Have you ever wondered why we are led to believe that the best Valentine's Day gifts are also the most expensive? In my relationship, we value our time together most of all. And we are on a shared budget, which means any extraordinary extravagance is a shared burden.
The truth is, Valentine's Day is big business. Too often, retailers want us to believe that we need to spend lots of money on traditional Valentine's Day gifts in order to properly prove our love to one another.
This year, let's make a stand for the heartfelt, sentimental, simple gift. Homemade gifts carry the message to your loved one that she is worth not just your cash, but your time, energy, creativity, and thoughtfulness.
Here are six ideas for simple but romantic homemade Valentine's Day gifts.
1. Make a scrapbook. This is one of the easiest gifts to make, and if you plan ahead, you won't even have to touch a glue stick if you don't want to. Many of the online photo processing sites have systems in place where creating a sentimental gift is as easy as dragging and dropping your favorite photos into pre-made templates. Some of them will even provide the romantic quotes to go alongside them.
If you would rather make a more traditional scrapbook yourself, the scrapbooking industry has made that easy for you, too. Purchase a simple mini book kit from your local craft store and cut and paste your favorite photos inside. The most romantic of these mini scrapbook albums or photo books will include personal sentiments, such as "Ten Things I Love About You," "My Favorite Memories of the Past Year," or "You're My Perfect Valentine Because..." All you will need to do is fill in the blanks.
2. Make a scented candle. Your local craft supply store will likely have a kit that makes it a cinch to create a beautiful homemade candle. If you make sure to follow the instructions in the kit carefully, it's an easy process, and you'll be able to customize your homemade candle with dyes and scents to make a gorgeous creation. Make sure to pair your gift with a thoughtful sentiment in a handmade card.
3. Make a Mix CD. Burn a CD of your loved one's favorite music.
4. Make your Valentine's favorite meal. Plan a romantic homemade dinner with a nice bottle of wine and some candlelight. Make sure your loved one's favorite songs are playing in the background.
5. Bake it up. Bake a batch of your partner's favorite sweet treats and wrap up a box of the homemade confections. These will remind your loved one of you, so they'll be much more romantic and personalized than a store-bought box of chocolates (and less expensive, too).
6. Make a Memory Jar. Fill a jar with slips of paper that detail your favorite times of the year, or even your favorite memories of your relationship from the beginning. Create a card that instructs your loved one to read one new slip of paper every day.
Even if you opt for a store-bought gift this Valentine's Day, make sure that you include your personal sentiments on a card. You can easily create a meaningful and romantic gift just by writing down what's in your heart.
Jamie Jefferson writes for Susies-Coupons.com and Momscape.com, where you can find coupons and discounts for top gift merchants, including Harry and David coupons and Snapfish coupons.
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