While it may look a little different this year, Valentine’s Day is still worth celebrating — in fact, now more than ever, it’s important to show the special people in your life how much you care. Thanks to flower delivery services and decadent new jewellery collections, gifts are covered, and our favourite London restaurants are offering at-home food deliveries to recreate a dream dinner date, whether you’re together or apart. But to score some extra romance points, it’s time to look further afield. Whether you want to show yourself some love or are looking for ways to impress your partner, we’ve rounded up some of the best online events and thoughtful ideas for making this Valentine’s Day at home a little more special.
While Marquee TV offers a whole host of acclaimed plays, ballets and musicals to stream at home, this particular ballet is known for being one of the most romantic, making it a perfect pick for this day. Based on a French folktale, The Two Pigeons was first performed on Valentine’s Day in 1961. In this Royal Ballet version, Frederick Ashton directs Lauren Cuthbertson and Vadim Muntagirov as leads in this charismatic, heart-wrenching tale of a young couple in 19th-century Paris whose love is tested when an enigmatic gyspy girl threatens to lead the young man astray.
Turn to the cards for all your burning love life questions with a special tarot love reading from Selfridges’ in-house Psychic Sisters, whose clairvoyant powers have drawn A-list clients including Kim Kardashian West and Kate Hudson. Each 15-minute virtual reading, which can be done over Whatsapp or Facetime video call, or as a standard phone call, will seek to find answers about what awaits you in the pursuit of true love. This is just one of a roster of Valentine’s events Selfridges is hosting this year — check out their event listings to see what else they have available, including virtual sound bath meditation, a life drawing class and a home cleansing.
14 February, 8pm
The legendary jazz club isn’t letting lockdown stop them from putting on a spectacular Valentine’s show. Streamed live on their website and on their Facebook page, the club’s concert promises to provide a soundtrack to your evening, with sultry, award-winning singer Emma Smith accompanied by Jamie Safir on piano, Adam King on bass and Luke Tomlinson on drums. The set is entirely free, but you can make a donation to the club if you’d like to support it through this challenging time. The soulful performance is the perfect way to set a romantic tone in your own home.
A glamorous afternoon tea at one of London’s five star hotels is often a go-to Valentine’s Day activity — luckily, a number of the best tea connoisseurs are offering an at-home version for the special day. At Hotel Cafe Royal, acclaimed Chef Albert Adrià has created a ‘Cakes and Bubbles’ box for two (£100), featuring signature desserts such as the golden egg flan and chocolate corks, along with a bottle of Grand Reserve champagne. For something a little more personal, The Connaught Patisserie’s Pastry Chef Nicolas Rouzaud and his team are creating personalised ‘cakeaways’ to order, as well as a special vanilla and raspberry version of their famous Connaughty hound — call or email to place your order for collection.
Try your hand at craft mixology with the special edition Valentine’s cocktail kits from The Cocktail Man, the recipe box company created by award-winning mixologist James Vyse. Two Valentine’s kits are available, with each luxury box including all the ingredients needed to make four servings (plus one extra for whoever claims it) of a specific cocktail. Our favourite box creates the Raspberry Rose Pink Gin Fizz Cocktail, blending Hendrick’s gin and The Cocktail Man’s exclusive Sliquer for a frothy, pink concoction, and comes with a candle to help set the mood. The other box contains the makings of a Pornstar Martini, the classic pomegranate-flavoured tipple with Black Cow vodka, and a surprise treat of chocolate truffles and massage oil. If pink cocktails aren’t your thing, there are plenty of other kits to choose from, including a Chocolate Espresso Martini and a Blueberry & Lavender Sour.
