Origin & History Sweetest Day

• Results from a recent survey conducted by American Greetings show that many people are unaware of the history and original intent of Sweetest Day. Forty-four percent of participants believe it was created by a greeting card company to mirror the romantic celebration of Valentine's Day. In reality, the history of Sweetest Day dates back to 1922 when a man by the name of Herbert Birch Kingston wanted to bring cheer to local orphans, elderly, homebound people and others he felt may feel a little "forgotten" during other holidays. Kingston worked for a candy company in Cleveland, Ohio and started giving out candy to all the little "sweets" in the community. Following his initial efforts, local candy makers in Cleveland began to continue the tradition of giving and called it "The Sweetest Day of the Year" and distributed over 10,000 boxes of candy to over 26 Cleveland area charities their first year. Over time, Sweetest Day has become more romance focused to include more of the Valentines Day traditions of romantic dinners, greeting cards, ecards and of course chocolates and flowers. Some attribute this simply to the name of the holiday, while others feel it holds true to the original spirit of the holiday by making it the sweetest day of the year with candy.

sweetest day gifts: flowers & chocolates

• Over time Sweetest Day has become a holiday associated with romantic gestures. This means, it's practically required to send flowers. If your Sweetest Day message exceeds the space of the bouquet card, send a romantic ecard the afternoon the flowers are scheduled to arrive. Flowers + plus a romantic ecard = big awhhhhh. For something more creative without breaking tradition, try this thoughtful spin on Sweetest Day flowers. The Society of American Florists list the historic meaning of flowers on aboutflowers.com. Select the flowers with meanings that best reflect your girlfriend and either have them arranged by a florist or, better yet, arrange them yourself. If you're sending the flowers to her office, make sure you have a small gift and card to give to her at home or at dinner. Chocolate is a popular romantic holiday gift, but that doesn't mean a box of mystery fillings is required. Continue the theme of personalized gifts and order some custom printed M & Ms. Her heart will melt and you will have fulfilled your flower and chocolate duties (at least until her birthday).

Sweetest Day Dates

• Sweetest day is a popular date night. Since the holiday doesn't have the romantic pressure of Valentines Day, it's appropriate to take someone to dinner that you've only been seeing a short time. To keep it casual but creative, invite your date to dinner using an ecard. There are a variety of funny and romantic Sweetest Day or love and dating ecards that are sure to impress your sweet and get them excited for your date! If the dinner date is a surprise, be sure to include the restaurant's address in the ecard invitation. If going out isn't something that interests you, staying in can be just as romantic. There are many romantic dinners you can cook right at home, which is a great way to surprise someone after a hard day of work.

Meeting a "Sweetie" online

• The evolution of the internet and online dating has impacted how we meet our sweets. If you're looking for a Sweetest Day date because your Valentine's Day date "moved to Alaska," check-out recent online dating success stories. According to a MSN interview with Jim Tracy, the publisher of Online Dating Magazine, an estimated 100,000 couples that meet online get married each year. eHarmony.com has records that indicate 33,000 couples that use their service get married each year. OnlineDatingMagazine.com breaks out 5 types of online dating services available for people looking for a "soul mate" to those looking for casual friends. General Online Dating Services like Match.com and Yahoo! Personals offer members access to their full database and quizzes that help determine compatibility. There are even niche sites such as TrekPassions.com which makes romantic connections between sci-fi fans. Isn't that sweet? Once you meet your sweetie online and begin talking it's always nice to send them a surprise Sweetest Day ecard. You can customize the message to say whatever you would like, so it can either be friendly or more romantic.