Each year on February 1, Cupid comes up to North Pole City and stays for a few weeks at the North Pole City Hotel. This is customary for all Legendary Figures since some of them like to have a little rest and vacation with the elves before their associated holiday hits. It also gives them the opportunity to spend some time with the Department of Elfland Security to get some updates and tweaks done on their website while they are visiting.
Normally, while they are up at the hotel, they will host a dinner in the grand ballroom. These dinners can be for a specific event or just a simple welcome dinner that is open to all of the elves that live within North Pole City and Santa’s Village. The ballroom itself can house hundreds of thousands of elves for an event, and these dinners are normally very well attended, especially when the Claus’ are in attendance. The food for the event is always catered out of Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen which is the main commissary for all of the workshops in Santa’s Village. Featuring Mrs. Claus’ personal recipes, the food prepared by Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen is always wonderful.
During the welcome dinner hosted by Cupid this year, a group of newly wedded elf couples came up to Cupid to ask him about some tips for keeping their romance young and exciting throughout the wedded life.
Although elves do not need much as far as marriage counseling due to that they mate for life, they can sometimes become overwhelmed with their jobs and romance is not an important aspect of their daily living. This was a great opportunity for Cupid to provide some great advice to these couples as they start off their newly formed marriages.
The first and most important tip he could give them is to take the time to learn about each other. What makes the other person happy? What makes them sad? What really irritates the other person? What is important in each other’s lives? And what is not so important? In most cases, this is all established prior to the marriage nuptials, but Cupid did say that he also sees a lot of couples jump into marriage not worrying about finding this information out. This sometimes can create a bit of resentment between the couples and sometimes even lead to the couple breaking up. It is important to know as much as you can about your mate.
Next he told the couples that being sweet and thoughtful should not end when you say, “I do.†You should try to make an effort every day to ask your partner how they are doing or feeling. Ask them if there is something they can do to help them, or just do something nice for them for no reason at all. Simple little things can make a huge difference. Doing this keeps the attraction between the couples. It helps swell the heart and increase love, admiration, and mostly respect.
Next he said, “Don’t make a big deal out of small petty things.†Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone will get pre-occupied, and everyone can become forgetful from time to time. Making a major argument out of something small can turn into a major issue between couples. It is better to just mention that something upset you, and talk about it so you can joke about the issues later. Bottom line is, you are spending time with this person and will have to for a long time.
Lastly, he told the couples, “When in doubt, just take some time off together, and go on an adventure.†Life can get complicated. Work, schooling, kids, mortgages, bills, all pile on top of and can put a huge strain on a relationship. If the couple feels that their romantic life is fading away and falling apart… go on a mini vacation or adventure somewhere for just the two of you. This can fix and repair a romance in no time at all, especially if both people in the relationship are excited to be going on the journey together. It does not have to be anything extravagant or costly; it just has to be together.
Cupid noticed that as he was answering the questions the crowd around him began to grow. More and more couples were coming over and listening to him, and at one point someone shouted out, “We have been married now for over 200 years. Is there any way at all that we can get our romance back?â€
Cupid smiled and changed his position to address the group of those elves who have been married awhile and offered some of his much anticipated advice.
“Before I answer that question, let me ask you something. When was the last time any of you just took a night and went on a date together, with no other people, and not for work?â€
The elves just stood there and looked at each other and nobody could remember.
He continued with, “My suggestion to all of you here who are having romantic issues, or even think you have no romance left at all in your lives… well, basically, I have some homework for you.â€
Cupid paused, thought, and looked around the room. There was a dead silence and everyone was listening intently. Even the Claus’ were listening to hear what he was going to say.
“I will tell you this. If what I am about to tell you does not work, I will personally buy you all a free dinner. So here is what I want you to do. All of you go home tonight, sit down together, and plan out re-creating your first date. If you have photos from it, even better. If you can set aside the time to actually go on that date again, fabulous. But, I will bet that dinner… if you just sit and reminisce together about that date, some kind of romance will re-spark between you.â€
Everyone looked at each other and a murmur went out throughout the crowd, “Hey, we will take you up on that,†someone yelled, “should we report back to you next week?†“Yes, please do,†said Cupid, “but I already know the answer.â€
Over, to the side of Cupid, the Claus’ were whispering and snickering to each other.