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Celebrating V’day for the unconventional

SINGAPORE – For the longest time I can remember, Valentine’s Day has been about expensive four-course dinners and over-the-top bouquets. But does this day of love necessarily require forking out tons of money to show your love?

If you wish to get your hands moving, how about releasing your artistic inclinations by dabbling in some art jamming? Photo: istock

If you wish to get your hands moving, how about releasing your artistic inclinations by dabbling in some art jamming? Photo: istock

SINGAPORE – For the longest time I can remember, Valentine’s Day has been about expensive four-course dinners and over-the-top bouquets. But does this day of love necessarily require forking out tons of money to show your love?

Isn’t it more meaningful to spend time together and enjoy it in the way you know how?

Here are some suggestions we’ve pulled together that are not typically romantic, but promise to be a ball of fun.

INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN

Instead of being dazzled by the flickers from a candlelit dinner, how about having a bit of fun outdoors with your loved ones instead? Gardens by the Bay has planned a series of activities for this weekend (and the next) at the Supertree Grove. Best of all? You don’t have to fork out a cent for it. This weekend, couples can catch a special edition of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by The HandleBards, a theatre group hailing from the United Kingdom. Shows start 7pm.

There will also be a movie screening of William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (the 1996 movie directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes) at 9pm on Saturday.

Carmaker Citroen is also having a movie event, albeit a drive-in movie, kind of like what they used to have in Jurong. This one is at the open field between Tanjong Rhu Road and Tanjong Rhu View tonight at 8pm, where they will screen French romantic film Priceless. Foodies can get their chow from the food fair and activities at the grounds, which will be open from 5.30pm. While registration to get a parking spot has already closed; you should be able catch the movie from where you are standing.

If being sedentary and watching movies isn’t your thing, how about doing something that both thrill and crank up your adrenaline? Head to Forest Adventure at Bedok Reservoir Park (https://forestadventure.com.sg/), where you can cross bridges, swing from a trapeze, manoeuvre through logs and zip down a line across the reservoir. There is also a kid-friendly course, for parents who want to enjoy the day with their tots.

WORK UP A SWEAT

Okay ladies, Valentine’s Day is about appreciating your man right? How about attending pole dancing trial classes offered by The Brass Barre (http://www.thebrassbarre.com/trialclass/) this weekend to learn a few tricks to impress him? The basic class on Saturday and Sunday at noon will teach basic manoeuvres and spins to wow your partner, while the striptease trial on Sunday at 3pm will coach you on a simple striptease dance routine, so you can surprise your man in the evening (wink wink). All classes are an hour long and cost just S$15.

If you and your significant other prefer spending time together getting the calories off instead of piling more on, Bikram Yoga Katong is allowing couples to practice for free on Sunday (pre-booking is required). You can also submit your best couple yoga poses to the studio for a “pose off” contest, and winners will get three free classes each.

Or if you just wish to get your hands moving, how about releasing your artistic inclinations by dabbling in some art jamming? Studios and cafes such as Arteastiq, My Art Space, Art Jam Studio and Cups N Canvas offer a canvas for your free reign, so you can treat your partner with a masterpiece of your own.

CHILL OUT IN BLISS

Of course, the hype of Valentine’s Day may be stressful to some. If that applies to you, you might consider having a quiet and relaxing time away from the crowd.

Lush Spa has a couple champagne spa package, where, for S$395 per couple, you can enjoy a warm milk foot bath and chocolate body scrub along with a 60-minute warm stone lavender body and scalp massage and a 20-minute relaxing foot massage. Couples get to enjoy a glass of champagne after the treatment, and can take along with them a mini box of chocolates.

Or enjoy a 150-minute couple package at AWAY Spa at W Singapore – Sentosa Cove, where a 45-minute rose salt scrub is followed by a 45min soak in a tranquility bath, before you are given a 75-minute relaxing massage. This bit of relaxation comes at a hefty price though: It costs $620++ per couple.

Four Seasons Spa & L’Occitane - L’Occitane’s first Spa in Singapore – is also offering an extra half-hour for a 60-minute massage booking. Those who come with a partner can also enjoy 50 per cent off the price for the second person.

If heading out this weekend just seems too exhausting, there are also staycation packages offered by various hotels. Hotel Fort Canning, for example, is offering a “Valentine’s Kiss” package, whichincludes Tattinger champagne, a romantic bubble bath with floral petals, a buffet breakfast for two, and a pair of Hotel Fort Canning Love Bears for you to take home with you.Guests who book this package also get 15 per cent off their The Taste Of Love four-course set dinner.

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