Plan The Perfect Valentine’s Day with DOZ

Valentine’s Day 2015 is just a few hours away and the team at DOZ are making their final preparations for the most romantic day of the year.

We’re a diverse team here at DOZ representing many different nationalities, and cultures. Whatever our differences – not everyone is a fan of the epic office NERF battles – there are a few things that we have in common, including a taste for romance.

As we’re proudly part of the pro-sourcing economy and because collaboration is one of the things we do really well, I decided to turn to the team to get some ideas about who to create the perfect Valentine’s Day experience.

I started out asking our Assistant Project Manager Cécile about what she thought the perfect Valentine’s Day evening would be. She explained that the person, not the event, would make the perfect evening. She recommends a movie, a nice dinner, and reminded me it doesn’t really matter what you watch or eat as long as the person holding your hand is the one you share your life with.

Next up was Thibault, DOZ’s Corporate Development lead. For Thibault the perfect Valentine’s Day is akin to committing the perfect crime. He explains that the perfect V-Day is the one where he forgets about it completely but still somehow avoids being blamed for this relationship mis-step by his girlfriend. Can he pull it off this year? We’ll have to wait until Monday to check in…

Assistant Project Manager Serge chipped in with his own idea. He suggests trying out a new restaurant – and fingers crossed it serves good food – before a film and finishing the night off at home. Nothing extraordinary, he counsels, but keeping a focus on the people rather than the event.

But what gift to offer?

Eric from the Product Development team told me his perfect gift wouldn’t cost a cent. He’d offer a nice massage with oils, candles, and a little soft music to set the scene.

DOZ’s two Web Developers had different ideas about the perfect gift. Gaël told me his perfect gift to offer would be jewelry or perfume – time-tested classics sure to please any woman – while Gary told me he would be happy to visit McDonald’s for a Big Mac and some French Fries – I wish everyone was this easy to please!

Jewelry, massage, and Big Macs – things are getting complicated. Maybe I should turn on the classic style and offer dinner and a movie, instead?

Carine, our Operations Manager, said she wouldn’t mind dinner and movie, either, but stressed the movie needed to be romantic. Her suggestions? A choice between Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Love Actually, though she’s also a fan of horror films…

Accounts Manager Ben reminded me that the perfect Valentine’s Day evening would not be possible without a romantic music playlist. He suggested Ben E. King’s ‘Stand By Me’, Paolo Nutini’s ‘Last Request’, and Donna Summer’s ‘Love To Love You Baby’.

Community Manager Cécile added a couple more tracks to Ben’s playlist, including Sixpence None the Richer’s ‘Kiss Me’, ‘Even When I’m Sleeping’ by Leonardo’s Bride, and ‘You’re My Best Friend’ by Queen.

Things are going well so far: the team’s given me a bunch of ideas for the perfect evening, I have plenty of gift ideas, I know which music will set the perfect mood, and I even have a couple of fall back movies should anything go wrong.

But to end with a romantic flourish, where should I turn?

Well this year I turned to DOZ’s newest team member in our San Francisco office, Diana. She tells me that if I really wanted to make a good impression and create a Valentine’s Day to remember, I should be buying plane tickets and making my way to South America. Diana assures me that the perfect Valentine’s Day would be spent hiking and rock climbing in Patagonia.

Whether you’re climbing mountains in Argentina or staying in with an Audrey Hepburn movie, the team at DOZ wishes you a very happy Valentine’s Day.

We’re celebrating Valentine’s Day this week at DOZ. We’re feeling the love for our team, for our experts, for our clients, and we’re bringing you a week’s worth of posts on everything from making your clients swoon, your customers sigh, the exploding Valentine’s Day industry, and a little insight into the romantic types that call the DOZ offices home. You can feel the love with us on Twitter, on Facebook, or in the comments section below.