Whether you are in the doe-eyed beginnings of a new relationship, deep in the trenches of child rearing or looking back on many decades of love, Valentine’s Day cards offer a special opportunity to remind your loved one how much they mean to you.
No matter how beautiful, cute or sassy the picture on the front of your card is, you need to think of something to write beyond “Be My Valentine”, “I Love You” or “Happy Valentine’s Day” or your visions of true love will be doomed.
If the thought of coming up with something sentimental on this day of hearts makes you quake in your boots, we have the following suggestions for you:
Go the full romantic
Valentine’s Day cards and poetry go hand in hand, as do passion filled quotes. There are some heart-melting verses out there which can help Cupid’s arrow find its target on February 14th.
Express your adoration with words from Shakespeare:
“Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you, Did my heart fly at your service”
“‘For where thou art, there is the world itself, And where thou art not, desolation”
“One half of me is yours, the other half yours
Mine own, I would say; but if mine, then yours,
And so all yours.”
More recently, E.E Cummings wrote I Carry Your Heart, which is often read at weddings:
“i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you”
Find a book of poetry or search the web for some text which rings true of your special relationship and add it to your Valentine’s Day card.
Romantic Valentine’s Day Cards
1. Love
2. I choose you
Say it in song
Every couple has their song. It’s the one you sing to each other in the car, in the kitchen and whenever you’re feeling the love.
Transcribe some of the lyrics in your Valentine’s Day card to remind your loved one of your special ditty.
If you don’t have a special song, or if your song isn’t lovey-dovey enough, there are plenty of romantic lyrics you can borrow for your card.
Try this one from The Scripts:
“I may not have the softest touch. I may not say the words as such. And though I may not look like much….I’m yours.”
Van Morrison gets it:
"I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles/And the heavens open every time she smiles/And when I come to her that's where I belong."
Evoke goosebumps with Otis Redding’s That’s How Strong My Love Is:
"I'll be the weeping willow drowning in my tears/And you can go swimming when you are here/I'll be the rainbow after the tears are gone/Wrap you in my colors and keep you warm."
Not so keen on the song idea? Try a movie quote instead. The Notebook, anyone?
Music inspired Valentine’s Day cards
2. Kanye feel the love tonight
Speak their language
If your loved one is an expat or has a strong family history from another country, find a piece of text, a quote or a song lyric in their native language and write it inside their Valentine’s Day card.
For example, ‘Tá tú an ceann amháin a bhfuil mo chroí’
translates from Gaelic to ‘You are the only one who has my heart’.
The following phrase: Κοίταξα βαθιά μέσα στα μάτια σου και είδα το μέλλον μας, translates from Greek to ‘I looked deep into your eyes and saw our future’
Who wouldn’t find themselves won over by those beautiful phrases?
Valentine’s Day Cards with sweet sayings
Be cheeky
Hate the soppy stuff? Perhaps your partner doesn’t appreciate the schmaltz of traditional Valentine’s Day cards.
Instead, choose a card with a cute or raunchy pun and find some text to give her or him a bit of a giggle.
This excerpt from ‘We Are Imperfect For Each Other’ gets the message across in its own unusual way:
“What we share
doesn't mirror love stories
Some of the stuff
is pretty gory
Like morning breath
In your face
Like farts out loud
stinky, hardly mild
But here we are
in our imperfect glory
forming our own
special love story”
Cute and sassy Valentine’s Day cards:
Confess your true feelings
When all else feels trite, stick to the truth. An honest sentence or two, no matter how clunkily worded, has the power to go straight to the heart.
Keep it simple, keep it pure and write down your most heartfelt feelings. You may find you are a poet after all.
Valentine’s Day Cards that say ‘I Love You’, plain and simple
2. 100 hearts
3. I love us!
One more tip for writing in Valentine’s Day cards
Practice! Cards are one of the few places where we still put pen to paper but unfortunately there is no ‘delete’ button when you make a mistake. Write your missive on a separate piece of paper first to make sure you get the spacing and spelling correct.
No matter who you and your partner are, we have the perfect card for you.
Browse our selection of romantic, stylish or downright hilarious Valentine’s Day cards and create a memorable February 14th for you and your partner.