I love the idea of Valentines Day as a day to celebrate your love but I really don’t think all of the commercialisation of the day is necessary. Almost as soon as Christmas was over, the shops were stocking up on all things pink and red in preparation for the day when couples feel almost obligated to buy something that costs more than it should just because it’s pink, red or has a heart on it to show how much they love their partner.
Don’t get me wrong, we did the whole Valentine’s gift thing the first few years that we were together but these days, we make our presents more about the thought because we like to think that we show each other how much we care in many different ways every single day of the year. Last night Mr Frugal got into bed on my side to warm it up because I’d left the window open and our bedroom was freezing – that’s how I know he loves me, not from a mug that costs twice as much as any other mug just because it’s red with a heart on that says he loves me!
Anyway, if you feel like it’s more the thought that counts for a Valentines gift then here’s a whole list of 65 Free or Frugal Valentines Gift ideas that you can do for your partner to show them that you love them and you know what? You can do any of them any day of the year….
(Disclaimer: make sure your partner is on the same page as you before you go with one of these ideas instead of a gift)
Make a date jar (I’ll be writing about this soon but it’s basically just a jar filled with ideas for dates)
Make some cupcakes for them using these cute little cupcake cases
Make them a packed lunch filled with all their favourite foods and a little love note from you
Promise to grant one wish (within reason ;-))
Run them a bubble bath and fill the room with tea lights (these red heart ones are so pretty)
Make a homemade card and write why you love your partner inside.
Print out some love quotes and leave them around the house.
Make a photo collage of all your favourite together photos.
Make a homemade coupon promising them the last word in an argument (I would LOVE this Mr Frugal)
Make a travel journal of the travels you’ve taken together and the ones you would like to take.
Offer a lie in until dinner time if that’s their thing.
Buy them a copy of a book you know they want to read or find a copy of an old favourite in a charity shop and offer then the time to read it in peace.
X RATED Buy some naughty dice for them
Make a playlist of your favourite songs
Make your own fortune cookies and put love notes in them
Make a heart out of Lego
Use an app like flipagram to compile a little montage video of your favourite photos.
Decorate the bedroom with fairy lights
Or if that’s not your thing, decorate the dining room with fairy lights and candles, turn the lights down and have a romantic meal.
Cook their favourite meal
Arrange for the kids to be looked after at their grandparents/aunties/uncles/friends house and spend the evening talking – no TV, no phones, no laptops – just the two of you.
Write your story so far as a couple
If you’re in the US, make a S’more and wrap it up with the message ‘Every day I love you even S’more’
If it’s an icy morning, write I love you on their windscreen, or even better clear it of ice for them and leave a love note on the seat.
Cut out some hearts and fill a jar by writing a reason you love them on every heart (or buy some cute wooden hearts to do the same thing.
Buy them a nice shiny new notepad (or it it just me who would be impressed with that?)
Make a little hamper up of their favourite treats
Go all 50 Shades and buy a pair of handcuffs
Get the kids involved if they’re a bit older by letting them cook and serve the meal to you as if you’re in a restaurant
Give them time to do something they love and make sure they aren’t interrupted (my husband would LOVE an uninterrupted afternoon on his PS4)
Make some little love crackers with love notes and cute treats in them (DIY cracker kits on Amazon if you’re not that crafty)
Watch their favourite film, the one you’ve never watched together because you just don’t fancy it
Promise you’ll bake any dessert they like
Spend time doing something they enjoy (for me I suspect I’ll be having a FIFA game)
Get yourself to the beach and try and find a heart shaped stone like my husband did a few years ago (or you can buy one from Amazon but that’s not very frugal)
Our local B&M sell mini boxes of Lucky Charms for a pound, wrap a box up with a note to say ‘You’re MY Lucky Charm’
Offer to do a job they hate (I’d definitely be washing the car here)
Sprinkle silk rose petals all over the bed or even on the path from the house to their car.
Print out your favourite photo together and frame it.
Write a list of reasons you love them.
Make their favourite cookies
Make some gift certificates and write down what gifts you’re offering
Find a pretty stone (even better if it’s from somewhere you’ve visited together) and use a Sharpie to write ‘You Rock’ on it
Take them for a picnic to somewhere special
Buy a jar of peanut butter and make a gift tag that says ‘I’m nuts about you’
Make a photo album of your favourite times together and write a little note to go with each photo to say why you loved it.
Relive your first date
Bake a batch of brownies and add their favourite chocolates
Offer to watch Match of the Day with them
Make them breakfast in bed
Learn to give head massages (thanks Youtube) and offer one of those
And while you’re learning that, try learning shoulder massage too
Offer to wash their car
Decorate a small box and fill it with Love Heart sweets (only the ones with nice messages on them)
Find a pretty little glass bottle and write a love letter to pop in it so you have a message in a bottle
Run them a bath, leave their favourite products nearby and let them enjoy it in peace
Change the wallpaper on their laptop to a love message or a photo of you together (as long as it’s not a work laptop)
Write them a coupon for one evening’s worth of being spoilt and waited on
Have a weekend away on a budget – camping can be super cheap
Camp out in the back garden
Offer one day of doing all of their household jobs as well as your own
Go for a walk on the beach together and remember when you first met
Change their mobile lock screen to a photo of you or one of you together
Make a couple’s time capsule
Buy their favourite flavour donut and write a message with it that says something like ‘Donut you know how much I love you’
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