During my first romantic relationship, a significant takeaway was learning that my love language is gift-giving. It makes complete sense; for years I’d always make my friends random gifts (usually friendship bracelets). My partner and I celebrated our anniversary every month, which meant I was on top of my gift-giving game.
When it comes to gifts, the thought that counts is the one behind it. Your significant other should be appreciative of any gift you give, whether or not you spend a fortune. If you need some inspiration, this is my guide to gifts that either I gave my partner, my partner gave me, or I’ve seen on social media.
- For your passenger princess
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This is one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received! If you’re the driver in the relationship, this is perfect for you. It’s a simple, inexpensive gift, but I promise your partner will still love it.
On your car vanity mirror (the one above the passenger seat), use sticker letters to write your partner’s name. This way, whenever they look at themselves in the mirror of your car, they’ll know that’s their seat. Bonus tip: if you plan on giving them a card, leave it on top of the car visor so it’ll fall when they open it.
- A playlist of emotions
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As someone who hates silence and loves music, I made two separate playlists for my significant other at the time. We had our first date the week before Valentine’s Day, and I decided to make a playlist asking them to be my Valentine.
The first letter of each song spelled out “Will You Be My Valentine?” I put plenty of time into this playlist, especially because some of the letters were difficult to find a song for. Some of the songs that I put on the playlist became our songs that we always listened to, plus it bonded us as a couple.
The one rule about this gift is that the playlist needs to be made on whatever music streaming service your partner uses. It should also be at least an hour in length; don’t forget to use a photo as the cover and pick a name for the playlist.
- lots and lots of bracelets
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Over the summer, when I got my wisdom teeth out, with endless time and boredom on my hands, I made plenty of jewelry. It was mostly friendship bracelets with each other’s initials, but there was some variety in there. I’ve made so many bracelets for myself and my friends that it only felt fitting to make some for my partner.
To make any jewelry more meaningful, make two matching sets. One bracelet in particular that I made for my partner had my initials on it with beads in my favorite color. Of course, I made one for myself, and for a couple of weeks, both of us wore them every day.
- a journal of lyrics
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For this gift, I used one of my many random mini notebooks lying around and wrote down some lyrics that reminded me of my relationship. In full honesty, this is a sappier gift, but perfect if you love music. If a journal is too much, use the left side of an anniversary card and only write a couple down.
When I started on the journal, I mostly pulled lyrics from the songs on the playlists I had already made. They were mostly about love and romance: “You’re the light, you’re the night, you’re the color of my blood” from Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do” and “If the whole world was watching, I’d still dance with you” from “This Town” by Niall Horan. Bonus points if you want to draw hearts or other small designs to make it more of a creative project.
- forever flowers
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Getting your partner flowers is a popular cliché, one I love, but it’s still popular. This is definitely more of an arts and crafts gift, but there are so many different options. I used pipe cleaners for mine, but the flowers I received were pages from a book. I always wanted to give LEGO flowers, but I never got around to it.
I’ll never not love getting flowers, but DIY flowers that last forever are way more special. There are plenty of different methods for various skill sets to make them. Add a card and use something to wrap them up nicely with a bow. Not everyone loves flowers, but these can be decorative and don’t require any extra attention.
Now, when it comes to giving an anniversary gift, the emphasis should always be on the thought behind it. Choose a gift that defines your relationship and shows how much you care about your significant other. You can trust that you know your significant other well enough to pick the perfect present!
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