With Christmas only just gone, the next big gift giving event of the year is already upon us. The gift card shops will already have made the quick turnaround from Christmas cards to Valentine's cards and where there were teddy bears with Santa hats a month ago there will be the same teddy bears only carrying love hearts between now and mid-February.

While this is great news for ailing retailers, is it all just a bit too much right after Christmas? Shouldn't Valentine's Day be an intimate moment between couples and not something that drags the whole of the retail world into it?

No matter how long you have been with a partner, Valentine's Day still carries with it a great deal of importance. Only the bravest of men would dare to forget the big day and the very least that is demanded is a bunch of flowers. More realistically, the modern day Valentine's package will contain chocolates, flowers and a meal, if not a trip away.

All of this is a far cry from the humble Valentine's Day beginnings of exchanging handmade cards with sentimental notes to your loved one. The dawn of the printing press led to the first Valentine's cards that were produced for people who could not think of their own message and since then it has grown into one of the main gift days of the year.

Whatever is bought and however much is spent, the sentiment of Valentine's Day is still one of celebrating your friendships and relationships and this is something that can be undertaken without spending a fortune.

Rather than going overboard with the cheesy love hearts and the boxes of chocolates this year, stick to something that can be looked back on and remembered for truly meaningful Valentines Day gifts in 2011.