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Grab your best pink dress and your favourite heart-shaped glasses! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and with the way time has been flying by, it’ll be all up in our faces before we know it. Rest assured it’ll bring some baggage too, with its pressure to spoil our loved ones, guilt for not picking the perfect gift, and heart-shaped candy in every store. If you are looking for cheap Valentine’s ideas and unique Valentine’s ideas, well, I GOT YOU with these budget Valentine’s ideas!
Skip the pricey gifts and fancy dates, and still have a romantic Valentine’s Day with these budget-friendly ideas. From homemade gifts to surprise date nights, check out this list of cheap yet thoughtful ways to celebrate.
Sound like you? I totally get it. Valentine’s Day might be a fictional holiday cooked up by greeting card execs to make a boatload of money, but boy did they do a great job. Queue the ads for diamond tennis bracelets. The billboards for dinner cruises. The special five course tasting menus at your favourite restaurant, which suddenly became reservation only.
It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that this day is for proving your love with big gestures and even bigger purchases. The idea is reinforced pretty much everywhere.
Consider it a radical act of love to turn against that!
Cheap Valentine’s Ideas
Love isn’t about money. Everybody knows this. But a reminder doesn’t hurt! Love is about mutual respect, about putting someone before yourself, about supporting each other, and most of all, having a good time. At least, that’s what I tell myself when I can’t afford to buy my boo a dinner date at the top of the Empire State Building and craft him some love letters instead.
And truthfully, anyone who’s going to hold that against you probably ain’t worth the five-dollar Valentine’s card anyways! Am I right!?!
To sleuth out whether your Valentine is really with you for the right reasons, try keeping your budget slim-to-none when it comes to gifts this year. There are so many ways to show how much you love and value someone without breaking the bank. And if they’re down with your creative, money-saving, sweet little gestures, that’s definitely a good sign. You will love these inexpensive Valentine’s ideas!
Inexpensive Valentine’s Ideas to Reach New Heights
Throw together a backpack of snacks, water, and a camera. Put on your thick wool socks. Lace up your hiking boots. Zip up that vest over your flannel. It’s time to achieve something great together.
A hike is a super romantic way to celebrate this Valentine’s Day for so many reasons and one of my personal favourite cheap Valentine’s ideas. If you’re hiking, you’re probably sort of in the middle of nowhere, which means little cell service to distract you. Quality time with your partner? Yes please! You’ll face the challenge together, getting your heart rate up, achieving a difficult task. And at the end, you’ll have a beautiful reward.
That gorgeous scenery is beautiful on its own – but it’s even better when shared with one you love. Consider it a reflection of the depths of the relationship you’ve built together – and feel free to use that line while you’re up there. I won’t tell.
Unique Valentine’s Idea to Break the Ice
Actually, don’t – but do skate across it! Taking your Valentine to the ice rink is a cute and totally classic way to treat them on a budget. Imagine: rosy noses, lots of laughs, and having to hold onto each other’s mittens for balance, if your skating abilities are anything like mine. To be extra thrifty, bring your own treats instead of hitting up the over-priced snack bar. As a lifelong skater, this is one of my favourite unique Valentine’s ideas.
Leave them Guessing
A super cheap, but super fun way to surprise your boo this V-Day: a scavenger hunt. You can spend a lot or a little on this cheap Valentine’s idea while still doing the most – or do it for as little as the price of a pack of paper. You can literally do this every year making it one of the best unique Valentine’s ideas that can turn into a bit of a Valentine tradition.
Create a series of clues hidden all around a location – whether it’s trailing around your home or out at your favourite library. Don’t be scared to get fancy with it! Cheese cubes, chocolate covered strawberries, maybe even airplane bottles – the limit simply does not exist with all the weird stuff you can add in there.
And what’s at the end of the hunt? That’s up to you. But sometimes a little spice is a little nice. I’m just saying.
Surprise Date Night
Another way to save money on Valentine’s Day is by planning a fun surprise date night. Instead of splurging on a fancy dinner, try cooking a romantic meal at home or doing a fun activity together like a wine tasting or a DIY spa day. You can also plan a special outing like a hike or a picnic in the park. The key is to make it feel special, not how much you spend.
Budget Valentine’s Ideas Made with Manual Labour
Or to those in the art world, crafting! Handmade gifts and cards (and even a macaroni necklace) are such a sweet, special way to give all the meaning in the world to something small. They’re not just for wooing your parents over – you can easily woo your partner as well.
Handmade valentines, with special poems inside and a healthy serving of glitter glue. Pinch pots you paint yourself. Engraved wooden spoons. A wreath. A page from a colouring book with a sweet note. A really fancy loaf of focaccia, a Strawberry Sour Candy Cocktail or these adorable red velvet Valentine’s cookies. A cute free printable Valentine’s Day wall art with an inside joke on the back. A hand-painted piece of pottery. Even something as simple as a framed collection of cute pics.
You can make whatever you want. My only guidance is, the more sentimental, the better when you’re going this route.
Build Back Better
Take this day as an opportunity for self-improvement – together! What would enrich you the best as a couple? Would you both love a trip to a museum? Most are free. Maybe a lesson in some sort of art or skill (archery is on theme with Cupid and all) with the help of a handy dandy Groupon. A walking tour through your local historical site to expand your horizons. Even a trip to the gym together is a cool date idea that helps you both get stronger. There are plenty of activities you could get into that are cheap Valentine’s Day gifts that will expand your horizons.
Teach Them a Lesson
Or vice versa. Any solid dynamic couple has quite a few fun skills between them. Don’t sell yourself short! You’re both so talented!
Maybe you’re a guitar whiz. Maybe they have a real eye for watercolor painting. Or maybe you’ve both been dying to learn how to make a needle punch rug! Take a night to teach each other something new. It’s a great way to pack quality time, bonding, and a skillshare all into one. Not all Valentine’s Day gifts or things but instead sharing a skill is an experience in sharing.
Are you an Extreme Cheapskate?
If so, these cheap valentines ideas might be right up your alley. Cuddling up for a rom-com Valentine’s movie together at home, lots of hugs and kisses, and a few whispers of devotion should help you squeak by. It’s the thought that counts, right?
When it comes down to it, Valentine’s Day is made for loving those around you. Don’t sweat if you can’t do it in a grandiose way. If you can make your boo feel special and carve out some time to let them know what they mean to you, you’re doing just fine. Everyone loves inexpensive Valentine’s ideas!
Other Inexpensive Valentine’s Ideas
You can have so much fun with your Valentine and all it takes is some creativity. A great Valentines Day gift comes from the heart and speaks to their love language. Here are some other Valentine’s ideas on a budget.
- Plan a romantic dinner out but don’t worry about it being a fancy restaurant. Even stopping in at a bakery for a sweet treat like heart shaped cupcakes can be the perfect memorable day
- Set up a games night or pick up a second hand puzzle to work on together instead of a traditional Valentine’s Day date
- Take on online dance class on YouTube to shake things up a bit
- Stay in with a romantic evening in your living room with a card game, hot chocolate, tasty snacks and love notes. Cook dinner trying a new recipe
- Take some cute photos together using your phone and timer. Or look through old photos together. Don’t forget to post them with the perfect love caption
- Head to the local dollar store to pick up some construction paper and make some cards together with a special message inside. While not absolutely free, the time spent will make the card a keepsake
- Give them a manicure with some cute Valentine’s Day nails
- Spend the night singing love songs with some karaoke
- Get out on a weekend date day with a visit to local museums, escape rooms, local library or a visit to a local park. A free Valentine’s Day outing is just as fun when there is an admission.
There are also many things you can do that are totally free. You can take a walk around your neighborhood and enjoy the scenery, take a trip down memory lane by looking at old photo albums, or even watch a movie at home while snuggling up together.
Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be all about expensive gifts and fancy dates. With a little creativity and thought, you can make it a special and memorable day without breaking the bank. Remember, it’s not about how much you spend, but about the effort you put into making it a special day for your loved one. So, try out some of these cheap Valentine’s Day ideas and make this year’s celebration one to remember!
Valentine’s Day is a special time of year when we show our loved ones how much we care. But, let’s be real, it can also be a time when we feel pressured to spend a lot of money on expensive gifts and fancy dates. But, what if we told you that you can still have a great Valentine’s Day without breaking the bank? That’s right, there are plenty of cheap and fun ideas for things to do on Valentine’s Day that will make your loved one feel just as special.
Let me know if you have some cheap Valentine’s ideas or unique Valentine’s ideas that I should add to this list. A thoughtful gift doesn’t have to be expensive. Bonus points for putting in effort and making your someone special feel extra special. Happy Valentine’s Day, friends.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
I can’t wait to make my kids valentine’s day eggs and bacon!! Such a cute idea.
All of the ideas for Valentine’s Day are so amazing! Thank you for sharing!
I never celebrate Valentine’s day but these ideas are really good.
These are all cute ideas. It is nice not to spend a lot of money, but to have meaningful ideas for being thoughtful.
It is so important to keep from breaking the bank over just a day of celebration.
Thes are great Valentine Day ideas! I love the Scavenger hunt, we’ve never done that!