How To Tell Someone You Love Them

Want to tell that special someone how much you really like them? Everyone has their own ideas on the 'perfect' way to make the confession, but you're sure to find a technique that suits you in this list of seven ways to tell someone you love them:

1. Add a little humor

The words "I love you" can be spruced up with all sorts of poetic techniques that don't sound like they've come straight from one of Shakespeare's classics. Why not add a light sprinkling of humor to your love confession through a creative analogy? Think of something you couldn't live without and compare the one you love to that. You can make your analogy as silly or as serious as you like and your other half will appreciate the amount of thought you've put into your confession. "You are the cream to my coffee, the lamb to my farm, and I love you to little bits." Aww.

2. Creative photography

Dropping the 'L bomb' can be equally as nerve wracking whether you're a hopeless romantic or you have a heart of stone. Sometimes the mere mention of the word "love", when you've never said it to this person before, can make you nervous. If this sounds like you, saying it through photography may be the form of expression you're comfortable with, and it needn't be as cheesy as it sounds.

Take a photo of yourself doing something silly; a photo of your other half's favorite sweets in the shape of a heart; and a photo of your partner too (it doesn't have to be snaps of these exact things—they're just ideas.) Attach your photos together with some ribbon or string and voila; [insert name] hearts [insert name]. You didn't even need to say 'the L word' and your other half gets the picture (literally) and has a little keepsake to treasure.

3. Write it in the sand

To make your expression of love memorable, why not pay a visit to the seaside for a date? You can write a love message in the sand when your loved one isn't looking and when they turn around they'll be in for a surprise. If it all goes wrong, tell them someone else wrote it and run for the hills. If it goes to plan—please say it goes to plan—take a photograph of it afterwards so you can frame it and remember the moment for years to come.

4. A flash mob

If you want to create a song and dance about your love for your other half, hiring a flash mob will do just that. For this, the key is organization. You need to make sure that you, your other half and all of the flash mob participants are in the right place at the right time. The opportunities for creativity are endless for this technique and you can tailor it to suit your needs and personality. This is a bit like hiring an airplane and writing it in the sky—if all goes to plan, you'll be congratulated for your efforts, but if your other half doesn't appreciate it quite as much as the spectators, your grand gesture could fall flat on its face leaving you praying for the ground to swallow you up. So make sure that your other half reciprocates your feelings before employing grand gestures like this and then go for it!

5. A slushy candlelit dinner

Confessions of love don't have to be shouted from the rooftops to be effective. Cooking a romantic candlelit dinner for your loved one's return from work gets the message across too. If you choose to go down the same route as Sex and the City's Samantha during her infamous sushi moment, make sure you keep your telephone handy just in case your other half doesn't turn up. If your culinary skills aren't up to scratch, spelling it out in alphabet spaghetti is equally as creative.

6. Think like a teenager

Phrases such as "Je t'aime" and "I...well, I love you" (followed by a watery-eyed gaze and a scattering of rose petals) are great, but they've been done before. If you want to get all cute and cheesy about your confession, revert your brain back to your school years. Write a high school style love note saying "I love you. Do you love me?" followed by three check boxes titled 'yes', 'no' and 'maybe', then wait in anticipation for the reply.

7. Take the simplistic approach

If you're just not into the idea of scattered rose petals and crossword puzzles that creatively spell out "I love you", don't worry; there's nothing wrong with cutting out the middle man. Instead of beating around the bush here, let's just get down to the nitty-gritty. I love you. There we go, I said it. I love you I love you I love you. This is perfect for the type of person who isn't fond of making grand gestures and if it's good enough for the Mills and Boon novels, it's good enough for us.

Gabble Mouth asks: How did you or your significant other tell each other that you love him or her?