Love is in the air when it’s the month of February. It is a special day where we celebrate love and show our loved ones how much we appreciate them. No matter how extravagant or small, celebrating Valentine’s Day with our significant other is what matters the most. To be by their side, and to enjoy every moment spent together. For this Valentine’s, the 2CENTS team had the chance to hear some lovely stories from newly lovebirds to married couples on how they surprise each other on special occasions.
Isabelle, 24 
Planning for V-day is a pain in the a**!!! Everything is so expensive and the flowers are overpriced during that time. Although I love the idea of celebrating love, my boyfriend and I don’t just celebrate it on that day. So for the sake of celebrating Valentines Day, we decided to tapau some Ramli burgers, stay at home and binge-watch on Netflix. This is after being together for 3 years plus. The first year I bought my boyfriend cookies and he bought me the best gift ever (bakkwa-honey pork). That was the best Valentines gift to date and we have been together for 3 years and 4 months now.
Leonard, 30
Shopping is always fun because we’re both idiots making puns and each other laugh. Planning special events can be a bit tricky because we both like to surprise each other. So it is more of, “hey keep this date & time free, I’m taking you out.” We have been together 2 years coming to 3 this August. Movies, simple dinners, Netflix and chill to the more random rooftop/Instagram bars or live music events are some of the usual plans.
Joyce Lee, 22
It has been 2 years and 7 months and our anniversary is on Valentine’s Day.
Since we both are students and my man is a gym lover (who can eat a lot) usually on special days like Valentine’s Day or our anniversary, we would always go for a buffet dinner. Then we’ll be wandering around the mall and have a movie night to chill together. The challenges I go through is my man tends to wake up late and leave us not much time to find parking or go shopping. I always expected something like a romantic dinner date but it always ends up with us eating a lot with a huge tummy and walking around the mall.
Oh, sometimes it’s really hard to think about what to buy for a guy but I still remember there is one time I planned to buy a Braun Buffel wallet. My man likes it because of the gold logo so I went to a few outlets to get it and finally found one. It feels exciting as he always mentions that he wants one but at the same time I’m also worried that he might get one himself. Luckily on that day though, my surprise was a success!
Merissa, 24
We’ve been together for like 5 years and usually, we would go for like either brunch or dinner depending on our schedule. The challenges I go through are planning the date and time. We’re both semi-workaholic. Okie I think it’s just me. So it’s always finding the right time and date that we could meet and hang out.
Ross, 22
My name is Arvind but everybody calls me Ross. My girlfriend Venetta and I met in late 2018, August 14 to be exact. We actually knew each other 8 years before date. We used to hate each other. It was the funniest thing ever. When I met her I had just turned 20 and she is 2 years older than I am. She is 24 this year and I am 22. So, we have celebrated Valentine’s day once. This year will be our second year celebrating it together.
Some of the challenges that I go through planning things for Valentine’s or even in any day situation would be transport, money and the time because I am a full-time student. Sometimes it can be hard but making her happy is what makes me happy, so I try my best to give her the best. Some of the things we do on date nights are going to a really good food joint, catch a good movie but most importantly having fun and showing all the love that we should in the world.
Even though it’s only been two years I and she have grown so much in love with each other and we hope that we have many more great Valentine’s Day together.
Jack Holtom, 22
Jack and Olive both 22, we have been together 4 years now! I’m rubbish at keeping secrets, especially from Olive, so she usually manages to find out what presents I buy her! For Valentine’s Day, we have a tradition of going to a certain Italian restaurant in a little seaside town near us! It’s a really cute place who usually leave a rose on the table for her.
Grace, 24
Planning surprises for my boyfriend is one of my favourite things ever. Being together for 2 years and 10 months now, I have to admit it isn’t easy but deep down with all my heart, he means the world to me. He isn’t a gift kind of person, just like how he isn’t a cake person. So instead of blowing candles on cakes for his birthday, we would actually switch it to apple pies because it is his favourite. To be precise, he is more of a “let’s just stay home and chill even if it’s my birthday” kind of person and I really appreciate it that. But being the hopeless romantic that I am, I like to plan or create something to celebrate our special day together, it being Valentine’s Day, anniversaries or birthdays.
It may not seem like a long time but for us, it feels like forever. I know it’s cliche to say “it feels like I’ve known him my whole life” but it’s kind of true if it’s real, right. Love makes you do crazy things and I love doing it for him. The first time I planned a surprise for him was a bit tough because I had to come up with a good excuse on why I was dragging him out.
You see with him, he’s good with guessing and he knows when I’m hiding something from him. However, he is good at keeping it in and lets me go with the flow as well. Besides him finding out about my sneaky plans, for me, planning out these surprises makes me happy because I’d be able to see the precious look on his face that usually makes my heart go all fuzzy. This reminds me of the time when I took him to Malacca for a mini getaway. He has no prior memories of visiting Jonker Street or even having the famous chicken rice balls since he was only a kid when he last visited. Hence why the trip was even more meaningful because he got to experience a place he’s never been to before while I made special memories at my favourite state with my special someone.
Safe to say, no matter what we do, we will always have a good time because for us, as long we are with each other, it is more than enough. I can’t thank him enough for loving me and making me the happiest person alive, and for going along with my crazy plans. He keeps me sane (at times insane too) and he’s my definition of home. I’m stuck with him for life and you have no idea how glad I am to be.
If I knew what happiness and love were before, I was dead wrong. Every day with you is a never-ending adventure, and I never want it to stop. I thank Him for bringing me, you and for making us stronger as the days go by. You are my best friend, my lover, my everything. Can’t thank you enough and forever blessed for you; for us – and for how it all began. Cheers to growing old and crinkly together, lovey.
Wing Keh, 26
Keifth and I have been together since 2015-present. 6 years is a long time. We met each other since diploma and he was my roller skate senpai. We were like ‘fire & water’ at that time, whenever we met each other, we will tease or fight. One day, he kissed me by being naughty or what, that’s how we started to we become a couple. All those lovey-dovey couples dating time.
And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in our 6 years of relationship, is that relationships have its ups and downs. Unfortunately, we have been through the toughest part of our relationship which is doing a long-distance relationship (LDR) for about 2 years. And we only met each other for about 4/5 times a year.
The worst part is Keifth worked night shifts in Singapore whereas I was still studying in Penang. So our time zone was totally different. He’s at work when I wake up, and asleep when I’m at home in the evenings. Uncertainty will make us think, “Is this all worth it?“ “Is he secretly meeting other girls without me knowing?” “Does he/she feel the same way as I did”. There will come a time where everything seems hopeless and it’s easier to give up and go your separate ways. But if you stay together, you will come out stronger.
Luckily with our extra patience, understanding and effort, it worked out! We ended our 2 years LDR when Keifth decided to come and accompany me to pursue my studies in the year 2018 in Kuala Lumpur. So now, I’m glad that we even got closer together to chase our dream & build our own social media platforms.
Therefore I understood that relationship takes effort, self-sacrifice and will-power to stay together. But if you’ve found someone special, it’s all worth it! This is how we have stayed together for better and for worse.
@wingkeh_keifth🌹 Happy 6th Valentine’s Day! 👫💕 👉🏻 FOLLOW our IG: wingkeh | keifth95 👈🏻 TQSM! ❤️ #couple #couplegoals #trend #foryou #valentinesday♬ Middle – DJ Snake
Like other normal couples out there, we will go out for a movie, have dinner and basically cherish every one of our moments. I’m a more romantic person in our relationship. So in the first few years, like I even booked a hotel and decorate with love balloon etc, DIY pillowcase, bracelet, built a mini house with his favourite food inside and so on. Normally, I will prepare Valentine’s gift a month in advanced especially those DIY gifts. Lots of research on the internet too. Till now, to him, his most memorable Valentine gift was the DIY mini house surprise with the love shaped candles decorate. He told me: “why you treat me like your girlfriend more” because got the balloon, candles and his favourite chocolate.
And for Keifth, he will bring me to eat and movie. I remembered for our 1st Valentine’s we were in the cinema, all of a sudden, he gave me a Pandora jewellery as Valentine’s gift and I was so surprise that time.
For this year’s Valentine’s, I customised our own one-of-a-kind T-Shirt with our 6 years together photo and made a VLOG.
Adam, 25
My name is Adam, and this is how me and my girlfriend, Yee Ning spend our Valentine’s Day. We call ourselves AY as in “ayyy”, the initials of our name. I’ve been with her for almost 2 years now. She lives in Johor and I live in PJ which is really far from each other. So, meeting each other is a challenge by itself. Which isn’t really a bad thing because those moments when we are together are even more precious. Planning our dates usually happens randomly, when both of us are excited to talk about it. It could be a month before and sometimes even the day before, it depends. We also do surprise plans for each other, meaning that I’d plan things out and surprise her throughout the day or she’d do that to me. Often times we’d just have spontaneous adventures. But for Valentine’s Day, it had to be planned!
The main part of our plan is to make sure we don’t do things that we can do on any other normal day. This is our second time spending Valentine’s Day together. It has to be something special and sweet. Here’s one thing about us, we are extreme food lovers! We’d go the extra mile just to try the best and new foods around. Our friends would normally come to us for some tips and places on food. So, for Valentine’s Day, our centre plan will be to find the most extraordinary meal. Either a really romantic place or exciting new food experience. It doesn’t just stop there. We also think about things we’ll be doing before and after the meal. For this year, we plan to get closer to nature. Maybe we’ll be going on a hike, or find a waterfall, get lost in the jungle but not literally. Before the night ends is usually the sweetest part, we’d just drive around town or scroll through the night. Focusing on each other, blocking out the rest of the world and living the moment like there were no one else but us. It doesn’t matter where we were, as long as we had each other. These are the little things that make our Valentine’s Day special.
Amanda Tan, 22
My name is Amanda and my boyfriend’s name is Daniel and both of us are 22 this year. We’ve been together for almost 8 months.
I really love planning surprises for Daniel but the problem is that I’m really bad at keeping surprises to myself. One way or another I would blurt something to Daniel and he would know that something is going on. Daniel isn’t really a gift kind of person, but I love getting him gifts I know he will appreciate. As much as I love planning surprises I know one of my struggles is keeping it from him because the minute I see him, I know I would want to share what I’m excited about and well that would just ruin the whole surprise. For this Valentine’s Day since it would be our first time celebrating together, I wanted us to have a mini-getaway just from work and the hectic schedule. Of course, I who couldn’t keep anything a secret ended up blurting everything I had planned to him cause I was too excited about it but the look on his face was priceless and worth it. I know there will be more moments like this in the future and I know a lot of my surprises will be exposed by myself but hey, its love.
Daniel is the most caring, loving, kind-hearted man I’ve ever met in my entire life. He checks out all of the boxes from the list of qualities I would like in a man. 8 months may seem like a short time to some people to say this but after all that we’ve been through together the past year, we know that we want to be together and support one another as long as possible and we’ll always work through our differences and love each other unconditionally.
Daniel, thank you for breaking through my walls and showing me that being vulnerable is a beautiful thing. You are someone I never want to lose. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and I can’t wait for all the times I blurt out my surprises to you. I love you and Happy Valentine’s Day.
Venetta, 24
Well, when we first knew each other existed, we hated each other because his friend was hitting on my sister & me being me, hated the friend and the poor innocent boy. Haha!
Then we got lost in our own world as we grew up. Had our own things to do & we finally met each other on Tinder. 25th July 2018. My best friend helped me hit it off because I’m bad at texting and from there, we started off as tinder texting to Instagram dm’s and only after that through WhatsApp & calls. On his birthday on the 27th was when I first called him.
We’ve been together for 1 year 5 months now & things have never changed with what we do as a couple from the time we met. He’s 2 years younger to me so when I was working, he was studying & we always made sure we made time for each other. All our plans up till date have always been an impromptu thing & we like it like that. For example like when he picks me up every day from work, we used to buy large size pizza EACH and sit in the car watching Netflix whilst eating pizza.
Of course, it was difficult for me to think of gift ideas for him cause I’m terrible at picking gifts for anyone. He’s always been a man of old school and simplicity, so I never knew what gift would be perfect for him. So our tradition of gift exchanged happens during major anniversary dates and events like birthdays, valentines and Christmas. So during those times, we would write each other letters reminding how much that person means to us even though we don’t say it often. I gave him 60 reasons on why I love him (all handmade) & polaroids photos of us.
There were many challenges I faced whenever I wanted to plan something for him, like his friends not being able to come for the event or something. Getting gifts for him cause he’s my mode of transport (STILL) haha! Surprising him always fails cause I’m bad at acting & somehow he ALWAYS finds out, but through all that I always manage to pull something out for him.
My major accomplishment was for Ross’s 21st last year. I had the privilege to surprise him twice for his 21st birthday. One was with his friends & the other time was with his family & friends. I managed to pull off the surprise this time without being caught. The second time was when we had an actual party with his friends & family where I had a chance to fulfil my promise of making sure his mommy’s going to be there for his party. He lost his mom when he was 8 years old and he’s never gotten over it since. He’s always told “V, I wish my mom was there to celebrate with me for my birthday” & I always told, “I promise you mommy will be there celebrating with you”. So when the day came, I had the party planner draw out a portrait of his mom and him. It blew my mind away cause it was exactly the way they looked in the photo! That day was filled with joy and happy tears. His dad thanked me for such a personal touch for him & his family.
Materialistic things will last for a temporary moment but little things are what stays in the heart always. Just checking up on each other on a busy schedule or even just calling and telling them you miss them will make a difference. No matter what the situation maybe, if you choose to love the person, you have to make sure you love 100%. Because even if you had the slightest doubts, you’ll never be happy in a relationship. Someone told me, “Always ask yourself why do you love Ross & it could be a positive or a negative answer but as long as you know why & if you don’t know why is when you don’t really love the person at all.”
Colin, 27
Well in this relationship, my girlfriend is the one that’s better at buying gifts and planning things that are romantic. I am not romantic. But it was the first Valentine’s Day we were celebrating, so I felt I had to get her something nice and have dinner, all while I was on a tight budget.
So basically I went to Sunway Pyramid to buy a gift. I went to Sunway because it just has so many shops that sell nice things. Ended up rounding the mall like three times before I decided what to get. Bought her a pair of earrings and a bunch of hair ties since she keeps losing them. It was something small and nice so I thought it’ll be appreciated.
As for dinner, being bad at picking places, I decided that maybe I should cook something for us to have dinner at home together. Since we always talk about cooking at home but never end up doing it.
The plan was to have dinner a candlelight dinner on the attic but on the day, things weren’t looking good for it. Weather was bad and it would be calamitous if it started raining during the dinner and all. So we did an indoor dinner and I gave her the gift. It was a small, relaxed Valentine’s Day. Nothing so big or elaborate, but I felt like that’s the best. Just the two of us in a comfortable place, just spending time and sharing the love that we have for each other.
Mandeep Singh Bains, 31
We’ve been together for 3 years turning 4 in June 2020. We try to do different things but end up doing shopping or window shopping. But during our monthsary or anniversary, we try to go out for activities and more. She knows me too well and at times can guess my plans, I’m really a bad planner. She’s the better one at planning but when it comes to execution we only succeed in it 70% of the time. So her birthday is just 2 days after Valentine’s and it’s always a challenge to plan 2 days simultaneously. Usually, on Valentines, we keep things simple and smooth, a small dinner, flowers and loads of laughter. For anniversaries, on the other hand, we look to having some plans to go out for a day, filled with games, fun and adventure. We strangely met on Instagram, and me being me, only chat with her there for 4 months before I stepped up and asked for her number. The first call and the first time I heard her voice was on her birthday in 2016. That’s definitely an unforgettable moment to remember.
Marissa, 25
For me, it’s still so surreal that we have been together for 10 years now because it feels like we just started dating not long ago! With that being said, 10 years is still a rather long period of time in which every year trying to gain new ideas and plans for my boyfriend – Bryan can be quite a challenge. One of the main challenges that I face while planning special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries for Bryan is the attempt to organize a better surprise than the previous ones. I always believe in creating new and memorable surprises for my loved one so that each occasion is special in their own way. Nonetheless, Bryan always appreciates my efforts and tells me that he doesn’t need big and grand surprises, all that matters is that we still have each other and that we’re blessed to be able to see each other almost every single day!
Maple, 29
I kept on thinking about what I have done to plan something special for my special one? Honestly, I don’t really plan anything big for him. So let me just share what’s the special moment he’s planned.
We got to know each other through National Service (PLKN) 12 years ago. Our long-standing and long-distance relationship wasn’t always easy. As such, we don’t really get to celebrate every Valentine’s on the actual day together. It was fine for both of us. As cliché, as it may sound, every day can be Valentine ‘s Day if we love each other. And that’s what we are doing together now. Got married, staying together and get to see him every day.
So let me just stick to what he’s done that makes me love him so much la. He would surprise me once in a while when we first got together. During our first vacation trip together with his uni mates to Redang Island in Terengganu. He surprised me by creating this romantic love ring with candles on the beach. This was something that I never expected and I was so surprised and a little touched for all his effort to make me happy.
Then, he wrote a special loving letter for me on our first 100th day together. He bought a big piece of corrugated plastic sheet, cut it into A5 size, writing and bind them together. The content of the letter was mainly how he felt to me in these 100 days and his promises. After that, it wasn’t much romantic meticulous planning from him since we both graduated and got busy working. Initially, I just don’t get why he was so romantic at the beginning then turned so realistic ever since graduated.
Love is not only sacrificing from one party. I am glad that he is someone who always compromises when we argue. There are so many small gestures in our daily life that he’s done so that I would be happy. He would let me finish his food whenever I am hungry even though he still is. He will bring me to the places I want, though not always, but I am still delighted that he makes the effort to make me happy. And now, the essence that binds us together is to respect and understand each other.
I just want him to be himself when he is with me. I used to be unhappy when he didn’t want to join my circle of friends. However, now as time progresses, we both are old enough to please, to impress people around us. I do understand him when he just doesn’t want to join my circle of friends just as I sometimes don’t join his too. He will understand and at the end, we are still both living our life together as an individual and as a pair of husband and wife. It is mutual respect and understanding that keep our relationship going.
Yee Ning, 21
My name is Yee Ning, I am 21 years old and I have been together with Adam for 1 year and 9 months, for now, that being said we only celebrated Valentine’s Day together once. Last year this time, I was having my semester break, and the fact that my hometown is in Johor while he is currently staying in PJ, it was difficult for us to meet almost every week. As it was our first Valentine’s together, we had planned to meet each other with a special staycation, with me travelling by bus to TBS. The feeling of excitement after not seeing each other for a long time was surreal. He was waiting for me at the terminal and we went to the city centre straight, had our lunch together in Kyochon which I had been craving for long time in the shopping mall we first dated. At night later, he said he has prepared multiple surprises for me. Knowing how much I love seafood and we finally had time together at night without rushing back home, he has booked a barbeque buffet dinner by catching live seafood. The whole time was filled with non-stop laughter, seeing how much he panicked while catching the prawns really cracked me up. We then ended our night by overviewing the scenic city night view at the hill-top with our favourite songs playing on the mini speaker. With us slow talking to each other, almost feel like we were at one of the scenes in Lalaland. That was the best night spent.
For me, I was touched by his efforts in planning all of these and making things happen. And he really considers my feelings in every decision made, knowing the food I was craving for and the places we would enjoy together. It made me feel so secured, and able to rely on him without any further worries. There were no such challenges for us, as we totally considered each other’s preferences, and everything was arranged according to our own liking. Inevitably, things are expensive during a special occasion, especially Valentine’s Day, therefore advanced booking in accommodation and restaurant was very much needed to avoid disappointment. For this upcoming Valentine’s day, we will be doing our favourite activities together, which are outdoor, from hiking, jungle trekking to food hunting. It is certainly surreal to reminisce these memories though it was not long while ago, from the time we were being shy to each other, couldn’t even look each other in the eyes, to lovers who are spending time together on Valentine’s Day, which is a special day dedicated for every lovebird out there. After all, the main purpose of planning Valentine’s Day is about spending quality time with your loved one. It doesn’t have to be expensive, fine dining and even a bouquet of flowers. It is about being by each other’s side, spending quality time with each other. It is already the best kind of celebration you can ever have. As love is to be celebrated every day, it isn’t just being shown only on Valentine’s day.
Bryan, 25
My girlfriend – Marissa and I have been together for 9 years and coming to the 10th year this year. Planning a surprise for my girlfriend was never easy because she will somehow know when I plan a surprise or any events for her. It is also difficult to plan as her friends are also my friends so it is very hard to keep secrets within our group of friends but at the end of the day what matters most is that we are always happy for what we do for each other and to keep our relationship going strong.
Jack, 20
My girlfriend and I have been together for 2 years now. It all started when I was a newbie at Nilai University where we had to join the society and clubs as it is a part of the curriculum. The first time I met her was at the dance club and I saw her performing for the new students. After the performance, I approached her after talking to the other dancers and asked for a number. We don’t do surprises or big celebrations for our special days but we do exchange gifts. Once she gave me a t-shirt that has cars on it. Being a car enthusiast, this makes the gift special to me.