The Sunday Valentine

Valentine’s Day falls on Sunday 14 February in 2027. That gives us a particularly good excuse for breakfast that runs a little late, a walk without much of a destination, and an evening already decided before anyone gets hungry.

The plan below works for two people, with a few easy changes for a morning to yourself or an afternoon with a friend. Choose the parts you genuinely want. A very good breakfast can be quite enough of an occasion.

Start the night before

Put two cups beside the coffee machine, or one if the morning is yours. Clear a small patch of table. Find a tray if breakfast might travel to the sofa. Buy the pastries and any flowers on Saturday, allowing for your bakery’s opening hours and the instructions for storing or warming what you choose.

Decide on one savoury thing as well as the sweet bits. Eggs, smoked salmon, hummus or a favourite cheese can make breakfast feel like a meal rather than an arrangement of pink icing.

If you are sharing the day, split the preparation now. One person can organise breakfast while the other chooses supper and does the shopping. Both should get a Sunday.

Breakfast: good coffee and something from the bakery

A croissant is an excellent beginning. Add coffee exactly the way you like it, a small bowl of fruit and the savoury choice you made yesterday. Pour juice if you fancy it. Use the plates you enjoy using.

A simple shopping list for two:

• Two croissants or favourite pastries.
• Coffee, tea or hot chocolate, with your preferred milk.
• A small bowl of fruit to share.
• One savoury addition: eggs, smoked salmon, hummus or cheese.
• Butter, jam or another favourite spread, if wanted.
• Optional flowers and a small card.

For a morning on your own, buy your own favourite pastry and make one proper place setting. For a friend, check their drink order in advance. Remembering how someone takes their coffee is already part of the gesture.

A little pink, if you like

The photograph accompanying this guide is from my own collection: a croissant, a doughnut and a little pink-decorated treat on a tray. It is a lovely example of how a few festive bakery things can give breakfast a different feel.

You can borrow the idea without buying every sweet thing in the photograph. Choose one or two favourites and add something savoury. Keep the drinks on a stable surface if the tray is on a sofa or bed.

Late morning: leave a little room

After breakfast, resist filling the entire day. Read a few chapters, put on music or sit with a second coffee. If you have made a plan with someone, tell them what time the next part starts so they can relax into the gap too.

This is a good moment for a small note. Write one specific thing you appreciate: the way someone makes you laugh when work has been difficult, or the fact that they always remember the good bread. A single honest sentence is plenty.

Find a starting line at the Little Notes Post Office.

Afternoon: a short walk and a warm return

Choose a familiar route, or walk towards somewhere with good coffee. In February, the pleasure can be in the smallest change: a brighter patch of sky, the first green shoots, or the moment the sun reaches your face.

Check the weather and choose a route that feels comfortable. Decide whether your treat is at a café or back at home. Having cake waiting gives the walk a very satisfactory conclusion.

Meeting a friend instead? Make this the main event: a walk followed by coffee at yours. The Galentine’s for Two plan includes an easy savoury-and-sweet table if you would like to stay longer.

At our house: something lovely on the stove

On Valentine’s, I often make Bas’s favourite: homemade chips and Belgian beef stew. I really enjoy taking the time to cook it for him. With 14 February falling on a Sunday in 2027, that is already the plan I am looking forward to.

Earlier in the afternoon, I love putting little snacks on the table and choosing a film. It can absolutely be an action film. You can read more in The Valentine We Don’t Celebrate, or use The Little Valentine Tray to put together a small moment of your own.

Evening: make the decision before you are tired

Pick supper in the morning. A little ravioli dinner, a favourite takeaway or a plate of good bread and things from the deli can all work. The useful part is knowing what you are doing, what you need to buy and who is handling it.

If you would like a complete plan, The Little Bistro at Home has a menu and preparation order for two. An evening to yourself can be just as considered: choose something you love eating, set out a drink and give yourself an activity you actually want to start.

For reading, The Table by the Window is a complete story from Hollowpine. Allow about forty minutes, perhaps a little more if you stop to make hot chocolate.

The smallest version

Short on time or energy? Make coffee, put a croissant on a plate, and sit down for twenty minutes. If someone is with you, enjoy those minutes together. If the morning is yours, keep it that way.

You can leave the rest of this Sunday open.

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