My wife and I have been happily married for 4 years, and we usually buy each other something nice (read expensive) for Valentines Day. Money is a little tight this year so we’ve put a $30 cap on VD presents. I usually give her nice jewelry, so I would rather not get her inexpensive jewelry.
So besides the obvious flowers and candy, what other ideas do you have for a gift that would be less than $30? And don’t tell me to get her clothes because like most guys I can barely pick out clothes for myself…
Are you creative at all? Could you use that money to buy something like a photo album/scrapbook and fill it with memorabilia from your relationship? Personally, I think handmade gifts spell romance more than something off-the-rack, but if that is going to cause you too much angst, then it wouldn’t work.
What about cooking a really fabulous homemade dinner for a romantic candlelit evening at home? What’s her favorite meal when you guys eat at restaurants? Either make that (preferably from scratch), or just go on http://www.foodtv.com and browse around for some good ideas. You can get surprisingly nice bottles of wine in the $10 range, light a few candles, set the table really pretty, play her favorite music softly in the background, and have a nice, quiet evening at home while knowing that other couples are out on the town, dropping hundreds of bucks.
I’m the same way, but I’ve figured out a way to buy clothes for my wife: when she mentions, offhandedly, that a dress or blouse or whatever is pretty, my ears go up like a terrier’s, and I try as hard as I can to drill it into my head that she likes that. If she’s talking about something she sees at a store, I go back and buy it as soon as I can; otherwise, I keep it in mind for when it’s present-time.
When I buy something for her, I invariably agonize over whether it’ll look good on her or whether she’ll laugh in my face: I really can’t tell whether it’s gonna look good until she’s got it on. But this method does seem to work.
The meal is a great idea. If you can’t cook, what about getting some very nice chocolates, some nice wine, some takeout from her favorite restaurant, and setting up a picnic in the living room with candles?
The best Valentine’s Day gift I ever received from Stonebow probably cost less than 5 bucks. He printed a bunch of notes with hearts in red and pink from the computer, then stuck them all over the house. Everything I did that day was greeted by a love note from him: on the mirror, in the cabinets, even on the steering wheel of my car!
I’ve had other great “less expensive gifts” from him, too. The homemade candlelight dinner, live flowers (like forced blooming tulip bulbs that could then be planted to bloom every year), original poetry, books, and numerous other small gifts that go along with our hobbies.
I have no clue what he’s got up his sleeve this year. Although these days we don’t really have to set the price limits, I may save up my “gift credit” for the merchant’s row at Gulf Wars this year, or for the week long trip to Mexico in March. My Valentine’s Day plans for him this year involve his top three favorite things: Sex, food, and books.
I’m the same way, but I’ve figured out a way to buy clothes for my wife: when she mentions, offhandedly, that a dress or blouse or whatever is pretty, my ears go up like a terrier’s, and I try as hard as I can to drill it into my head that she likes that. If she’s talking about something she sees at a store, I go back and buy it as soon as I can; otherwise, I keep it in mind for when it’s present-time.