Make Valentine’s Day memorable (but effortless) with these hacks that’ll help you create the perfect evening 

Impress with less 

Valentine’s Day, like many other holidays, comes with an air of expectations that spouses, partners and love interests should go all out in order to impress their date.  

But there are many ways to create a meaningful day that won’t set you back financially for months. The secret? It’s in the details. 

Tricks For Your Table 

Done the prep and the cooking? Take a little time to create a romantic table setting with these 3 little things:
Tip #1: 

Gather flowers or foliage from your garden and pop them in small vases or glass jars bottles. Group a few of them as a centrepiece or dot them around the table.
Tip #2: 

Keep things casual but fun with patterned paper placements or serviettes. Did anyone say red? (hint, hint.)
Tip #3: 

Tealight candles may be tiny, but they create a lot of atmosphere. In this case, more is more. Break out a whole bunch of tealights, light them up and dim the lights. 

For The Love Of Chocolate 

Chocolate ganache is a simple way to elevate your dessert. All you need is cream, chocolate and some heat! The trick lies in the ratios, which will determine your consistency.  

Remember these rules:
1:1 Equal parts chocolate and cream is for making a pourable ganache.
2:1 Two parts chocolate, one part cream is perfect for creating chocolate truffles.
3:1 Three parts chocolate to cream is for a silky white chocolate ganache. 

Save the sauce 

Sometimes ganache doesn’t come together the way you’d like it to. If your sauce splits, heat up a few tablespoons of cream or some hot water and add them to your ganache while whisking. This should bring everything together again. For good measure, stir until smooth. 

Love In Jar 

All you need is a jar and a few simple ingredients to create this easy gift. 

For Her 

Fill the jar with items that relate to some of her favourite pastimes, for example paintbrushes, nail polish, notebooks or quality pens. 

For Him 

Add a small bottle of his favourite aftershave, some beard oil or a fresh fragranced body wash to create a complete pamper kit. 

For Friends 

Fill with handmade coupons for outing activities that they can redeem to spend quality time with you over the next year. Top up with some sweet treats. 

Words by Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photography: Getty Images, Shutterstock

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