Marriage

Holidays are one of my biggest challenges overseas. I missed out on the creative gene somehow, and I'm terrible at planning ahead, so it just makes special occasions a problem for me. Add to that the difficulty of romance in a third-world country - lack of good restaurants or date options, lack of babysitters, busy schedules, no florists or chocolatiers - and Valentine's Day can just be a pretty lame holiday.

But we all know how important it is to have times of focusing on our marriage - especially when it's so hard to do. So I've assembled a list of Valentine's ideas - some quite simple, some that will take a little more preparation - that hopefully most of you can do regardless of your location or situation. (And I have to admit most of these ideas are not original with me, but are adapted from a dozen other websites.)

Word Ideas:

1) Love Notes. So much can be done with these. Write a bunch of little love notes and leave them all over the house where your hubby will find them. Or bind them all together into a small book. Or roll them up and tie individually, then put in a basket or jar to give to your Valentine.

2) Give IOU's - for anything from kisses and backrubs, to taking out the trash or cleaning the car, to making his favorite meal!

3) Go to puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com and create your own crossword puzzle using words and clues from your relationship. Be sure to include things from your first dates and your wedding and honeymoon as well as your relationship now.

4) If you're going to be separated for most of the day, do a text-a-thon. Send your Valentine a sweet or steamy text every hour, on the hour. Build anticipation for your evening together.  It will be fun for both of you!

Food Ideas:

1) Make a meal with symbols of love. Make soft pretzels and form them into heart-shapes. Shape our favorite biscuit recipe into hearts. Bake a heart-shaped cake, or cut-out heart cookies. You can use anything from string beans or carrot sticks to ranch dressing or ketchup to write "I love you"  and other Valentine's messages. If you do this as a family, it will be a hit with the children as well!

2) Make a desert bar, if you have enough supplies available. Set out all kinds of sundae fixings, or supplies to build-your-own sandwich cookies, or decorate-your-own cupcakes. Or if you like a slightly healthier twist and have the ingredients, set out supplies for layered fruit and yogurt parfaits, including granola, nuts, or chocolate chips.

3) Do you have leftover candy-canes from Christmas? Put two together to make a pretty red-and-white candy heart. You can even soften them in the oven for a few minutes to melt the heart into one piece.

"Date" Ideas:

1) Watch the sunrise together sipping hot chocolate. This way you can have your date before your children wake up in the morning. :-)

2) Build a fort in the living room using couch cushions, sheets, blankets, and pillows. Build it with the kids and have a bedtime snack inside, then turn it into a love cave after the kids are in bed!

3) Sit down with your laptop and go through old pictures of your engagement, your wedding and/or your honeymoon. This is sure to stir up good memories and lots of romantic feelings!

4) On slips of paper, write down every kind of kiss you can think of. (This could be done with more steamy actions than just kissing, too!) Fold them and put in a jar, basket or envelope. Then take turns drawing a paper and doing what it says.

5) Have a picnic in your bedroom - spread a blanket on the bed and start your evening off with some goodies.

So are you inspired to make the day special for your Valentine? Maybe you already have plans that you can share with us in the comments below. Or tell us what you've done for a simple but romantic date in the past.

• The Secret to Keeping Romance Alive