‘Flatmates put a tenner in her card’: readers on their most memorable Valentine’s Days | Valentine’s Day

For Valentine’s Day, we asked Guardian readers for their most enduring memories of the day over the years. Whether it was the perfect romantic gesture – or memorable for not going quite to plan – here are five readers’ stories.

‘He may not be here, but I have a flat filled with cards and hearts’

“We had 27 delightful V-days together. We did the same thing every year (along with the cuddly part) – we would only spend $25 and everything we bought for each other had to be heart-shaped. Oh, and there were a lot, a whole lot, of pop-up cards, which we collected.

“As a result, even though I no longer have a living husband I have a flat filled with hearts: stone, metal, crystal, candles … You name it, I’ve got it. These all make the second V-day without him more tolerable. I have opened and put all the multitudes of V-day pop-up cards on the table. Although he may not be here, his creativity and wit and our joyful connection remains alive and well.” Eric Johnson, 68, semi-retired, Seattle, US

‘To my horror, my flatmates put a tenner in her card’

“I was going on a second date with a girl in my early 20s and to my horror realised it was on 14 February. I was agonising over whether or not I should get her a Valentine’s present as it was only a second date, and if so, what do I get her? Flowers? Bit intense. Jewellery? Bit scary. Poem? No third date. My flatmates’ consensus was “offer to pay for the meal and just get a small card”. So I bought the card and we filled it out carefully – don’t say “love, Brian”, whatever you do. I then went for a shower, foolishly leaving the card on the living room table.

“I arrived later on at the pub to meet the girl and handed her the card. She smiled, opened it and to my horror took out THE TENNER INSIDE IT and said “Oh, erm … thanks?.” Flatmates, what can I say? Anyway, 10-plus years later now and we’re married with a baby. Not bad value.” Brian, 36, works in construction, Dublin, Ireland

‘He pawned his bongos to buy me a present and dinner’

“It was 1996, I was in my 20s and had been with my boyfriend at the time for about a year. With Valentine’s Day looming, I really wasn’t expecting much as I knew he was skint and I arrived back in Bristol from a visit to my folks with zero expectations.

“Waiting for me was a beautiful scented candle and half a pound of mince. It turns out he had pawned his beloved bongos so he could buy me a present and cook me dinner – spaghetti bolognese, what else! He was really attached to those bongos, he really loved them and I don’t think he got them back. To this day, it’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.” Jenny, 52, carer, London, UK

‘I sent cards to two colleagues – they got married a couple of years later’

“Ages ago – at least 40 years – there was a very shy young lad at work who really liked a similarly shy girl. He used to talk to me about her a lot, and I lost count of how many times I told him to simply ask her out.

“One Valentine’s Day – more out of devilment than any altruistic motive, to be honest – I decided to act. I sent one card to her and one to him, not mentioning full names, but giving enough clues. She asks if her card is from him, he asks if his card is from her. Both blush, deny knowing anything about it, as you would if you were a secret admirer. To cut a long story short, they go out for a lunch date, it blossoms, a couple of years later they are married, and a couple of years after they have a child.

“I never told them I had anything to do with it. I have no idea if they are still married, or how many kids they have, or if they are grandparents. I would like to think they lived happily ever after.” Chris, Worthing

‘He handed me a note with his number on it – we’ve been together ever since’

“On Valentine’s Day 2012, I was working a shift manning the cloakroom of a nightclub. Men would often hit on me when I was working there – usually unsuccessfully since they’d be hammered while I’d be stone cold sober. But that night, one guy tried a different tack: he came up to ask me where the smoking area was, then handed me a piece of paper with his number on and walked off before I had the chance to read it.

“I had nothing else to do – after all, I couldn’t leave the cloakroom for several more hours – so I sent him a text. Long story short, we went on a date a week or so later and have been together ever since! This year will mark our 12th ‘Valanniversary’.” Leah, 34, PhD student, Nuremberg, Germany