Affordable Gift Ideas || Valentine's Day

 

I don't know about you guys, but I'm 100% a Valentines day fan (and I was way back before I was in a relationship.) There's something so lovely about a day centred around the one thing we all long for, and despite the fact that we should share our love daily and not just on the 14th of Feb, I think it's so special to get one day in the year to make time to celebrate our emotions (and not just romantic relationships; there is more than one type of love!)

 

I thought I'd share with you some cute ideas for Valentine's day gifts that are affordable, because:

 

1) We're all still a bit skint following the Christmas period.

2) It definitely isn't about how much you spend. Believe me, it doesn't matter how much cash you chuck at a special day, its the people and the moments that make it memorable. If you are with a person that wants to spend the day with you, then that should be enough.

 

These posts all come near to the price of about £5-10, but you can spend much more or much less depending on how you adapt the gift (or if you use a combination of all three.) I think these gifts are so adorable, and I hope Harry isn't reading this any time before the 14th, because one of these is his!

 

1) The Date Jar (Photographed above)

This is so tumblr/pinterest. I love this gift possibly the most out of all three, because its so simple but thoughtful, and also because it cost me £0, as I had all of the components already in my house. Basically, this gift is a jar (or mason jar style glass - which can then be re-used as a drinking glass once the jar is empty) filled with fun date ideas for you to do with your significant other. Admittedly, this seems very romantically orientated, but you could fill it with movie names and use it for a movie night with your gal pals! I tied a red ribbon around the jar and used pink card to be all festive, and a nice touch would be to add some Hershey's Kisses in there (get it?) as well. Things like this are so meaningful, and leave a lasting memory.

 

 

2) A 'Box of Chocolates'

Everybody knows that Valentines deserves a bit of sugar, right? Instead of the typical box of Thorntons or Heroes, where there's always a few eclairs left at the bottom (why do they even put them in? My retainer cringes just thinking about them.) why not personalise a box and tailor it your friend's favourites?! This again is a super thoughtful gift, and doesn't have to break the bank. I found this pretty red and pink box at the card shop in my village for about £1, and filled it with Harry's favourites; some strawberry creams, Hershey's Cookies and Cream, Reeses, Lindt etc etc. When you know someone like the back of your hand - prove it! Show them that you know them inside and out. 

 

 

3) Photographs/Polaroids

Since I document a lot of my life in photos, it will come as no surprise to you that for me, an exciting gift to receive from anyone would be a set of polaroids, or printed photographs. In a digital era its so special to hold memories in your hand, and they look amazing dotted around a room to add a personal touch. You could print polaroids from a professional company (see my post on Cheerz here - I'm sure they have some Valentines deals on at the momento) or, if you want to save money you could edit the photos on PicMonkey to look like polaroids, pop some photo paper into your printer, and print some out in your own home. You could even add a set of photos to the Chocolate box, to make it even cuter. I know that there are actually some polaroid size photo frames out there at the moment as well that you could add to the present to dress it up a bit more - I got one for Christmas from Urban, and it was one of my favourite gifts! 

There are so many affordable gifts available, and I can't stress enough how important it is to spend time with your partners, friends and family. A thoughtful gift or a few hours of your time shows a lot more than spending a wad of cash and not caring about the actually-spending-time-together part.

For me, this years Valentines will be a super exciting one, since at 3am on the 15th I'll be getting up and setting off on a trip to Amsterdam with my boyfriend for our first holiday together. EEP.

What are you doing to celebrate?