A Guide to Valentine's Day Gifts

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Valentine's Day is coming up and that means- A mad dash to find the right gift for that special someone. 

Here is a little tip: Everyone wants a little something on Valentine's Day. Even if they believe it is a corporate holiday only created to make money, they still want something.  

When I was younger, Barry would always get me and my sister, Chantal, a dozen red or pink carnations, and he would always get my mom red roses or some other type of flower. 

My mom would get each of us kids a few little gifts and place them on the table for us to find in the morning. Now, it was never anything big, but I loved getting something from my parents. It was so exciting and it showed they cared. I am all about 'corporate' holidays because they remind people to think of others, and I think that is okay. 

This year I have been shopping around to find the best Valentine's Day gifts, and I thought I would share. These gifts range in price and some you can even make on your own. Some of us might not have a large budget to use for Valentine's, some of you might, but everyone should think of their loved ones this time of year. 

The best thing is, you don't need to have a lot of cash to make your loved one feel special. 

Last year, Matt and I made each other Valentine's Day Cards and it was a lot better than a store bought card. 

If you don't want to make your own card, there are plenty of sights out there that have FREE printables for you to use. And they are super cute. 

Check out this post from My Owl Barn. 

Or the blog Free Pretty Things for You  

Or the site hellolucky.com 

You can even type in the words Valentine Printable in Pinterest and get all these links and ideas 

There are so many ideas for those that have a tight budget, or want to make sure their gift is unique. 

Here are a few of my favorite things: 

"Sweets for My Sweetheart"- if your loved one is into sweets as much as my loved one is, this is a perfect and easy gift for you. You can easily buy these from a Gourmet Gift Basket company, or you can just make it (which is the route I would take). Here is a sample, but you could do it however you want. 

"Candy Gram"- Again, another homemade easy gift that is all about the candy. My Aunt Nickie started making these a while back, and I have always enjoyed when I get the opportunity to make one. You basically get a bunch of candy from the store and turn it into a message. {For example: Honey, some might think you are a NERD, but I think you are one HOT TAMALE.} And you would tape the candy in place of the word. 

{This is one I made for my best friend Beth on her birthday. It was in better condition, I promise.}

"Try Something New: 100 Ways to Spend Time Together" - this book is a great gift because it gives you all these ideas for fun activities. If you are the couple that has the same conversation of "What do you want to do tonight" "I don't know. What do you want to do" This book is for you. 

Pay Scale: $ 

 "Date Night in a Jar" - From the blog Life in the Green House. This is basically the homemade version of the book above, but you make the date ideas varying in price.  Life in the Green House gives you some date ideas and step-by-step instructions on how to make your own date jar. If you have a mason jar and some popsicle sticks you are good to go. *You could also make this with envelopes and paper. 

"Custom Gift Book" by Datevitation. These are the best coupon type books out there. They have books for all occasions {if you have a birthday or anniversary coming up}. They also have all sorts of different categories for you to customize your book. They even have E-dates that you can send for those that don't want to buy a whole book. These books are not just for your spouse or boyfriend/ girlfriend, but you can give one to your kids, or parents, or best friend. They are personalized to whatever you want! 

*If you are going the romantic route check out the 18 or older coupons they are so funny.* 

And of course you could make your own coupon book. For me though,  I think this is the faster route. 

"Your Memory Lane" - by Memory Lane. Okay, if you have a lot of money to spend I would get this. You basically type in all the important events/ dates/ places in your relationship and the company turns it into your memory lane. I think this would be perfect for the couples that have been together for a long time. {I.E. 20, 40, 50 years} My Abuela and Papa will celebrate their 40th this year and I really want to make this for them. The only downside is they are really really expensive. But it might make for a good collaboration gift. 

"The Tie Bar" - by The Tie Bar. If your honey is a fashionista like mine is, or if they just like cool bow ties or ties, the tie bar is the place to go. They have tons and tons of really sweet ties. And the price is really not that bad. The thing I love about the Tie Bar is that they have a collection called the Jesse Tyler Ferguson Bow Ties and 100% of the proceeds go to the TIETHEKNOT.ORG in support of marriage equality. But if you are not into that, just get all the other ties from The Tie Bar. 

"State Art" - I am seriously, seriously in love with state art. This would be perfect to remind each other where it all began, or to see all the places you have been together. Really you could do it for anything. I recently sent some state art to my sister Chantal who just moved from Georgia to Utah. I wanted to remind her where her true home was. And she loved it! I love the state art that is wedding related. There are so many sites on Etsy that do this, I didn't want to just pick one. And if you have never seen or heard of state art- get on the band wagon. *Note: for all my international friends, most of the companies do other countries as well. 

"Personalized Mugs"- From pick any Etsy store ever! Matt loves mugs. He is always trying to get us to buy mugs. But I always turn him down because we live in Hawaii and it is never cold enough for us to have an unlimited supply of mugs. But I do love some cute mugs. 

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"Reasons I love You"- Homemade. A while ago, I made my mom a jar full of reasons why I love her. And before my Abuela started chemo I made the same type of jar. I wish I had pictures to show you. But basically I got a jar, got cute papers, wrote the message on them, and then decorated the jar with pictures of the family. Anyway, this could be a great idea. And you don't have to have a jar- it could be anything. 

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I hope your Valentine's Day plans go great. Please share any gift ideas you have! 

As an end note, please enjoy these cute cards!