Valentine's Day Countdown

How long until Valentine's Day?

February 14 is fixed, so the only thing that changes from year to year is the weekday it lands on, and that matters more than most people expect. A Valentine's Day on a Saturday means restaurants are booked out a month ahead. A Wednesday means a quieter evening but a harder time getting a table straight after work. The counter above shows the weekday alongside the days, hours, minutes and seconds remaining.

Like every countdown on FestiveHelper, the date is calculated in your browser from your own clock, so the page stays accurate in any future year and rolls forward automatically once February 14 has passed.

A simple planning timeline

• Four weeks out: book the restaurant, especially if the fourteenth falls on a Friday or Saturday. Popular places release Valentine's bookings in early January.
• Two weeks out: order flowers for delivery. Florists sell out of roses first and prices climb steadily through the first half of February.
• One week out: post a card if it is going overseas, and confirm any delivery slots.
• Two days out: collect anything you ordered for pickup, and check the weather if you are planning something outdoors.

Gift ideas that do not need a big budget

Spending more does not reliably make the day better. A few ideas that tend to land well: cook a meal at home on the night itself and go out for a quieter, cheaper dinner a week later; write a proper letter rather than buying a card; book a small experience such as a class, a walk somewhere new or tickets to something you would both enjoy; or put together a photo album from the past year. If you do want to shop the sales first, the discount calculator will tell you what a stacked coupon actually saves you.

Why February 14?

The day is named for Saint Valentine, a third century figure whose feast day was set on February 14. Its association with romance is usually traced to Geoffrey Chaucer's poem Parlement of Foules in the fourteenth century, which linked the date to birds choosing their mates. The exchange of handwritten notes became common in England in the eighteenth century, and printed cards followed with cheap postage in the nineteenth. Today it is marked across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and most of Europe, and in many countries it has broadened well beyond couples to include friends, teachers and family.