day enjoying our flat.

Rakuten kindly got in touch asking if they could lend a hand by sending out a box full of treats to help make the day extra special as well as giving us some credit to spend on the site (which obviously went on homeware, but more on that in a later post!). Today’s post touches on the contents of the box and some ideas for a cosy day in.

It was lovely to receive a selection of beauty products in the box for a spot of pre-Valentines pampering (I seem to have become quite the pampering fan of late!).

When it actually rolls around to February 14th I shall be going OTT (for me) and stringing up the foil hearts, scattering the love hearts tea lights and chocolate hearts on our coffee table and preparing myself for an easy day of cosy indulgence.

We’ll be doing things on a budget this year and to be honest I can’t bring myself to pay £30 per person on a themed meal out when we can cook for ourselves at home. I don’t profess to be the worlds greatest cook but I can whip up a mean pasta bake that we both really enjoy and from the comfort of our living/dining room we can pop on a soundtrack of our choosing, open a bottle of wine and sit back and relax our way- no cheesy love songs and satin roses on the table here!

When it comes to gifts we quite often go down the homemade route and this year will be no exception. Last year I whipped up a batch of coconut ice in heart shapes for Ben and this year I’m considering something like these biscuits along with a home made card and the promise of breakfast in bed (I happen to excel at scrambled eggs on toast!).

What are your plans for Valentines Day this year? Do you prefer a quiet night in or a posh night out?