Let’s cut right to the chase: you might still need a way to tell your Valentine they make your heart beat a little faster.

There are gestures like folding the laundry or filling your lovebug’s car with gas to show appreciation.

Those are great. I’m a person who likes to put a little extra thought into gift-giving, and sometimes I do that on an editor’s budget.

And of course, food is involved.

Whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s, “Pal-entine’s” or “Gal-entine’s,” show your person you care, or just be cute, with a fizzy mocktail.

The best part about mocktails is they’re so tasty but you can drive right after.

If you’re staying put, you can always add a little razzle-dazzle to it with a splash of an adult beverage.

You can do something different by making a potion and throwing a couple of pretty, edible flowers in the drink, too.

Counting calories? No problem. Swap out anything that’s not “diet” with the “healthier” version.

The main component is the fizzy drink part.

What I’ve done beyond Valentine’s Day is the last few summers I’ve taken a non-alcoholic sparkling cider, some clear pop and then fruit that “matches” the cider.

And sometimes instead of non-alcoholic sparkling cider, I head right for the adult grape juice aisle and use that.

Now it’s my favorite part of the column — sharing the memory.

In 2019, I lived with my grandparents for a stint (to say I was close with them is accurate — I even have a wrist tattoo with their names in Morse code).

That Valentine’s Day I was pretty blue, and my sweet grandpa did his annual Valentine’s run to grab Nana a little bouquet.

He came back with a single carnation and sprig of baby’s breath in a little vase for me, too, and it was the first thoughtful and memorable Valentine’s gift I’d received in a long while.

I’m big into celebrating your significant other throughout the year, but it is nice to do something little on the “Hallmark holidays,” too.

Now, I’m going to take it a step further this week and share some of what I think is brilliant wisdom. Let’s chat real quick about my best friends’ relationship philosophy. Also, on a side note, “best friends” is hard for me to define because I have about 10 in my core group that I adore.

This one married couple sat me down some years back when I was going through some kind of relationship issue that I want to embrace in my next relationship.

They approach their partnership as giving 100 / 100. It’s not 50 / 50, or just half, to make a whole. They give their all, and sometimes it shifts to one person giving 90 and the other 110. Sometimes it’s 50/150.

It works beyond words for them.

Let’s make a toast with delicious mocktails to the people who make our hearts flutter. Or to our friends. Or to ourselves.

Fizzy mocktails

Berry

Ingredients

3-4 oz. clear pop or non-alcoholic berry sparkling cider

3-4 oz. berry lemonade

2-3 scoops berry sorbet

Directions

Pour fizzy drink in a glass, followed by lemonade. Add berry sorbet and garnish with frozen or fresh fruit.

Citrus

Ingredients

2 oz. sparkling cider

2 oz. ginger ale

½ c. pineapple juice (or citrus juice)

Directions

Combine ingredients and pour into a glass.

Share your favorite recipes and memories with Features Editor Ashley Fox at afox@tribtoday.com.