This Valentine’s Day, don’t just pick up the nearest and cheapest bouquet of flowers for your sweetheart. There are a wide variety of choices available, and you can find a great Valentine’s Day gift if you start searching now.
Whether you’ve been in the relationship for 20 years or 20 minutes, buying an awesome present for your love is something that should never be taken lightly. It’s easy if you try. Here are a few ideas for inspiration.
1. Chocolates
Chocolates are basically the second-easiest Valentine’s Day present to find after flowers, but are an exponentially better idea. Chocolate is delicious, plus there has been tons of research into the potential health benefits of consuming it.
Dark chocolate is full of anti-inflammatory compounds which are beneficial to our gut, and other research has even suggested that chocolate is able to help lower our blood pressure. Whatever their taste, there’s a chocolate perfect for everyone. Plus, maybe if they feel good, they’ll even share some with you.
2. A Potted Plant
If you really feel called to buy your significant other some kind of greenery for Valentine’s Day, get them a potted plant instead of cut flowers. Cut flowers rarely last longer than a week, and can smell pretty funky even before that.
A potted plant will provide year-round beauty to any home, and most are pretty low-maintenance. Any place that carries cut flowers will usually have a small assortment of potted plants, like African violets or ferns.
3. Tickets to a Show
This Valentine’s Day focus on getting a present that your partner will remember for years to come. Buying tickets to an experience that you can share together is a great way of becoming even more connected on Valentine’s Day.
It doesn’t have to be something you like. Your honey will recognize your selfless act if you pick out their favorite band or musical to enjoy.
4. An Artistic Experience
Another way that you can connect with your significant other on Valentine’s Day is by buying them an artistic experience, either together or apart.
This can be anything ranging from singing lessons to an afternoon at a paint-your-own pottery studio. Encouraging your partner to stretch their skills is a truly inspired way to tell them that you care about their interests.
5. A Game
Another great idea for a Valentine’s Day present is a game that you can play together. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy — classic board games can be expensive.
A small cribbage board or a basic game of Monopoly can be as entertaining as the most complicated game of Risk or Stratego. The important thing is that you play it together and enjoy some lighthearted competition.
6. A Meal Made from Scratch
A meal made from scratch for the one you love is one of the most romantic things out there. Even if you cook it together, it’s still a way for you to work together and bond over something that all humans love — food!
Valentine’s Day is also a good time to indulge in foods that you wouldn’t necessarily eat all the time such as luxurious cuts of steak, fancy cheeses, or a wine pairing with every course!
7. Music
Giving someone the gift of music is a way of both supporting their interests and introducing them to something new. Finding new music these days is pretty difficult. With all the ways of streaming music, it can be hard to get outside of your bubble and pick something different than your old standards.
Buying your significant other a CD or a download of a new album that you think they’d like is a great way to say you were thinking of them.
8. A New Type of Coffee or Tea
It seems like people are either diehard coffee or tea drinkers and there is rarely any crossover. This Valentine’s Day, buy your partner a new type of coffee or tea. Sometimes people get stuck in a rut of drinking the exact same thing every morning.
A bag of delicious, freshly-roasted coffee from a new roaster is a treat for a coffee fiend. For tea-drinkers, there are many businesses specializing in amazing loose-leaf tea including David’s Tea, Teavana, or even check out Etsy for customizable blends.
9. Cooking Lessons
Cooking lessons are an awesome present for your significant other, but you have to be careful not to suggest that you bought the present because their own cooking needs work.
A way to avoid this implication is to purchase a class for two where you’ll both learn a new type of cuisine. Learn how to roll sushi together or indulge in a bread-baking seminar where you can pick up tips on how to make luscious, rich loaves.
10. Luxurious Bedding
This doesn’t have to be as intimate as buying red satin bed sheets (also, we should outlaw satin bed sheets because, unless they’re frightfully expensive, they just look cheap).
Buying a cozy blanket, or a new set of cushion covers will let your partner know how much you enjoy the space you share together and how much you want to cozy up with them tonight.
11. A New Book
Giving a person a new book is like handing them the key to another world. A good book can truly take you out of yourself for a few hours at a time.
If you don’t know what kind of book your partner is interested in, subtly fish around for clues, or check out their bookshelf to see what authors they typically read. A quick visit to a bookstore, with their knowledgeable staff and huge inventory, will usually send you home with the perfect present.
12. A Framed Photograph
Many people don’t take the time to pick out photographs to frame, and instead will leave them on their phone for years until they’re completely forgotten. This year, break the cycle and order your valentine a print of your favorite photo.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be a corny picture of the two of you. Other meaningful options are photos from trips you took together, or photos of your partner and their family.
13. A New Item of Clothing
The traditional Valentine’s gift is often sexy lingerie, but this year keep it classy. Try buying them an item of regular clothing or keep the lingerie delicate and elegant rather than sleazy.
There are tons of places, either in person or online, that stock elegant unmentionables for both genders. Whatever type of clothing you buy, focus on soft fabrics and make sure that the fit is accurate.
14. A Trip
Nothing expresses your love more than the desire to go out and spend all your time in a new place with that person. Buying your significant other a trip may take a lot of advance planning, but it’s one of the best and most exciting gifts a person can receive.
You should definitely consult with them before booking anything, but being surprised with even just one night away from home is something that nobody ever forgets.
15. A Donation in Their Name
These days it’s hard to celebrate Valentine’s Day with joy and merriment because of all the horrible things that are going on in the world. One way to tell your significant other that you love both them and your country is to make a donation to a charity in their name.
Ideally, it would be something that they care about. If they love their cat, choose the Humane Society. If they get angry reading the news, donate to the ACLU.
16. A Photoshoot
A great way to say that you care about preserving your memories with your significant other is to invest in a photoshoot with a local photographer.
Even if you love the cellphone selfies that you take together, the photos from a styled photoshoot are something that you’ll treasure forever.
17. A Massage
A gift certificate for a massage is a great way to tell your significant other that you love them and care about their health and well-being.
Massages are incredibly relaxing, and can help with posture and circulation. Better yet, get a couple’s massage so that you can go to the spa and relax together.