Valentine’s Day is coming up and finding a gift to buy for your partner is always challenging — try making one instead! You’ll save money and your significant other will feel extra touched by the gesture, so here’s a list of several Do-It-Yourselfs (DIYs) to help inspire you.
“Open When” letters
This gift is a pack of letters that are assigned to many different types of events and are filled with whatever is fitting for such occasions. Your partner can open the correct one when each event occurs. Some Open When letters can be “open when you first get this,” “open when you are sad,” “open when we got into a fight,” “open when you miss me,” etc. You can fill these letters with inspiring/motivational, comforting or apologetic words, jokes and memories, depending on the theme of the letter that you are writing.
Memories scrapbook
This DIY is a great way to travel back through memory lane. You can fill it with pictures of you two, favorite songs of yours, locations you would like to visit together, etc. If you have been to movies, concerts, amusement parks, zoos, etc, and have kept the tickets, you can also add them to your scrapbook. Creating such a personal gift gives you the freedom to make it as special as possible for your partner. If you fill it with inside jokes and memories, this gift will be sure to make your partner’s day. And if you want to do a collaborative activity, you could even gather and gift your partner the supplies to make the project together.
Love coupons jar
In this DIY, fill a mason jar with free coupons for tasks that your partner can use anytime. For example, you can make coupons for free massages, a restaurant date, breakfast in bed, being pampered, movie night, etc. This is a great way to offer your time and services to your loved one to relieve them from stress. If you want this project to be less work, you can print out the cards, but for a nicer touch, handwrite the coupons on cute stationery.
Couple time capsule
During Valentine’s Day, you and your beau can fill a time capsule of things that will become memories once you open it months or years later. You can put letters that you have written for each other to be opened by your future selves, pictures of you both, a list of places you would like to visit together or things you would like to do, etc. This idea is similar to the scrapbook, but opening it years later will let you revisit your younger selves from months or years ago with your partner. It can help you see if your goals have been fulfilled and if you have seen and traveled to all the places you dreamed about in the past. You can also reopen the time capsule several Valentine’s Days later so that you can have another romantic activity to do in a few years.
Traditional love letter
An extremely romantic Valentine’s gift that could bring a smile to your partner’s face, although fairly straightforward, is a traditional love letter. Pouring out your feelings onto a page is one of the best ways to show love on Valentine’s Day. By giving them a heartfelt letter to show your appreciation for your loved one, you can make Cupid’s day even more romantic!
Baked goods or homemade dinner
Another way to show your partner some love on Valentine’s Day is by putting effort into making food for them. Baking them cookies, pastries or a very nice dinner can make a great Valentine’s Day gift that’s very cost-effective! If you choose to cook them dinner, it can also make for a great stay-at-home date.
“52 things I love about you” card deck
For this project, you will need a card deck and some paint to decorate each card and write down 52 different reasons you love your partner. Decorating these cards with your and your partner’s tastes will make this gift extremely special, as it shows the time and effort that went into creating it. By making a personal craft, like all of these on the list, you can represent your love with a physical keepsake.
This or that card choice date night game
This last DIY is a great way to have fun with your partner. Write different date choices on separate note cards for your partner to randomly choose to design an unexpected and original date night. Start by making your partner choose a cute date location (e.g. the beach vs. the park) and then use your creativity to choose what other cards you will make. You can add things like restaurants or specific foods (ex: Italian vs. Japanese food), movies to watch (e.g. “Notting Hill” vs. “The Notebook”), activities to do together (e.g. painting vs. video games), etc…
These gift ideas are only a few DIYs that you can make for your partner to make your Valentine’s Day special. But any gift you tailor to their tastes and personalize for them with aspects of your relationship will be a surefire way to make your Valentine smile.
