9 thrifty romantic gifts

February is the shortest of month's yet has a very important date in for many, that being Valentine's Day. It is also one that can lead to being a very expensive time, as such here are 9 thrifty presents you can use for Valentine's Day (or any other time of the year really).

Reasons & Memories Jar

This can be as simple or complicated as you would like. All you need is a jar, some paper, and most importantly memories and reasons of why you love that person. Write each reason and memory onto a piece of paper, cut them out and fold it so that it can't be seen before placing it in the jar.

Now each time your significant other reaches into the jar they will be reminded of a reason why you love them or remember a memory you have shared together. A great advantage of this is that you can add to the jar more memories or reasons as they happen.

You can flare it up with designs, ribbons or anything else you can think of but personally, I prefer it to be quite simple.

Calendar of Dates

Another simple or as complicated as you would like to make it. You will need a calendar and some envelopes. Each month of the year plan an activity to do together, for example going to the beach, a shopping trip, pamper night or something else special for the two of you. Have each of these in an envelope for each month, then on the first of the month they can open the envelope and you can arrange when in the month you will do it together.

Personal Coupons

We all love coupons don't we, but personalizing them is so much fun. You can personalize each coupon you make to suit your significant others tastes so for example I will make coupons for Emma that will involve massages, being a Princess or some other form of spoiling and she will make for me coupons that involve having a Game Day (with maid service for drinks and food).

Write a Poem

You don't have to be great at poetry to write something from the heart. I have written several poems for Emma, few have rhymed, but they have my feelings within the words. You can write why you love them, how it feels to be so in love with them or even about experiences and memories. Listening to music will sometimes help the creativity flow but try not to take too much from the lyrics. At the end of the day though who wouldn't love to read a personalized poem from their loved one?

If you do not feel it would be good enough, there are plenty of poems that others have written that you can find on the internet but do not try to pass it off as your own work as it would lose feeling and the person you give it too might be really upset about it if they find out that it is something you have just taken from online.

Pamper Night

This is something that you can easily tie into another gift or as a gift all by itself, and something you can make as simple or complicated as you would like.

You can cook for them their favourite meal followed by running them a lovely bath (bath bombs or bubble bath goes down well) with some candles and soft music, even offer to give them a shoulder massage or to wash their hair (if you are able as not everyone has good angles to work with). Followed by a massage, even look up tips online for better massage techniques or styles, use an oil, lotion or massage bar they can make the experience more romantic and special.

You can tailor it as well to anything that they love and is a great extra to tie in with another gift.

Memory Album

We are all bound to have tons of photos of each other from over the year, from silly little ones taken on your phone to proper ones taken at an event like a wedding, family gathering or a holiday. Why not turn those memories into a present? Get a small album that is the sort of size you think would work best and then go through your collection of photos. You can do a timeline of your entire relationship together, the past year together or even just special occasions together, the important thing will be that it is a photo of the two of you.

Draw a portrait

This is something that can be more complicated if you really suck at drawing but if you are able or confident enough then give it a shot. Base it off a photo of a well loved trip or event. The advantage of drawing it yourself is that you can draw the two of you and not include anything you disliked in the photo. For example, a lot of our favourite times together has been when we have been in Disney, but of course, any photos you take will near enough always have people in it, which wouldn't be included in the drawing.

Make your own sweets/cake for them

Buying a cake from the shop is easy but it doesn't convey your feeling does it, baking the cake yourself does however especially if you have kept it a secret. It is also so very simple, you can make it either from scratch, don't worry there are plenty of recipes for all sorts of cakes online, or you can buy ready-made mixes, just remember to follow the instructions on the packets! Alternatively, coconut ice is really simple to make and delicious!

Do any gifts or meals out after Valentine's Day

If you want to still do a normal Valentine's Day, including gifts from stores or meals out, why not set a date after Valentine's Day? After all, nearly every store will have left over Valentine's stock which will be then reduced after Valentine's Day to shift it. Restaurants will also more likely have reservations or will not be overflowing with people, so you might actually be able to talk to each other during the meal out. The cinema will also be that little bit less busy since many couples will often pick that day to go on a romantic date together (check out my post on 5 ways to save money at the cinema).

I hope that you have found these 9 thrifty romantic gift ideas useful. If you have any to add then please leave them in a comment below.