Remember how special it was as a kid to make a handmade, crayon laden card with all the special hearts and “gushy” words on it (or at least all the words we knew at Kindergarten or First grade)?

Remember how the simple token of love given by our little hands to our mothers or fathers made more of a difference to them than all the candy Whitman’s chocolates? I’m thinking maybe we need to return to those simple gifts and ideas in these times of great financial distress.

In case you didn’t notice we are in a recession—could be in a depression– and one of the things we need to remember as we approach Valentine’s Day is the simple acronym K.I.S.S.: “Keep It Simple Stupid!”

Simple Things Mean The Most

You’d be surprised how simple things can make such lasting memories and enjoyable intimate moments together. Think of the Bailey’s from “It’s a Wonderful Life” — enjoying a simple night at the old rickety house (and their future home) when their expensive trip away to Bedford Heights went up in smoke. Memories like that will last a long, long while.

So stop looking at your wallet like it’s your enemy! Sure you don’t have cash, but you have imagination and the determination to tell the one you love how much they mean to you.

Great Ideas For Little Cash

1.The greatest perfume in the world is Pine Sol.

Guys, this is for you because you need to know what is the best perfume available for the woman you love. Pine Sol. Lysol. Clorox. Dawn. You get the idea? These are better perfumes than some woman spraying you at a department store causing you to smell like you bathed in a vat of Chanel No 5.

Before your sweetie comes home to see you, impress her with a clean kitchen; a living room fit to eat on the floor with candles and a bowl of fruit to feed her with; a bedroom with candles blazing as you have massage oils to pamper her with.

Using any of these “perfumes” will drive any woman crazy. The pine scent or lemony freshness will linger in her mind for days and weeks to come. You could make this a permanent thing if you like the results.

2.The greatest meal in the world is from your home.

Do you think you have to take your man or woman to an expensive restaurant to show how much you love them? Hogwash! If you know what your lover enjoys on their plate, then get a cook book for goodness sake.

Get the food from the grocery store to make your special dish; get some tips on line to how to put it together; make the dinner a place of wonder and excitement as they come to sample your meal.  Afterwards, make them desert… for their bodies.

Get a bowl full of fruits, whipped cream, yogurt, chocolate syrup, and other sweet and sticky goodies and make the moment a reason to enjoy the night together. You’ll never look at your Banana Split the same way again once you’ve used your confections on them.

More Great Ideas….

3.Find someone to make your kids disappear.

Make the kids disappear (yes, really) from the room so you can enjoy your sweetheart naked. Phase the kids out of your mind  for one night (or more) while you dream of ways to spread your lover on the table for passionate love making with no abandon.

A good sitter, a friend with kids with a free night handy to give you, or a very special event involving a “sleep over” comes in handy. Utilize your “parental card” and push those lovely kids on someone else for one—or more– night(s) so you and your spouse (or significant other) can get down to some nasty fornicating.

You remember how to do that don’t you? You just act like your parents are away from the house for a long time and you do every naughty thing you’ve been craving to do since you picked up a copy of “The Joy of Sex” from your parent’s bedroom.

4.Go to an adult boutique or bookstore together.

This may cause money or rankle your sensibilities to buy a pair of edible undies or a ball gag. You may also feel uncomfortable about entering such a place because of the stigma it entails. It doesn’t have to be.

Just browsing the store together to see what turns you or your lover on is a very liberating thing. Not only do you get a peek into the mindset of your lover, you can also take down the walls that keep you from expressing your sexual side towards each other.

Even if you break down and by a vibrator or an adult movie you get the best way of enjoying a moment like this together. Go on and take the darn thing home for a test ride!

5.Take a “walk” on the wild side.

Sometimes just spending time together is the most inexpensive, loving, and bonding thing money can’t by. If you got to get out of the house, then get out of the house. WALK. RUN. GO!

Go around the neighborhood, take a walk along the river, hold hands, kiss, neck, get close, make out, or get wild. Now, if you do get too wild make sure you a) not cause a stir with others out and about and b) you are careful where you plan to get “wild” to avoid some skin rash or a brush with nature you don’t want to encounter.

These are but a few inexpensive ways to make sure Valentine’s Day (or any romantic day) one for the ages.

Just because the boys and girls on Wall Street are cutting back and layoffs abound doesn’t mean you don’t have to scrimp on the one commodity that never runs dry: Intimacy and love.

Those things are always bullish and there is never a bearish thing about it.