YOU know how it is. It's Valentine's Day, and you have no idea what to buy. But there's a twist this year. Not many realise this, but on a leap year like 2008, women get to take the initiative on Valentine's Day, even to the extent of popping the big question. It's an old tradition apparently instituted in tandem with the calendar.

See, even as the calendar is 'corrected' every four years, on a leap year, women get to also 'redress' a male-dominated situation by getting the right to ask for his hand in marriage. So what are some of the gifts that the lady can pick for her loved one, or services she can romance her guy with?

Cab it

Check out the new chauffeur service in a London cab launched by gifts specialist The Olive 3 (www.theolive3.com).

For $250 or $300, you can hire a London cab that comes with a violinist, who'll serenade you and your loved one with three songs on the way to the restaurant or desired destination.

Body treats

Another popular couple activity would be spa treatments. Apparently a lot of guys love going to spas, but would prefer to do so with girlfriends or wives.

This might be a good way to lull him into a relaxed state of mind before you casually pop the question.

Newest spa on the block, Spa Esprit's House at Dempsey, has four couple rooms with claw-footed bathtubs and great views of the greenery around Dempsey.

The Sunset package comes with a private jacuzzi hot bath, 90-minute soy candle wax massage, wines with cheese at $350; while the I Love You 2 set leaves out the bath, but includes dinner for two at Barracks and dessert at $380. (Bookings, tel: 6479 0070).

Scent of love

A cologne is a nice way to top off a spa retreat, and even though scents are a very personal thing, it's hard to go wrong with Ralph Lauren's Polo Explorer, which has the holy grail combination of being long-lasting without smelling too heavy or musky.

The $128 Polo Adventure 2008 Valentine's Day Set is available from department stores, and includes a 125ml spray along with two 50ml tubes of shave gel and shower gel, all in a travel pouch.

Express your thoughts

With handwritten letters having gone the way of the dinosaur, a penned letter to the object of your dreams will surely be one of the most treasured mementoes. If you want to write down your proposal, or even just an invite for a Valentine's Day rendezvous, may we suggest using Montblanc's 'Love Letter Ink' - a rose-scented, ruby-red coloured ink.

Don't underestimate the power of a perfumed letter, memories are often strongly associated with smells. The ink is available either in a bottle or as cartridges from all Montblanc Singapore boutiques and specialist stores.

Trinkets to please

While at the Montblanc boutique, you might also consider getting your man a pair of solid cuff links ($645 and $695) from its Tantalum jewellery collection, which is a metal of graphite grey with a slight bluish gleam, twice as heavy as steel, extremely robust and with a melting point of over 3,000 degrees Celsius.

In a similar vein, you might consider one of Porsche Design's latest timepieces. It's hard to find a man who would say no to a beautiful watch, and something like the Worldtimer P'6750 ($17,400) will last at least a lifetime, which would make it especially appropriate to accompany a proposal.

Launched at last year's Baselworld, the Worldtimer is encased in pure titanium and scratch resistant sapphire crystal that also minimises reflections off the watch face.

The design aesthetic is beautifully clean and minimalist, but the automatic Eterna movement within is just as much a star.

It displays two different time zones simultaneously, and you can even change zones on the fly without losing a single second. Available in black or matte titanium from Cortina Watch.

Classic chocolates

Chocolate, the traditional gift of love, has been suffering from an image problem in our health-conscious times. This Valentine's Day, however, you can make a gift of healthy sweetness: a brand new chocolate called Choxi+.

'Healthy' is admittedly an odd adjective to use for chocolates but this one is created in a way that does not destroy the flavanol antioxidants contained in cocoa beans - as the normal manufacturing processes for chocolates tend to do.

Eating two squares of either milk or dark Choxi+ provides all the flavanol antioxidants your body needs for a whole day, and your man will love this tastier way of getting it into your body than eating half a kilogram of brussel sprouts or 2kg of apples. Choxi+ is available online at www.prestat.com.sg, Prestat Shop #01-39A Raffles City Shopping Centre, Jones The Grocer and other selected retailers. Retail price, $10.

Personal trainer

If your loved one is into fitness, or just feeling guilty from the chocolate you just gave him, then how about this very practical gift to show him that you're cheering him on?

The HydraCoach is the world's first interactive water bottle which monitors a person's hydration needs. It calculates how much you need to drink, tracks your real-time fluid consumption, and paces you throughout the day by displaying the percentage of fluids consumed relative to your Personal Hydration Goal. And it only costs $59 at the Running Lab outlets at Velocity and Funan.

Geek gifts

When all else fails, you can always fall back on the typical male tech geek gifts. Except that these two items aren't exactly typical.

MP3 players are all over the place, but even as people are ooh-ing over Apple's pink iPod Nano, your man will want the new top-of-the-line iPod Touch ($848), which has just been updated to a whopping 32GB of flash memory. But if your man travels a lot and needs something compact but powerful, then you may want to consider the latest 3.5G version of Fujitsu's U1010 ultra-mobile PC ($2,388 without plan). The tiny machine works as either a tiny laptop or a tablet PC, and its feather weight is complemented by 3.5G mobile broadband capability, which means you can not only take it everywhere, but can actually get online with it anywhere too.

A gift for both

Now, for the ultimate, as it's aptly named, by the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The hotel's Ultimate Valentine's Day Package is a $12,000 once- in-a-lifetime experience - a good opportunity to pop the question while you're staying over at the hotel's exclusive suite with panoramic bay windows.

The five-figure priced one-night stay comes with a four-course dinner, Moet and Chandon Grand Vintage 2000 champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries, and services such as a butler-drawn bubble bath (presumably for two). Keepsakes, besides good memories, include an exclusive His and Hers gift set from jeweller Loang & Noi valued at over $4,000 and a pair of keepsake monogrammed bathrobes from the hotel. (For reservations, contact 6434 5118, or visit www.ritzcarlton.com).

Additional reporting by Parvathi Nayar