Forget the crammed restaurant with inflated prices. Try something different  this Valentine’s Day.

“It’s a great day to practise what being in a relationship is all about,” says Dale Curd, a Toronto-based psychotherapist.

Here are some fresh ideas to sample this Feb. 14.

A “learn together” date.

“Such as a dance lesson. What you’re trying to do is excite your partner’s mind and appeal to their heart,” says Curd.

“And it’s not what just one person wants to do. It’s something that has you both leaning beyond your edge, as in ‘Ooh, I don’t know if I could do that.’”

Some things to try?

Hitting a roller rink together or taking a cooking class. (Have no romantic partner on the horizon? Couple up with a friend or a few pals for a girls or guys night out.)

Surprise your partner with a gift that anticipates their needs – maybe your girlfriend lives off of frozen meals.

“Order a meal service for a week for her,” says Christine Hart, a Toronto-based dating coach.

“So it’s something you think your partner is going without right now.”

Try the “high/low” concept.

Instead of the fancy restaurant meal, pick up yummy ingredients at a farmers’ market or grocery store to recreate a meal together at home, she adds.

If you are dateless on Valentine’s, try this with friends or mixed singles – everyone brings an ingredient (or course) to make the meal together.

Create a new ritual.

Skip the heart-shaped box of chocolates and instead fill a basket with different blends of coffee beans and two new mugs.

“Then make a point of getting up earlier each morning – before the kids! – to share  some java before starting your day,” says Debra Macleod, a relationship counsellor in Red Deer, Alta.

“Studies show that couples who enjoy such rituals have longer and happier unions.”

In the mood for something spicier?

Try body sliding.

 ”This is a style of sensual body massage where lovers drench their bare bodies in oil and slide over, under and around each other, sort of an adult slip-and-slide,” says Macleod.

“Countless studies show that regular, pleasurable sexual intimacy is strongly associated with marital success.”