How to save money on Valentine’s day?
Valentine’s day gifts and the question “How to save money on Valentine’s day?” go hand in hand. Every year millions of men and women scour the Internet, intent on finding gifts for their loved ones. Saving money, even on important and romantic celebrations is a goal for many people.
It’s possible to save money on Valentine’s day while buying heart-warming gifts, and using unconventional ideas for this romantic celebration. Also, many Valentine’s day gifts can be made on your own, rather than having to buy them at a store.
Read on to learn how to save money on Valentine’s day, while giving gifts that are special and original.
Valentine’s day original meaning
Valentine’s day’s original meaning is an old story deeply tied in with religion. And it is romantic! Knowing the original meaning of Valentine’s day will help to choose better gifts and appreciate this day more.
The story goes like this: a long time ago (during the times of the Roman empire), lived a priest named Valentine. A Roman emperor had enacted an act that prohibited young couples from getting married. However, Valentine believed in the teaching of the Catholic church, and would still wed young couples. Valentine was later caught, imprisoned, and tortured. All because of wedding young couples, and going against the law of the Roman empire. He was canonized as a saint because of his strong beliefs in the teachings of the Catholic church, and because he was a martyr.
The tradition of celebrating Valentine’s day comes from the Christian religion. While it is not a religious holiday nowadays, it’s still nice to know the original meaning of the Valentine’s day.
Moreover, knowing the original meaning of this romantic day will help practising Christians to appreciate this day more, and choose better gifts. Knowing that Valentine’s day is originally about personal sacrifice, may inspire Christian gift givers to give more thoughtful and personal gifts to their loved ones.
Valentine’s day top gifts
Top gifts for Valentine’s day don’t really change every year. While new trends may change the order of top gifts year on year, the most popular gifts rarely change.
Out of top gifts for Valentine’s day, a card is an essential one. Valentine’s day cards, if they are well-thought out and relevant to the person they are given to, can make a nice smaller gift for him or her.
A Valentine’s day card is a gift that can be easily used to make someone laugh or to bring them into a good mood. Also, a Valentine’s day card does not necessarily have to be store-bought. Writing a personal message on high quality paper, with nice ink, can be much more romantic, than buying the same card millions of men and women will get on Valentine’s day.
Buying high quality gift card paper in a colour related to the Valentine’s day (red or pink), and writing a personal message to the gift receiver, is a great choice for saving money on Valentine’s day. Moreover, a gift that is custom-made and created just for the gift receiver, will be much more appreciated than a gift that is mass-produced.
Flowers on Valentine’s day is the gift almost every woman would like to receive. Flowers on Valentine’s day is an expression of the gift giver’s loving feelings, and can convey many different meanings. The meaning of a bouquet of flowers depends on the flowers in it, and their composition. The flower language (also called floriography) comes from Victorian times. Though not many people these days know the exact meanings of different flowers, creating a bouquet and mentioning that it has a hidden meaning, will create a really thoughtful gift.
Other popular Valentine’s day gifts are electronics, books and clothes. In relation to electronics, it’s important to remember that many gift giving experts advise against giving cooking and cleaning tools as gifts for women, unless they have expressed a desire to receive them.
On the other hand, an interesting book would be a good gift for most men and women on a Valentine’s day. A tablet or an e-reader would impress a technology lover, while clothes would be a good gift for an image-conscious person.
Out of all Valentine’s day gifts for her, the most open expression of heartfelt feelings for a woman would be jewellery. Jewellery tops the Valentine’s day gift lists not necessarily because of its monetary value. Rather, giving jewellery as a gift for a woman on Valentine’s day shows the man’s commitment to the woman, and the willingness to create a solid relationship.
Jewellery, like other expensive Valentine’s day gifts (luxury handbags, expensive scarves, leather gloves, travel sets), can show the serious feelings of a person to the one whom they are giving the gifts to. Yet, it is important to remember that not every person has an appreciation for expensive gifts, or a desire to receive them.
Generally, Valentine’s day gifts for her do not have to be expensive. However, giving obviously cheap or not very well-made gifts will create an unnecessary strain on a relationship. Moreover, it can give an impression that a man does not value a woman enough to give her well-made gifts.
Valentine’s day candy
Valentine’s day wouldn’t be complete without candy or chocolate gifts. Valentine’s day candy is an opportunity to express loving feelings through the medium of food.
A Valentine’s day candy bouquet can be a really fun and a memorable gift to receive. For those young at heart, receiving a lollipop candy bouquet will bring laughter and many smiles on Valentine’s day.
A Valentine’s day candy bouquet made from assorted chocolates will bring joy to any chocoholic’s heart. Moreover, candy bouquets are still not the most popular gifts for Valentine’s day. Giving a gift like a candy bouquet on Valentine’s day, will send the message that the gift giver is willing to search for more obscure gifts for their loved one.
A candy bouquet for Valentine’s day can also be made on your own. Nice gift wrapping paper, some string, and assorted sweets is all takes to make a DIY Valentine’s day candy bouquet. The assortment of candy, and the theme of the candy bouquet, then becomes entirely dependent on the likes of the gift’s receiver. It can be as simple, and as complex, as the gift receiver likes their gifts to be.
Creating a Valentine’s day candy bouquet is not only a way to save money on Valentine’s day. It is also a way to show commitment and readiness to work for the happiness of the gift’s receiver.
Another way of saving money on Valentine’s day is by giving Valentine’s day candy crafts as gifts. Valentine’s day candy crafts only require finding an appropriate recipe, and presenting the candy crafts in a nicely decorated manner.
Creating lollipops by using rose cones and using brightly coloured sticks to present them, is an idea for a Valentine’s day candy craft that is relatively cheap. However, it will look like an expensive and well-thought out gift.
The Internet is full of recipes for Valentine’s day, and finding the most fitting and appropriate candy craft is easier than ever. Moreover, making candy crafts on your own will be less expensive than buying candy or chocolate at the store.
A Valentine’s day candy bowl can be a nice gift to the special someone who appreciates sweets. A Valentine’s day candy bowl can be done at home, or it can be bought.
For those who have a creative side, or like DIY projects, a personalized candy bowl can be the tool to show off their best qualities and attentiveness to the one they love.
A Valentine’s candy bowl can be made according to the interests the receiver has. A personalized gift like a candy bowl can become a heart-warming memento, if done right.
Adding the favourite candy and desserts to the candy bowl, can create a nice and a heartfelt Valentine’s day gift.
A way to save money on a Valentine’s day candy bowl is by making the bowl on your own, and filling it with candy which is on sale. Another way of saving money on a Valentine’s day candy bowl is by using grocery shopping hacks.
Making a candy bowl out of wood or metal, and personalizing it for the gift receiver’s taste, will be a much more personal gift than a store-bought candy bowl.
Financial life hacks are also a method of finding cheaper gifts, and saving money on Valentine’s day. Looking for gifts in more than one place, asking for discounts, and using referral codes are very easy methods of saving money on Valentine’s day. And they just require using some simple financial life hacks.
However, there are some of us who can’t consume chocolate or products with chocolate. Valentine’s day desserts without chocolate are an easy solution to this problem. Some good choices for Valentine’s day desserts without chocolate include sweet cakes without added chocolate, lollipops, and exotic sweets. A cheesecake or any other cake without added chocolate can also be a good choice.
Valentine’s day desserts without chocolate can also be given to those who feel that receiving chocolate on Valentine’s day is banal and boring. For gift givers who are looking for something new and exciting, a candy bowl with exotic sweets or lesser-known candy, will be the perfect gift for Valentine’s day.
If the person, for whom the Valentine’s day bowl is given to, likes to travel, giving a candy bowl with sweets from different regions of the world will be perfect choice. For people who like to make everything on their own, giving home-made cookies or a cake will be the perfect gift.
Valentine’s day ideas
Valentine’s day ideas do not necessarily have to be centred on gifts. An experience can also be great gift for the day, just in a different form. Thoughtful ideas to celebrate Valentine’s day can be ever to some people than the actual gift.
Ideas for a Valentine’s day to do list of experiences can contain a private zoo visit, a weekend trip, a private museum or an art gallery tour, trying out a new sport, a hot air balloon ride or a helicopter ride; cooking, decorating, or an arts & crafts class; going to a SPA together, an escape room visit, a wine tour, or any other pleasant and unusual experience for couples.
Generally, Valentine’s day to do list should contain a gift and/or an experience. Only giving a gift can create an impression that the person giving it is materialistic. A cheaper experience (like an arts & crafts class) will fail flat as a gift, if it is not supplemented with at least a small gift (like a candy bouquet).
A Valentine’s day gift idea, above all, has to be relevant to the receiver. Some gift givers tend to give gifts that they would like to receive, rather than the people who actually end up receiving them. It is an unintentional habit, and it can be hard to get rid of.
To not fall for the trap of giving gifts that are not relevant to the receiver, it’s important to think first of the interests the receiver has, and only then to try finding gifts.
Finding gifts, and then guessing whether the receiver will like them, is a time-wasting manner of choosing gifts. Moreover, choosing gifts in this manner will increase the risk of giving gifts that the receiver won’t appreciate.
It may seem like Valentine’s day is all about gifts and experiences tied in with gifts, rather than genuine feelings (or the Valentine’s day original meaning). Is Valentine’s day a marketing ploy? The answer to this question isn’t straightforward. The original meaning of Valentine’s day is a beautiful story, and giving gifts to a loved ones isn’t a commercialized practice.
However, since the day is a perfect opportunity to sell more flowers, gift cards, and chocolates, it could be said that Valentine’s day has moved in the direction of becoming a marketing ploy.
Yet, all consumers have the choice (and no one is forcing them) to participate in Valentine’s day’s celebrations on their own terms. Each member of a couple have the opportunity to decide how much commercialization they are willing to allow in their gift giving.
Gifts and expectations
A part of the experience of giving gifts is meeting expectations or, more preferably, exceeding them. The easiest way of exceeding expectations for Valentine’s day – giving more expensive gifts than the gift receiver is accustomed to receiving.
Nevertheless, exceeding expectations for gifts and experiences shouldn’t always be a matter of money. Putting in more effort (either mental or physical) into a gift for Valentine’s day, will contribute just as much, if not more, as more money being put into gift giving.
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