Valentine’s Day may be a commercial holiday, and buying chocolates, flowers and wine is fine…but somewhat cliché. If you’re not one to write poetry in a hand made card, try a gesture that will really make your sweetheart’s eyes light up.
Breakfast in Bed…For The Weekend
Present your valentine with a card that reads like a menu with his or her favourite foods on each side of the card. The left side of the card will have Saturday morning’s breakfast-in-bed menu, and the right hand featuring Sunday morning’s menu. (Hint: Make the pancake or waffle batter the night before and keep it refrigerated overnight.)
If you can’t cook, store bought pastry can be made special with a single organic flower, and paired with special freshly ground brew or an exotic blend of tea. Add a handwritten note that says how lucky you are to have each other. Promise to do something together, an activity that you didn’t normally share with your sweetie.
Sweets For The Sweet
If you’re in the mood for retro-styled candies with a message, you could try your hand in making your own fudge, cutting and wrapping each serving in cellophane, then finishing it off in a paper wrapper decorated with a personal message.
An easier venture would be to try your hand at making cookies. It’s not as hard as you might think, but a solution for the truly kitchen-phobic may be buying organic cookie mix, and some store bought icing tubes. Once the cookies are cooled, use the icing to write, “I love you” on the cookies, and serve on a plate with cocoa for two.
Cocoa For Two
While there are “Cocoa for Two” gift baskets or kits out there, it’s easy to make your own. Buy a container of your sweetie's favourite flavour of cocoa; Irish Liqueur flavoured cocoa, chocolate mint, as well as the traditional milk or dark chocolate variety are now available. You can also buy a one-ounce bottle of his or her favourite liqueur and add the bottle to the mug.
Buy two plain mugs (for extra brownie points, use ceramic paint from a craft store to paint a poem, doodle or your significant other’s name on it). Get two 2oz Tupperware containers filled with enough hot chocolate mix for two people, and drop one into each mug.
Top the mug off with the following items: cookies, marshmallows, organic graham cracker cookies, and wrap each mug in a cloth napkin. It’s environmentally friendly, and all the items can be used again! (Don’t forget to bring the container of hot chocolate along.)
Make a Memory Book
Scrapbooking doesn’t necessarily have to be involved. Buy a few sheets of acid-free paper (so your photos will last longer) and write a few memories as a caption underneath each picture as you glue them down. You’ll have a place to keep your pictures, and a Valentine’s Day memory of past events.
Let Your Significant Other Choose
Write down a bunch of romantic activities onto small strips of paper, and put them into a vase or a hat. Here are some suggestions; they may be cliché, but they are fun.
- A candlelit bath together.
- Sharing a bottle of wine by the fire, or in front of the stereo.
- Bake cookies together.
- Body paint each other with Nutella.
The idea is to have at least one day that shows that you do care about the one you love, and that is always a unique experience expressed differently by those who are lucky to have someone to share their heart with. For more Valentine's Day gift ideas, read the next article to make your own romantic DIY Gift Baskets.
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