Contributed by Tim Brugger, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

There seems to be a common theme amongst long-time, happily married couples.

Debatable mental health? No, but for many it seems that way. How can these people still be so disgustingly in love after all these years! Romance. Couples that have been together for years and are clearly going to be for several more almost always make the effort to instill romance into their lives; regularly. For those that being romantic just comes naturally stop bragging; it’s very unbecoming and disturbing to the rest of us.

Need a hand to get you started? Take a peek at the Best of romance in marriage list.

Special jewelry

Make it meaningful with your own message

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say a lot of women enjoy receiving jewelry. Okay, now that we have that settled we need to consider what kind of jewelry will help keep the romance in marriage burning bright. A big ‘ol rock? Never a bad idea, but romance is about taking that extra step to show your significant other what they mean. Each piece of jewelry should let you add names, dates or messages right into the design to make it uniquely yours, and a perfect expression of your love.

Romantic dinner

Put on the lobster

A quiet, romantic dinner for two is almost always a romantic winner. Almost because if you don’t know how or don’t have the time to cook, instant oatmeal will put a damper on things. Problem solved with Lobsters Anywhere. In lieu of oatmeal, try this freshly caught Maine lobster tail with a filet mignon as it’s dinner mate. You light the candles; Lobsters Anywhere will take care of the gourmet meal.

Sweets for the sweet

Delight with chocolate

All this talk about lobster and steak got me thinking about dessert. But since this Best of list is all about romance, we better grab us some chocolate. As with all gifts they’re particularly romantic when given for no reason at all. Chocolate is has the added dimension of containing, how can I put this … amorous properties, especially when use it for romantic play. If not you’ve got to hand it to edible body lotions cuz’ that’s a heck of a marketing tool!

Sexy lingerie

Present a pretty package

Okay, time to get down to brass tacks as they say. Takin’ off the kid gloves and pulling out the heavy artillery. There’s are lots of reasons romance in marriage stays strong; one of them is that he finds you as attractive now as he did then. Keep the dream alive for both of you with the occasional trip down memory lane with just the right lingerie. You know, drop dead sexy but still adhering to somewhat liberal legal constraints imposed by most states. A fire engine red number like this will do just fine.

Old-fashioned romance

Love notes

Even after all these years, there’s just something about getting a love note. Sure, you might SAY I love you, as rush out the door to work or before the phone call ends. And odds are, your spouse knows you love them. But even so, there’s something special about seeing it down there in black and white (or whatever color you choose) that brings back some of those butterflies from your dating days.

Put it on a pretty note card, write it on some extra special paper…or go all out and have acompany like iPrint put it on a banner. Of course, it should probably be longer than standard banner text, so save that for the highlights. Give ’em the rest on paper they can read again and again. (Oh, and by the way…just hanging the banner is fine. No airplanes required!)

Pack up your gear

Get the fires burning

Now, this may not seem like it has anything to do with romance in marriage, but bear with me. Romantic marriages require romantic folk. Romantic folk are generally people that are of strong mind and spirit. Strong spirits are often found in those that feel good about themselves, are healthy and physically fit. It’s sort of like the “if A equals B, and B equals C, then A equals C” kind of thing. It’s been proven mathematically. Anyway, it doesn’t have to be drudgery. Romance is about being together, so why not combine that with getting and staying fit? A good hike, maybe even an overnighter (remember the fire engine red number? Works outside too), will help keep the fires burning. Set yourself up for a day of wandering the wilderness or for the more adventuresome, with a ton of camping equipment too.