3 Meaningful Gift Ideas for Valentine's Day

So you don’t want to buy your Valentine a bouquet of (overpriced) roses, and chocolates are about as sentimental as netflix-and-chill. If you need some gift inspiration, I’ve got you covered! Whether you just started dating your sweetie, or if you’ve been in a relationship forever, these are some meaningful gift ideas that anyone would love:

1. The Written Word

There’s a reason why Shakespeare’s sonnets are still so relevant and poignant today! I think everybody appreciates a written, heartfelt declaration of love. If you aren’t a poet, that’s ok - I have a few suggestions that will still win you points:

Love NotesThere are two ways you can do this: either find a cute jar that you can fill with folded notes, or buy a blank notebook. Whichever vessel you choose, begin filling it with little daily love notes. Your boo can reach into the jar, or open the notebook to read your notes whenever they’re feeling a little lonely, and it will cheer them right up! It also helps you to remember that it’s the little things that matter. I like to start each note like this:

“I loved you today when…”

For example, if I were to write one for Azim right now it would be “I loved you today when you could have laughed at me but you didn’t. Thank you for not making me feel embarrassed when I drooled on your sleeve as I brushed my teeth. Sometimes I get overly excited, and talking plus toothbrushing do not mix. Drooling is not cute. But not only did you NOT laugh at me, you even wiped the drool off like it was no big deal. Love is never having to feel self-conscious around each other :)”

Ok so I’m not Shakespeare, but I think the cheese factor is pretty high on this one. Like maybe 5 stinky camemberts out of 5?

If you’re not into that amount of cheese, I have a slightly more digestible idea: You can buy this book, which has genius templates for love letters already made for you! The best part is that you can choose the “to-open” date, so it works like a time capsule :)

Is that still too much lactose? Ok, try filling out this little book. It’s still meaningful, but comes across as more fun than serious. It says “I like you…a lot! But I’m still nervous about meeting your parents unless there’s wine/cocktails/shots involved”

Or you can always just send a sweet text: “If you were a vegetable, you’d be a cute-cumber ;)”

Guys, I make myself laugh.

2. Year of Dates

This idea involves a little more commitment. First off, you have to know that you’re in it with your Valentine for the long haul.Then you come up with 12 original date ideas, with the first one being this Valentine’s Day. Write the rest of the dates down on separate cards, and for every month after your, honey gets to open a new envelope for a surprise excursion!

It’s sort of like the gift that keeps on giving, and it forces you both to spend your time more creatively. Because there’s only so much netflix-and-chill to go around.

What constitutes as an “original” date idea? I’d say anything other than going to the movies makes the cut. Last year I took Azim trampolining and then for cheeseburgers. You could also sign up for a class together, go iceskating at the Brickworks, wine-tasting in Niagara, ride a tandem bicycle on the Island, go on a ghost tour in the Distillery District, try one of those new escape rooms, etc.

3. Memory Token

Memory token!? That’s just a fancy way of saying: buy your loved one a gift that will remind them of something you did together. This idea definitely involves the least amount of time, and you can make it as cheesy or as mild as you want. For instance:

Did you guys meet at a concert? Why not buy your boo the band’s record and some cool album art?

Were you both late for your first date? A watch would make a great gift!

I always tell Azim that the moment I knew we were “for real” was on our first trip to Paris. So I bought him this awesome Mapiful poster of Paris with coordinates. It’s beautiful!

Well friends, I hope you found this list useful or at least a little inspiring. If none of these ideas spoke to you, don’t worry - make your way to your local florist and stop at Godiva along the way. Those dark chocolate raspberry truffles are the bomb!

xoxo