Heritage Hot Valentine’s Day Date Night Tips:

Consider your loved one's preferences. Do they adore upscale cuisine? Swoon over romantic movies? Obsess over sports, music, literature, or any other topic? Settle on one or two areas of interest that you know your date loves, than build from there.

Dinner arrangements at home or your favorite restaurant you both like. Most Valentine's Day dates are built around some element of eating, whether it's an all-out dinner or just chocolates. Think about what sort of cuisine you and your date both enjoy. Be sure to work around any food allergies or dietary restrictions.

Here is a few different options for dining:

Cook at home. Show your date how dedicated you are to a memorable evening by crafting an elegant meal yourself. This way, you can customize the food and make exactly what you and your date want. Think of some heartfelt ways of presenting the food – arrange the salad in the shape of a heart; use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out bread pieces, pour a berry coulis for a cake in a heart shape.

Go to a restaurant. If you want someone else to worry about the food and ambiance while you focus on your date, choose a restaurant you both like. Be careful, though; Valentine's Day is a notoriously difficult time to get reservations, and the waits for your table and your food may be long. Consider going the night before or the night after; if you do want to go out on the 14th, make a reservation well in advance.

Set the mood. Whether you're going out or staying in, you can do a few things to establish a romantic ambiance and put your date in a good mood. Dress up a bit and take extra care for your appearance. Speak in gentle, loving tones. Hold your date's gaze and sit or stand close to him or her. And smile!

Arrange a gift. A Valentine's Day gift doesn't have to be expensive or huge. Gauge what your date might like, and go from there. Some suggestions:

Many women enjoy the traditional gift of flowers on Valentine's Day. You can go for the classic roses in any color, or get a bouquet of her favorite flower. One thing to keep in mind: if the flowers look like something you'd send your sick grandmother, reconsider. Reds and pinks are generally romantic colors; roses, gardenias, tulips, orchids and wildflowers are good bets, as well.

Play up the element of surprise. Your date might know you have something planned for Valentine's Day, but don't tell them everything you're doing. Surprise them with flowers at work early in the day, have a candlelight dinner waiting as soon as they walk in the door, or leave them sweet notes posted around the house.

Tell your loved one why they are so special to you. Go beyond ordinary and think deeply about why this person really matters to you – stretch that word "love" into something with real meaning.