Years ago in Ancient Rome some Christian martyr called Valentine had his feast day on February 14. Fast forward a couple of thousand years and now every 2/14 you have to sit in an over-priced restaurant staring into your partner's eyes over stale breadsticks trying desperately to look more in love than the other happy couples at the tables beside you. Forget all that chocolates and flowers nonsense, we've brought you the top ten tech ways to put the fun back into V-Day.

1. I love you toast stamper

Get your Valentine's Day off to the right start with this plastic stamp kitchen gadget that imprints "I 'heart' you" on to your breakfast bread. Cute and kitsch in equal measures, what could possibly be more romantic than a slice of wholemeal declaring your undying devotion?

$3.99, PerpetualKid.com
 

 

2. Newsmy lovers' MP3 player

Share your love — and your shared love of music — with a pair of these gloriously tacky heart-shaped MP3 players priced at around $65 for the two. Each player offers a neck strap, 1GB capacity, a built-in rechargeable battery and the knowledge that you are so in love you don't mind looking like a goofy cupid-struck fool.

Around $65 , ChinaVasion.com

3. ThinkGeek's holographic candlelit dinner kit

Give your romantic evening meal that extra-special twist with this kit from ThinkGeek. Included is a candle and two thin-film glasses etched with a pattern designed to diffuse any light sources into heart-shaped rainbows. Gaze into your lover's eyes and discuss diffraction...

$5.99, ThinkGeek.com

4. Belkin RockStar splitter

If you're not quite loved-up enough to go the whole hog with the heart-shaped PMPs, then maybe a headphone splitter is more up your street? Belkin's RockStar splitter will allow you and your chosen special friend to listen to the same music source through separate headphones. In fact, the five-jack design will let you and four other special friends share the music, but that's not quite as sweet.

$19.95, Apple.com

5. Kodak EasyShare P720

What could possibly make a nicer Valentine's gift than a digital photo frame to display all your favourite moments together? The particularly nice feature of this 7-inch model is its dual memory card slot — so you can each stick your digital media storage in for shared slideshow fun rather than an either/or scenario.

$76.24, Amazon.com

6. Polaroid 8-inch two screen portable DVD player

Going to your average multiplex theater isn't the most romantic of date activities these days with harsh lobby lighting, plastic hotdogs, chewy popcorn and hoards of teens hanging around. Create your romantic cinematic experience for two anywhere you please with this portable DVD player with two screens, perfect for sharing.

$229.99, Target.com

 

7. Hot Chilli Valentine & Love C@rds iPhone app

There's no substitute for an old-fashioned hard-copy Valentine's Day card but with this nifty new iPhone app, as well as the snail mail option, you can bombard your loved one throughout the day with many messages of amour. The Valentine & Love C@rds app offers over 30 customizable templates so there should be a few to suit.

£1.19 , Hot Chilli Apps

8. USB Mixtape

Islands In The Stream, You Are The Wind Beneath My Wings, I Will Always Love You... However cheesy you and yours' special song is, it brings meaning to you. The USB Mixtape lets you create a modern version of the old DIY compilation cassettes, but with MP3s on a USB drive. Your song, the song you first kissed to, your first slow dance... cheese out with a hand-picked list.

$19.95 , BaronBob.com

9. SentForever's message for eternity

So romantic we almost gagged, SentForever will transmit your special message into deep space using a high powered radio transmitter from the Goonhilly earth station in Cornwall, England. Once sent, your special message will continue to travel around the vast reaches of space for the rest of eternity, perhaps to one day be decoded by an alien race. Dare we say also handy for er, last minute Valentine's gestures...

Free , SentForever

10. ThinkGeek's 8-bit dynamic life shirt

Two and a half pixelated hearts automatically light up on these glowing tees, but buy a pair and then when you get within hugging distance of your significant other wearing the matching shirt, suddenly the hearts on both of your shirts start to light up until you're fully powered up. Could clothing be any cuter?

From $11.99, ThinkGeek.com
 

 

[Header image courtesy of Flickr user JHritz under a CC license]