Didn't Prepare for Sweetest Day? Here are 15 FREE Ways to make it Sweet! (A little history included)

What is Sweetest Day? 

Sweetest Day, which takes place annually on the third Saturday of October (and happens to be Today), is a holiday celebrated only in the Midwest and in parts of the Northeast. Sweetest Day, which first took place on Oct. 8, 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio, was started by a group of 12 confectioners who distributed 20,000 boxes of candy to poor people.

How has the holiday evolved into what into just another Hallmark holiday, where men and women feel obligated to buy their spouse a card and a gift? Also why has it evolved into a holiday dedicated to men?

Regardless of how you prefer to celebrate Sweetest Day, Here are 15 ways to turn this potentially sugar binge holiday into a meaningful one that you and your honey won’t soon forget. 

None of these “15 ways to be sweet” will cost you a dime, and additionally, you won’t be left with that sugar crash and those extra two pounds on Monday morning!

1. Wash his or her car (inside and out).

2. Arrange a surprise girl’s night out for her and best friend, and babysit the kids.

3. Write him or her a romantic love letter using a pen.

4. Give him or her a 30-minute back rub (and don’t keep stopping when you get distracted or tired.)

5. Put up a bunch of post-it notes around the house that explain the reasons you love him or her.

6. Ladies, put the kids to bed, and then put on your sexiest piece of lingerie and model it for him.

7. Have your kids draw a picture and then help them write your spouse a really nice note on it.

8. Go for a walk together and tell your spouse how much you appreciate him or her.

9. Send him or her a few romantic texts throughout the day.

10. Agree to watch his or her favorite movie or TV show for a week.

11. Call her mother, wish her a happy Sweetest Day and tell her you appreciate her.

12. Wake up early, make the coffee and bring it to her in bed.

13. Clean out the garage for her.

14. Tell him to invite his friends over for pizza and beer during a Browns game, and take the kids and go somewhere for a few hours.

15. Put on your favorite song and ask him or her to slow dance.

Another idea for turning this universally unlikeable holiday into a significant day is to return to 1921 tradition, and donate candy (or anything else) to a well-needed cause, just like the guys from Cleveland did.

A hospital or a non-profit organization that helps children would surely appreciate the sweet gesture, and I guarantee, the act of giving will make you feel really sweet about yourself.

Cheap Weddings Lead to Fewer Divorces?

A diamond is forever, but an expensive engagement ring means the marriage might not last that long. According to a new study, spending between $2,000 and $4,000 on an engagement ring is significantly associated with an increase in the risk of divorce.

The data scientist Randal Olson recently visualized some of the findings from a paper by Andrew Francis and Hugo Mialon, two researchers at Emory University who studied 3,000 married couples in the U.S. to determine the factors that predicted divorce. They analyzed income, religious attendance, how important attractiveness was to each partner, wedding attendance, and other metrics to determine the aspects associated with eventual marital dissolution.

Their findings offer some take-aways for couples who want to minimize their chances of divorce: You should date for three years before popping the question. Be wealthy, but don't be a gold-digger. Have a huge wedding, but make sure it's cheap. And whatever you do, don't skip the honeymoon.
Here are the highlights, displayed with Olson's visualizations and used here with his permission:

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Time Spent Dating Before Proposal

Randal Olson/Andrew Francis/Hugo Mialon

Couples who dated for at least three years before their engagement were 39 percent less likely to get divorced than couples who dated less than a year before getting engaged.

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Annual Household Income

Randal Olson/Andrew Francis/Hugo Mialon

Couples who make more than $125,000 a year (combined) cut their divorce risk in half.

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Religious Attendance

Randal Olson/Andrew Francis/Hugo Mialon

Same with regular churchgoers.

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Do the Partner's Wealth or Looks Matter?

Randal Olson/Andrew Francis/Hugo Mialon

Men are 50 percent more likely to end up divorced when they said their partner's looks were important in their decision to get married, and women are 60 percent more likely to end up divorced when they cared about their partner’s wealth, compared to people who said they cared about neither.

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Size of the Wedding

Randal Olson/Andrew Francis/Hugo Mialon

Have a big wedding...

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Cost of Wedding

Randal Olson/Andrew Francis/Hugo Mialon

... but make sure it's cheap. "The more you spend on your wedding," Olson notes, "the more likely you’ll end up divorced."

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Went on a Honeymoon?

Randal Olson/Andrew Francis/Hugo Mialon

Go ahead and take that trip to Bali. Honeymoons decrease the chances of divorce by 41 percent.

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Part of the study echoes what we already know about marriage: That it's increasingly for rich people—who make a lot and can afford honeymoons.

Dating for a while before tying the knot might indicate a level of planning that suggests the couple is in it for the long haul. Similarly, a well-attended ceremony might be a proxy for a large family that pressures and/or supports the couple and helps them stay together.

A strong marriage, in other words, is an intentional one.

But the other findings, like the fact that expensive rings and ceremonies don't yield happier unions, are more surprising. Perhaps ill-matched couples use giant diamonds or flashy weddings to cover up the cracks in their emotional foundations. Or maybe couples that have modest rings and receptions feel that their boundless love is a celebration enough. Maybe this is all being thrown by some hidden Kardashian variable that none of us has uncovered yet.

Whatever the case, Francis and Mialon conclude that "our findings provide little evidence to support the validity of the wedding industry’s general message that connects expensive weddings with positive marital outcomes." The average wedding now costs about $30,000, however, so this does not bode well.

Now, feel free to navigate to the upper left-hand corner of this page, click on the "print" button, and lay this article before the mascara-streaked face of the nearest Bridezilla.