Romantic Valentine’s Day Ideas on a Budget
Give your sweetheart the gift of time and love this Valentine’s Day. Why spend money on the cliché dozen roses and dinner at a fancy restaurant, you can do better than that! Here are 10 romantic ideas that are far more creative:
- Write a Love Letter
- Cook for Your Valentine
- Pamper Her
- Lavish Him with Appreciation
- Say “I Love You” Extravagantly
- Breakfast in Bed
- Fireside Romance
- The Story of Us…In Pictures
- Love Coupon Booklet
- Your Practical Valentine
Have tissues on hand, there is no better way to let your valentine know how cherished, loved and appreciated they are. Not sure what to say, where to start or even how to write a love letter? We have advice to get past writer’s block here: How to Write a Love Letter in 6 Easy Steps and here: Spice Up Your Love Letters. Still staring at a blank piece of paper? Writing a list of things you love about your partner is also incredibly sweet, but a little easier. :)
This gift of time and thought is priceless. Don’t worry, we won’t leave you clueless, everything you need to plan and prepare a romantic dinner is right here.
She’ll love this, especially if she’s stressed, overworked or a mom. A few days in advance send her an invitation to an evening of pampering. If you have kids, make sure they’re out of the house and let her know in the invite that ‘the kids will be at their grandparents’. Start with takeout from her favorite restaurant shared over candlelight, draw a bubble bath and indulge together with candles and soft music, massage her back and shoulders then cuddle up on the couch to a movie you know she wants to see. Betcha wouldn’t guess that in a GetRomantic.com poll, cuddling was rated as the most romantic gesture.
John Gray, in his bestselling book “Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus”, tells women that appreciation is one of the primary love needs of men. Gray explains that “[w]hen a man is appreciated he knows his effort is not wasted and is thus encouraged to give more”. So let’s lavish some heavy duty appreciation on our boyfriends and husbands this Valentine’s Day. Try this: cut smallish heart shapes out of colored construction paper and on each heart write something you appreciate about him, something he does that makes your life easier, something about the essence of who he is that you couldn’t live without, then fold the heart in half. Place all the hearts in a decorated jar or nice box and give it to him on Valentine’s Day.
You’re probably thinking, “That’s it?”. Well, not quite…notice I used the word extravagantly? I’m talking about finding a creative way to say those three little words on Valentine’s Day. For example, you could write ‘I love you’ on an entire pad of Post-It notes then cover his/her desk, car, front door, bathroom mirror or bedroom wall with the notes. If the weather permits it, you could also buy a box of sidewalk chalk at the dollar store and decorate your walkway or driveway with a BIG red heart and “I love you”. How about dedicating a song to your wife or girlfriend on the radio and asking the DJ to say a special message (ex. “This next song goes out to Tanya P. from Tom W”). If you live somewhere warm you could carve it in the sand, on a tree or mow it in the lawn. If you live where there’s snow, fill a bottle with cold water and red food coloring and write a giant “I Love You” message on the front lawn (it won’t last more than a couple hours though). Have kids? Use their toy blocks to write your message on the floor near your bedroom so your husband sees it when he gets up. Lipstick on a mirror also works well.
Enjoy Valentine’s Day being on a Saturday this year and romance your love with breakfast in bed. We have a step-by-step guide and delicious, but easy, recipes here.
If you have a fireplace it’s easy to create romance right in your home. Start a fire and camp out in front of it. Serve a picnic of wine or imitation wine, strawberries with melted chocolate or Nutella, crackers, bread and an assortment of cheese, or roast marshmellows and make smores. Once you’ve finished with your picnic you can curl up right there with pillows and soft blankets.
If you like being creative and have a good collection of pictures taken throughout your relationship this idea will work. Use a photo album or scrapbook to create a history of your relationship in pictures. Start with pictures taken when you first started dating, advance through your relationship: vacations, the engagement, the wedding day, your honeymoon, your first child and so on. Use captions to tell the story in as much or little detail as you like. Optionally, decorate the pages with hand written notes and stickers (you can buy these in any craft store’s scrapbooking section).
Create a booklet of love coupons that your sweetheart can redeem with you for things like: a no strings attached massage, you as her handyman for an afternoon, a heart-to-heart talk, 15 minutes of whatever you want or a back scratch. Write the coupons out on receipt book size pieces of paper and staple them together into a booklet. Get the picture? – this is a gift that keeps on giving! If you want to save time or are not feeling very creative you can buy prewritten printable love coupons from our sister site RomanticPrintables.com.
If your wife or girlfriend is the practical type and you know she would find many of the ideas above quite corny, she may feel totally romanced by something more practical. Try this, give her a cute card with a homemade coupon inside redeemable for “me as your handyman for the day”. Valentine’s Day is a Sunday this year, so that’ll give you more time to do some favors around the house…cleaning, fixing, whatever she wants. Just be sure she is the practical type or you could end up in the dog house! Hint, if you have to really think about it, she’s probably not. :)
