Chraming gifts for Valentine’s day

Basic craft and scrapbooking materials are used by Michelle Spaw to create garland made from hearts to decorate her home for Valentine's Day. (Jim Barcus/Kansas City Star/MCT)

Whether you have known your sweetheart for years, months or even days, shopping for the perfect Valentine’s Day present on a student budget is always a challenging task. Sure there are deals and cliché gifts you could always run to at the last minute, but this Valentine’s Day get creative and show your sweetie how much you care.

Even these simple gifts will charm your main squeeze. For the couples out there, surprise your honey with a picture of the two of you in a cool picture frame. Guys, a beautiful necklace, bracelet or ring will always do just the trick to make your Valentine blush. Ladies, sure guys don’t wear a lot of jewelry but a sharp or flashy watch may be what your man needs to complete his everyday look and while he’s checking the time he’s thinking about you. These go-to Valentine gifts can cost anywhere from $10 to $100.

If your budget is extremely tight this month, take an arts and crafts approach and make a unique gift. Men and women both enjoy break from household chores or planning date night receiving a spontaneous massage. Create an “IOU” coupon book filled with free massages, a night off from cleaning, spontaneous date night and dinner on me coupons. Personalize the book to match the friendship or relationship by putting certain things you do together or wish you did more of in the book. With the cost under $15 this gift will save you some major cash for those spontaneous date nights and win you some creative points.

It would be a dream come true to board a flight to Paris and enjoy the charming city with your boo for a romantic Valentine’s Day getaway, but who has that kind of cash these days? Has your Valentine ever wanted to visit a city like Rome, Tokyo or Buenos Aires? Give the best gift by planning a themed date and bring the experience of this city straight to your sweetheart. Cook the city’s cuisine, decorate and plan activities that feel like the perfect romantic escape. No need for plane tickets on this date making this gift around $50.

Gift baskets can be a fun way to include everything you want to give your Valentine. They can be themed or put-together with a variety of trinkets, either way it’s like a mini-Christmas in February and who wouldn’t love that? For men, put together a gift basket full of his favorite treats, XBOX games or some cute boxers you’ll both be sure to get a laugh out of. For women, design a basket with her favorite candies, jewelry, books, fuzzy socks or gift cards to her favorite stores and offer to spend the day shopping with her. These bundles of joy can range anywhere from $50 to $100.

Whether you’re prepared to splurge or save on your Valentine’s Day spending, there are a variety of gifts you can give at every price range to make your valentine smile. Get creative and think outside the box to charm your sweetheart this Feb. 14.

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Posted by Natalie Craig on Feb 9 2012. Filed under Culture, Sub Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.