5 LOW-Budget or NO-Budget Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

While sitting here and making up my mind about this posts content, I feel a little anger bubbling up inside of me. Aaaarrrrggggg…maybe it’s time for a little ranting. Because I am of the opinion that it’s always good to clean your inside by exhaling your frustration. Loud of course 😉

I am 36 now and I never – let me spell that our for you – I     n e v e r    got a (thoughtful) Valentine’s Day gift from a man (my mum and even girlfriends gave me little something that got me all teary-eyed, of course!) before. Ooookey – I might have received a gift or two, but I had to put a gun to the mans chest and demand he better give me something. And it was anything but thoughtful, as you surely might guess.

So here I am now – dreading the upcoming holiday – and reflecting over the various opinions about Valentine’s Day that I’ve heard so far and what gifts I really would enjoy receiving. Want to know what I came up with?

Opinions I’ve heard and what I think

A conspiracy theory: Many people out there are of the opinion that this holiday was solely made up for the benefit of (and thus by) the flower, card or candy industry. It’s mostly men, though, who suffer from a tricky disease called “anniversary dementia”. So they should actually be thankful about the fact, that THE ominous <insert whichever you like here> industry goes basically out of its way to remind us all of this holiday in an (I have to admit) almost sickly annoying way.

Overestimation of one’s own capabilities: In a relationship, you have to – or at least you should, if you want it to last – work on said relationship on a regular basis. Which means sitting down and thinking about why you love your partner could be quite handy. You should be grateful to have your partner and show this emotion to your partner every once in a while. And then there is life! We all have stressful jobs, maybe children who need most of our attention, hobbies, our own problems, diseases, you name it. This makes taking the time you need in order to take care of your partner a little hard sometimes… So why not use at least all those very well advertised holidays in a year (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, your partners birthday, your anniversary, and your children birthdays, etc.) to slow down, think about what you’ve got and said a little “thank you” by remembering and showing your love.

Why not surprise your Love with a hand-printed Valentine’s Day wrapping paper? Check out all my other Creative Gift Wrapping Ideas HERE.

A gender-neutral respectful gesture: Should I HAVE to give my man or woman a present for Valentine’s day? NO! Should I WANT to give my special someone a gift? YES! Why? Because it’s a sign that you care for each other. And every relationship needs this show of affection! It doesn’t need to be expensive. I think it can be even something that cost nothin’. It’s the thought that counts and the way you present your thought! An “oh crap…I just realized…today is ummm…let me check real quick…by the way…happy Valentine’s Day…”-comment won’t do, folks!

LOW-Budget or NO-Budget Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

1. Do I have to write it down? Yes, you do! Write your loved one a looooong love letter (I suggest by hand, on nice paper) or “Why I love you” Post-it notes and stick them all over your place, or on the bathroom mirror (in a heart shape? why not!), in his or her car, or on every other page of the book he or she is currently reading. #blackonwhite #orpinkorblueorgreen

2. Go out of your way, for once. In every relationship, there are things that you despise and your partner absolutely adores. Yes, you have them, too! Admit it 😉 Let me give you an easy example…say you don’t enjoy baking (like me), but the love of your life enjoys munching down on some homemade cookies. Why not make a batch today? Check out these super easy triple choc crunchy cookies I’ve made the other day. If your skills are this side of bad, though, and you don’t want to risk your hubbies live, you could alter this idea by buying a YES torty PLUS one of those birthday candles and throw in gift idea No. 5, hehehe. Chances are then, that he won’t even notice that you didn’t bake the YES torty by yourself ;-).

3. Get your craft on. If you enjoy being creative and you have reasonable skills, it’s the easiest thing to make something special for your partner in crime. You’ll give him or her your most precious good, your time, as a present. That’s something money can’t buy! You could simply make an individualized card (see ideas HERE, and HERE + make a DIY envelope) and write a thoughtful note. Or you could work on another project – depending on the time left and your skills you could knit, crochet, sew, draw, or make something out of clay, concrete, or wood. There are sooo many different ideas out there: You’ll find DIY gift ideas HERE. Go check them out! But remember to make something, Bae will love and not something you wanted to make since forever 😉

4. Prepare a trip down memory lane. In this case, there are even two options I’d love to give to you:  A) You could make a mix-tape or in this time and place it’s probably going to be a playlist. Anyways. Every couple will have a number of songs they will connect certain memories with. Remember them! Go, find them! Now! YouTube or iTunes will be helpful. Or you go through your massive CD collection (if you still have one) or actually dive into the clutter in your basement or attic and go find that mix-tape from back then. B) Another way to go down memory lane together can be to visit places which are of special importance to you, your partner and your relationship. You could either plan a little tour through town or you could take or find pictures of these places in advance and make a college or put them in a letter or simply print them and look at them together while remembering how it all began…

5. Get necked. If all these ideas aren’t your thang…there’s one more thing that comes to mind: Surprise your honey by waking him or her up, butt naked, while whispering “happy Valentine’s Day” into her or his ear. All there’s left to do?  Simply run with the flow and don’t forget to set the alarm a little earlier, so you both won’t be late for work, hehehe. #humpdayanyone?

I am sure, if you take the time and think about it, you’ll manage to come up with other super ideas… Want to share them? I’d love for you to do just that! In the comments, please. Because: Let’s work together and feeeeeeel alright! (lalalalaaaaalala)

Not everyone can do THOUGHTFUL

Presents don’t have to be super expensive to touch the heart. In fact, I think rather the contrary is the case! Anyone (even your partners’ secretary) can go into the mall or order something or other super expensive for you online…say jewelry like a collier, bracelet or watch. Anything top brand really, or even something ridiculously expensive like a car or an apartment (yes, even these things are heard of!!).

A gift is chosen with thought, though! Now, that’s something only people can get for you, who took their time, thinking about what would make you happy! So – for the love of God – don’t start nagging if the pressie you received didn’t cost much or anything at all. Always consider the time your loved one invested in this idea. Please realize, that you must be really special to him or her. Value that!

Spread the love

Now, as Valentine’s Day is all about spreading the love…please do me a favor and PIN the image below so this info can get into the hands of and be helpful to as many people in love out there as possible.

Love,

PS: If you enjoyed this little lecture aka rant aka list of gift ideas, make sure to subscribe to my mailing list to read more stories of mine in the future!