Bad Valentine's Day Gifts - and What to Replace Them With - StyleList

Anyone old enough for bulk hair the former is long past the latter. BETTER! AN OFFICE PAMPERING: "Someone as a thank you to my team gave everyone in the office 15-minute back massages," Shine recalls. She suggests sending a manicurist to the work place for a throwaway indulgence that's more personal yet less intrusive than that helium bouquet. BANNED! FRILLY LINGERIE: That lace-trimmed thong is an oddly automated gift on V-Day. "It means you're just doing what you're supposed to be doing, and no-one likes to be loved that way," Shine agrees. BETTER! INTIMATE ART: Take the intimate sentiment behind the idea and instead order a custom canvas from one of the many online art-sellers. "My husband had them draw a picture hair bulk of [NYC restaurant] Bar Pitti, where our first date was," Shine says. She also likes the LA-based movie art mecca, Every Picture Tells a Story, where you can order animation cells, book art or cartoons: buy one from a loved one's favorite film or childhood story. BANNED! BORING MEN'S GIFTS: Admit it – it isn't just men who suffer from V-Day blah-itis. Women fall back on the same generic catch-alls – sports jerseys, ties – year after year, or sometimes don't even reciprocate. BETTER! THINK 'MAD MEN': Thoreson puts it simply. "Think: what would Betty Draper five her husband Don, at least when she's not pissed off chinese remi at him – whatever that is, is a pretty good Valentine's Day gift." Shine remembers that the way to a man's heart has always been through another body part. "Get steak lunches delivered to a guy's office – pick up a meal to go, and deliver it," she recommends. Red meat on Friday lunchtime should leave him raring to go when Valentine's weekend begins.