Love is supposedly “in the air” at this time of the year, and as you look around, all of your friends are buying their partners romantic boat trips, scrummy dinners or expensive jewellery. The problem is, you’re skint. How do you still give your loved one the sweetest gift for Valentine’s Day without blowing your wallet? D.I.Y Valentine’s gifts, that’s how.
1. The most popular do-it-yourself valentine gift that I’ve seen is “52 Weasons why I Love You.” To make this, you simply take a deck of playing cards, and you write on each card, one thing you love about your partner. They can be cute messages, such as “your sparkling eyes,” they can be funny, “the way you shake your booty on the dancefloor,” or they can be extremely cheesy, “I love how I wake up smiling knowing I’m next to you.” Once you’ve written your messages, hole punch the corner of the cards and tie together with a red ribbon. It’s that simple. Easy, cheap and with the right words, can be extremely cute.
2. If you can’t seem to find 52 things you love about your partner (trust me, it’s harder than it seems) then maybe this next gift is for you. I call this one “The Lovers Hunt.” For this one, you need to buy a bottle of their favourite drink, candles, bubble bath, some nice underwear and massage oil. You begin by waiting for them to go out, once happened, you can start placing the objects in relevant places, the candles and drink on a dining table, the bubble bath in the bathroom and the underwear and massage oil in the bedroom. Once done, you connect a cute little sticker with the following poems on them.
On the drink: “Pour a glass and make a toast, to the person you love the most.”
On the candles: “Dim the lights, and light the fire, what does your heart desire?”
On the bubble bath: “Fill the tub and then unzip, time for a romantic dip.”
On the underwear: “Time to add a little spice, don’t you think that would be nice?”
On the massage oil: “Lie down, unwind and relax, while your loved one pampers your back.”
And that’s it, Eureka! When they come in, lead them to relevant things do what the stickers say and you have yourself a few hours of fun, lust and romance for next to no money.
3. If that’s possibly a little too cheesy or a little too cheeky for you, or if your relationship is new, you may want to try something a little lighter hearted. This next gift is just that. What you’ll need to buy is a popcorn bucket, some popcorn, a DVD (preferably something they like for once) a couple of drinks and a soft blanket (optional.) You’ll need to begin with making some “cinema tickets” from paper, with the film title, admission price, seat number, date e.t.c on it and send them to your loved one. When the time and date comes around, you should turn your living room into a mini cinema, with dim lighting, a poster of the movie you’re watching, you could even go as far as to make someone collect your tickets, and then snuggle under the blanket on the sofa with your popcorn and drinks and watch their favourite movie. It’s cheap, simple, and guaranteed to be enjoyed.
4. Personalised gifts are huge favourites of most people because it’s personal (duh, clues in the name) and so another way to win the heart of your partner is to do just that, personalise something. It could be a mug with a funny picture on, a card from moonpig, a pair of socks with their name on, a phone case with photos of you both on, or something about their hobbies, a football with their favourite team on, a guitar plectrum with a personalised message on or even a newspaper from the year they were born. It doesn’t matter what you get but personalised things ARE more meaningful, and are a major way to put a smile on somebody’s face.
If none of these gifts are right for you, you could try baking them a cake, making them their favourite meal, writing them a poem in a DIY valentine’s day card or just surprising them with a bunch of flowers and their favourite chocolates. Whatever you choose, just remember, Valentine’s isn’t the only day of the year you should make them feel special, if you love someone, you should make them feel special every day (cheesy, but absolutely true.)