Valentine’s Day is coming up quick, and if you’re still recovering from Christmas, or don’t want to spend a ton o’ cash on a “Hallmark holiday”, I got you covered with some cheaper, yet still sweet, V-day alternatives.
Standard plan: Plenty of couples make plans to go out to dinner on Valentine’s Day. That sounds lovely and romantic, but it’s usually pretty expensive with the “special” jacked up menu prices most restaurants offer.
Cheaper alternative: What if you went out to breakfast or lunch instead? Not feasible for everyone, especially if Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday and you have to work, but something to think about. Perhaps a coffee date could be a nice change? If you both have time, you can cook a meal together! I really don’t enjoy cooking to be honest, but I will admit that making a meal together can be fun, tasty, romantic and certainly cheaper than going out! If you still want to go out, maybe just go for dessert…still romantic, much cheaper than a full dinner.
Standard plan: Many women LOVE getting flowers for Valentine’s Day, myself included…but man do I hate the price tag that comes along with Valentine’s Day (insert favorite flower here) from online delivery services and florists.
Cheaper alternative: I tell my husband every year not to buy me flowers from a florist. I make sure he knows that yes, I’d love to receive flowers, but please for the love of our bank account, get them at the supermarket, or the side of the road, or a farm stand, really anywhere that is not going to cost a small fortune. Or, if your significant other is cool with this, give them flowers before or after Valentine’s Day! Showing your love should happen all year round anyway!
Standard plan: Buying your partner a Valentine’s Day card from the store, for like four-hundred dollars. Ok, fine, not really, but seriously, have you seen the cost of these suckers lately? Sometimes I pick up a card, love what it says, then put it right back where I found it because I flipped it over and saw that it was $8 flippin’ dollars for words on pretty paper. #thankyounext
Cheaper alternative: My suggestion here is actually from my own experience. When my now-husband and I first started dating, like many couples, we didn’t have a lot of money. We decided to make cards for one another listing 100 things we loved about each other. Not only was this a lot of fun to make, but holy emotions when it came time to exchange the cards! Sometimes it’s easier to put feelings on paper and that rang true in this case. We both told each other some really sweet things that neither one of us normally say out loud. I still have the cards saved in a big flowery card box, so I can reminisce back to those days, aww! It’s totally up to you how you want to make your card, and of course it should fit your personality and your own unique relationship.
It’s truly one of my favorite things ever, even 10 years later. In some cases, this could cost you more money than buying a card (that all depends on you, my friend) but a homemade card really does mean so much more and you’ll likely keep it a lot longer than the store bought one.
The bottom line is, Valentine’s Day is a nice reminder to show our partners how much we love them. Yes, that should be displayed every day of the year, but we’re human, we get caught up in life, and sometimes letting your partner know how much you care gets put on the back burner. Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be about how much money we spend, but how much love we have to give.