I had an gf that lived 120 miles away.
For our first Valentine's Day, I researched and booked a table at a quality restaurant local to her, hired a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce, booked her a session at a beauty salon and bought her a new outfit to wear.
When she arrived home she found the bed covered in rose petals and some new lingerie

neatly laid out, and chocs on the bedside table.
I also presented her with a hardback edition of a book she'd always wanted to read - it had taken me ages to track down a copy in very good condition and was not cheap.
So what was her reaction when I turned up by surprise outside her work with a bouquet of roses and a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce and champagne?
She burst into tears (not good ones) and gave me an earful, verbally and physically.
Her mood didn't improve all night, and I ended up relieved that I didn't have to find myself a cheap hotel
I'd spent weeks researching, planning and orchestrating everything; all the gifts were things I knew she wanted and one was unique (I couldn't have got it for any other girl in the world) and I'd spent over two months wages on it all.
But all the girls in the office had big cards and "Forever Friends" bears on their desks so she'd felt small and left out all day!
Anyway the moral is don't plan anything special or as a surprise, just get her a tacky, impersonal present that you could give to any girl you meet, and give it to her the day before.
She'll love you more.