Celebrate Your Valentine in a New Way

"I cook my wife a special dinner every Valentine's Day," says Godfrey, who's been married to Annette for 10 years. "We never go out on Valentine's Day. It's more romantic to stay home and enjoy each other's company."

Bill Dwyer, also of Los Angeles, kicks it up a notch, and along with preparing a delicious meal, he cleans the house for wife Penny. A painter, she traditionally draws him a card which he treasures as a keepsake.

"Every year I surprise my husband by doing a job for him that's normally his responsibility," says Mary Brooks of Los Angeles. "Last year I took out the garbage, and the year before that I trimmed a tree that was overgrown." Her husband, T.K. Wang, observes, "Taking out the garbage for your spouse is indeed an act of love; it definitely warms my heart."

With the kids out of the house, A.C. Brae of Stevenson, Md., and her husband may bypass dinner for "a bubble bath and a romantic evening." The husband of Felice Hulkower of Arcadia, Calif., also gets "a bath and a back scrub every Valentine's Day."