Ok so Valentines Day isn’t for another 2 weeks, but I’ve been planning what to buy people for nearly a year now. Why do you ask? Well because it really is one of my most favourite holidays ever. And because since reading manga and stuff, I realised it’s not exclusive to spouses. Funnily enough, a lot of my friends ask me for advice on what to buy their partners, and I thought I’d share those tips with you!
Valentines Day does not have to be expensive!
This is is one of the things that bugs most of my friends. They are mostly college students who are broke, and they’re upset they have to buy presents so soon after Christmas. A lot of people also think it’s a completely commercialised holiday. It is. But you can stick it to the man by celebrating it without going broke!
- You don’t need to buy a card. There are alternatives. Why do people like cards anyway? Mostly because they get to open the envelope. But how cheap are envelopes to buy at the local post office? You can put in a cue card with nice words, or maybe a photo of the two of you with a message written on the back. Glitz it up with some glitter or confetti inside the envelope!
- Photos in general are really nice. It instantly makes a cheap photo frame really special. Or you could go old fashioned and just buy a nice note-book and turn it into a photo scrapbook. This sounds weird, I know, but my first boyfriend was an aspiring comic artist and gave me something along those lines. Still best gift ever. Find photos from when you first met them. Important holidays or occasions. It just shows you remember this stuff, that it’s just as important and meaningful for you!
- Home cooked meals are super special. Can’t cook? Bollocks. Cooking is so easy in this day and age. Buy a steak, fry or grill it. Buy some pre-made sauce (this is allowed!) and cook some chips or mash. Buy a bag of those already made salads! For dessert, make a baked Alaska. What? Back up? This is my easiest trick dessert. Also looks very impressive. Buy a small, already made cake. Loafy kinds are good, like banana bread or something. Buy some icecream. Get some eggs and sugar. So firstly you need to make the meringue, separate the egg whites from the yolk and whisk it with an electric whisk until it forms soft peaks. Then fold in sugar. How much? Who knows? I never measure. Three lots of egg whites, a good amount of sugar. Now for the cake. Get your cake. Cute a medium slices in rectangles, not triangles, and lay them on a baking tray. Put a huge scoop of icecream on top of the cake base. Now cut the rest of the cake into slices and cove the icecream in those slices. It doesn’t have to look that great. Like a dome. Made of cake. I squish the cake in too sometimes. Now, cover the entire thing in your meringue mixture. This makes it all look pretty even though it’s a mess underneath. Pop it into the oven at a low temp and just wait like, 15 minutes for the meringue to cook. If you cut your cake before hand, so you have slices ready, just make the meringue mixture in the kitchen after your main course. Don’t let her into the kitchen, but she can hear you do it and it’s all very impressive!
- Otherwise, a chocolate fondue is always a winner. Melt chocolate. Dip fruit and biscuits in.
- Home made picnics. You don’t even need to go to the park for this one. Set a nice cloth on your living room floor, turn the lights down low, have candles, gentle music. Bam. Instant romance. Plus you can make grilled cheese sandwiches and eat grapes and put very little into cooking and it still rocks. Cheese selection.
- Sangeria has been my go to for when I don’t have money to buy nice wines. No, don’t buy the already made stuff. Buy some nice cheap red, orange juice, tonic water (or lemonade) and lots of fruit like oranges and apples. Cut fruit and soak in mixture of wine and orange juice, then top up with tonic water/lemonade for the fizz when serving! It’s not restaurant standards but google it and it can be done really really well. And you can say you made it yourself, extra brownie points!
Those as basically the basics I tell me friends. I have lots of other ideas though, so if you’re interested tell me and I’ll do a follow up! Like flowers, chocolates and weekend always. You can spend money on V-day but it’s how you spend it to get the best experience.
Also if anyone was interested my favourite flowers are sunflowers and I like truffle chocolates. However one time a guy bought be cooking truffles and it was the best gift ever. “Stranger than Fiction” had a scene where the guy buys the girl “flours” because she bakes cookies. Hehe. So it’s easy to play on words and make things special!