One of the flower-candy-greeting card-industry holidays is almost upon us. Aside from lining their coffers with millions of dollars, your lover practically relies on it for getting attention, romance and sentimental gifts. But should we, as consumers, even bother?

Absolutely. The beauty of the holiday is that it presents wonderful opportunities to send love messages to all those people who bless your life.

Traditional Valentine's messages were simply that: simple messages. Chocolate, flowers, expensive dinners out, and extravagant gifts have evolved over time with loads of encouragement by the marketing giants in the hospitality and confectionary industries more interested in making a strong bottom line than preserving heartfelt and time-honored traditions.

That said, Rocket Mom's Valentine's Day recommendations:

. Do coffee in bed. A favorite love act--or at least one of them--of connoisseurs and regular folks alike.

. Send handmade love messages--from silly to sincere--to every member of your family. All artistic levels will be welcomed.

. Create heart-shaped food of any kind: pancakes, muffins, French toast, waffles, cookies, brownies....they all work.

. Treat family and friends to small treats. From handmade heart stationery to a heart-shaped box stuffed with money to a care package for your favorite college student: anything that reads: "I love you" will be treasured.

. Do something unexpected. Anyone can order flowers for special delivery. Can you stir up those creative juices? How about treating your love to a special book, accessory for his favorite hobby. Does he fly-fish? Ski? Is he a gourmet cook? Can you tryst at an out-of-town country inn? Or splurge on a new piece of furniture? Or new window treatments? How about surprising her with a bathroom remodel?

. Scatter love notes throughout the house, with family member's names written on envelopes and marked "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL FEBRUARY 14."

. Hide lunchbox--or wallet--love notes all week long.

. Cook your lover's favorite dinner. Don't forget the candles, cloth napkins, silver, and china. Drink only red wine. Plan it such that the kids have long ago been sent to bed.

. Take a long soak with your honey. Or give him a massage. Use your favorite oils, light the candles and give yourself plenty of time...or all night long.

. Compose a love poem. Love poems are a Valentine's Day tradition!

. Roses remain the Valentine flower of choice. Rose re-spelled spells Eros. Give one or give a dozen. Red.

. Chocolate. Very dark. And plenty of it.

In the end, being a faithful Valentine means looking out for the needs and affections of those you love-and the willingness to show it. See what small acts of kindness you can do today--and all week long--to celebrate the tradition of Valentine's Day. The tradition of expressing your love.

Carolina Fernandez earned an M.B.A. and worked at IBM and as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch before coming home to work as a wife and mother of four. She totally re-invented herself along the way. Strong convictions were born about the role of the arts in child development; ten years of homeschooling and raising four kids provide fertile soil for devising creative parenting strategies. These are played out in ROCKET MOM! 7 Strategies To Blast You Into Brilliance. It is widely available online, in bookstores or through 888-476-2493. She writes extensively for a variety of parenting resources and teaches other moms via seminars, workshops, keynotes and monthly meetings of the ROCKET MOM SOCIETY, a sisterhood group she launched to