Valentine’s Day Ideas On The Cheap

Are you looking for ways to do Valentine’s Day On The Cheap? Valentine’s Day is all about love.

There is candy and heart shaped everything and cards to buy for your kids, family members, husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend – all of which can become overwhelmingly expensive quick – especially as everyone is just recovering from the pinch the holidays put on our budget.

Valentine’s Day On The Cheap: How To Spend The Day In A Meaningful But Less Expensive Way

It can be stressful figuring out what to give on Cupid’s big day. Whether you’re looking for Valentine’s Day ideas for her, or Valentine’s Day ideas for a boyfriend, If you’re worried about coming up with the extra money to make Valentine’s Day special, you can do it without breaking the bank.

Diamonds, roses, Chocolate and a reservation at a five-star restaurant isn’t necessary to have a meaningful celebration. Believe it or not, your loved one may not want those types of gifts or activities, at all! Honestly, it should be about spending time with the ones you love, not overspending on the ones you love.

Valentine’s Day is all about love and that can include finding activities that you can enjoy together. There are a lot of ways you can give traditional Valentine’s gifts without spending your life’s savings.

Choose Cards

According to the legend behind Valentine’s Day, the very first gifts given by people were love notes. Saint Valentine supposedly left a letter signed “Your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter a few moments before his death.

Today, people exchange love messages on February 14th by giving away pre-printed words on store-bought cards. There is a wide selection to choose from, and they cost more than $3 to $4 each.

You can also make your own cards that cost practically nothing, but, also allow you to say how you feel about your loved one in your own words — this is a much more personal gesture than just signing your name on a ready-made card.

There are a lot of ways to share your homemade Valentines cards:

• You can draw a picture of you and your significant other.
• You can assemble a fancy card incorporating beads, pop-up paper designs, lace, ribbons or other materials.
• You can express your feelings in a romantic love letter or short poem.
• You can design and print the card or create a love message and send it via email.

Plan A Picnic

Instead of going to a five-star hotel or restaurant, have a calmer and more serene date by having a picnic.

Prepare a special meal of cheese, meat, crackers, fruits, and dessert. You can save more money by shopping in the sale section of your local supermarket. Bring the instant hot chocolate or bottle of wine you’ve been meaning to open.

If you don’t feel like traveling anywhere far, you can have a picnic in your backyard, your living room, bedroom, or local park. Bring along an old blanket or towel to sit on, too.

Prepare Candies And Chocolates

Chocolates are the most common type of Valentine’s Day candy — but, they can be quite expensive, too! A luxury 36-piece chocolate set from Godiva can cost as much as $50… for candy!

There are less costly ways to send a sweet treat to your sweetheart. You can buy huge bags of M&Ms, Snickers, Mars, and other various flavors or you could make homemade Valentines treats that will cost you $10 or less.

Plan An All-Day Movie Marathon

Going out to the movies is not so cheap anymore. Tickets can cost as much as $12+, not even counting the drinks and popcorn.

You can stay in and rent a movie through Redbox or Netflix! You can also check out your local library and rent a movie for $1 or less.

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Just set up a cozy blanket in front of your TV. Don’t forget to make some popcorn and drinks, then just cuddle up to watch your favorite movies or shows as long as you want.

Give Flowers

Another traditional token of love is flowers. In Victorian England, people exchanged coded messages by sending flowers. In these coded messages, roses meant love, so, it’s not surprising that it’s the most popular flower during Valentine’s Day.

However, roses are a summer-blooming flower, so, unless you have a greenhouse with roses, it can be hard to find any to pick in February. These flowers are shipped out from the South and keeping them fresh during transportation can add up making them cost more than we’d like to pay. A dozen red roses can go as high as $65, depending on how they’re packaged!

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There are less expensive ways to express your love with flowers:

• Give different flowers like carnations, tulips, daffodils or chrysanthemums. Red tulips are a declaration of love while yellow tulips mean hopelessly in love.
• You can express your love with flowers even without buying an entire dozen. You can share a single flower with your significant other complete with a message such as: “You’re my one and only” which sounds more romantic.
• Instead of giving a bouquet that may wilt in a week, give an indoor plant that will keep on growing and bloom even after February. There are a lot of home and garden flowers like orchids, violets or chrysanthemums that are $10 or less.

Prepare A Surprise Breakfast In Bed

You don’t need to spend hours to make an elaborate and fancy meal.

Check out your pantry and fridge and whip up something special, yet, easy to make. You can make omelets, French toast, or a sandwich that your loved one loves! You also get bonus points for any food that you cut into heart shapes. 🙂

Give Handmade Love Coupons

Come up with a list of inexpensive treats that your loved one would love.

It can be a massage, a movie night, a laundry voucher, or a shopping treat. Complete it by making coupons that they can redeem whenever they want.

Create A Playlist

Music represents personal taste. Giving the gift of music will show how well you know your loved one.

You can either buy a CD or download a song from his or her favorite artist. You can also create a whole playlist of songs you think your they will love.

Try and give a more romantic twist by including songs that mean a lot to you:

• The song that was playing when you first met.
• The first song you danced to.
• The song that you both enjoy.

Another way to give musical gifts is to write a song of your own expressing how you feel about them. If you don’t have a great singing voice, make it into a love poem and read it aloud.

Do Something First

Even if you’ve been together for 10, 20 or 30 years, there’s always something that you’ve never done before.

• Look for a beginner class in a style of dance that you will both love.
• Drop-in classes at a rec center that teaches DIY jewelry making classes.
• Join a painting class and paint portraits of each other.

There are a lot of activities that you and your partner can enjoy togther. And the best part is, since it’s a group class, it can cost you as low as $5 per person!

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When it comes to a Valentine’s Day gift, it’s the thought that always counts. The best gift is not always the most expensive one. The gift of your time to make and/or spend with your loved one can mean much more than any store bought gift.

What’s the best Valentine’s Day gift that you’ve ever received?  Leave it in the comments below.