It’s important not to stress yourself out over something like Valentine’s Day. At the end of the day, you don’t have to buy your beloved a Lexus or put their name up on the jumbotron (in fact, don’t ever do that), you just have to be sweet and attentive. But being the kind and caring significant other you know you can be means avoiding the pratfalls of distraction. Its name is iPhone. While you might get away with casually checking out some apps on a normal supper at home, there are some apps that you absolutely should keep closed during whatever delightful dinner you’ve planned out.
OKCupid (Free)
OKCupid is a terrific app to meet other like-minded singles. The “Locals” feature it added in its last update, allowing you to quickly message and meet up with someone who is in your immediate neighborhood, is a great way to avoid prolonged blind date anxiety. But if you’re opening this app in front of your date on Valentine’s Day, it tends to send up the wrong kind of signals. Signals that suggest this is likely the only Valentine’s Day you’ll be spending together. At least save that news for after dessert.
NFL Kicker! ($0.99)
This pick comes with a bit of a gender bias. If a girl broke the NFL Kicker! app out I’d be downright impressed, but for a doting girlfriend who already puts up with non-stop talk of fantasy football teams and SportsCenter, watching you flick your finger across the iPhone, “kicking” virtual field goals during a candlelit dinner might be the last straw. Of course, if you have a sporty girl who wants to turn the high score list into a fun competition, you might have yourself a real winner, too.
WeatherBug (Free)
It’s one thing to sit around and complain about the weather, or use the ever-changing temperature to make smalltalk in an elevator, but if you’re bringing out your WeatherBug app to share the seven-day forecast with your lover, it might be time to explore some new avenues of interest. Weather is simply not a very romantic topic, unless, of course, you use the app’s ability to track multiple locations as a means of surprising your valentine with a vacation. You can have that idea on the house, too.
Grubwithus (Free)
Browsing through the profiles of diners interested in trying the same meal as you might sound like a good idea, but it’s probably best not to do so in front of someone with whom you’re already having dinner. You’ll run into some trouble if your Valentine’s Day date wonders (a) why you’re not pursuing more dinners with him or her before consulting an app to find new friends, and (b) why you’d rather go to that hot new restaurant with a total stranger. Using this app on your dinner date is the equivalent of dropping a grenade on the middle of your table.
All Yoga ($0.99)
Here’s one app you might actually find useful during a Valentine’s Day date. If you want to see if your companion is a little bit sporty and a little bit spiritual, bust out your All Yoga app. You can discuss your favorite poses and maybe even share tips on some that you find difficult to perform. Use the app’s calendar feature to see if you can possibly line up a good day to practice together, too. Suddenly you’ve opened up a whole new avenue in your relationship that you didn’t know was there before.
