Quick and Simple Valentine’s Day Gifts Can Mean a Lot!
If you have put off buying that Valentine’s Day gift, don’t fret; it’s not Valentine’s Day yet! There’s still time for us procrastinators to come up with a meaningful gift without having to spend a fortune or come up with something elaborate.
I have compiled some last minute Valentine’s Day ideas and quick Valentine’s gifts that won’t break the bank, but that your sweetheart will surely appreciate. After all, it’s really the thought that counts, and even simple Valentine’s Day gifts can mean the world to those you love!
20 Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Ideas & Simple Gifts They’ll Love
1. Surprise Love Notes
Grab a package of heart-shaped Post-it notes from the grocery store, write down things you love about him or her and scatter them throughout the house. They will love it! (Need some ideas? Check this post from Lana at With A Touch Of Luxe.)
2. Bake a Cake (or Brownies, or Cookies!)
If you like to bake, this is a fun, frugal Valentine’s Day gift idea. If Valentine’s Day falls on a week day, surprise him or her at work by dropping off a plate of their favorite goodies and a note. They’ll surely be the envy of co-workers! Bonus points for making them heart-shaped!
3. Giant Candy Bar Card
One of my favorite Valentine’s Day gift ideas for him is to put together a big card (made with poster board or foam core board) with candy bars attached and cute candy bar sayings. These are so much fun to do! The only hard part is resisting the urge to eat the candy!
4. Make a Pinterest Board
Looking for out of the box Valentine’s Day gift ideas? Look no further than a bespoke Pinterest board! Fill it with images, videos, and websites that speak to your significant other’s interests or that will make them smile.
5. Candy Bouquet
This is a quick Valentine’s Day gift bouquet I made for my husband last year. I was definitely in a “last minute” situation, but luckily I tend to thrive under pressure. :-) He loved it!
Related: Valentine’s Day Sour Cream Cookies
6. Make a Valentine With Household Items
Turn everyday items into a gift with a well-placed pun and a few simple supplies.
- “I donut know what I would do without you!” – donut
- “I love you a latte!” – Starbucks bottled drink
- “I get a charge out of you!” – AA batteries
- “You are the highlight of my life!” – highlighter pen
- “I am stuck on you!” – glue or stickers
- “You are the icing on my cake!” – cupcake
- “I’m bananas for you!” – banana or banana bread
7. Have a Netflix Night
Turn on Netflix, queue up When Harry Met Sally (or your rom-com of choice), and enjoy a night snuggled up together on the couch. My Rom-Com Checklist could come in handy here!
8. Valentine’s Day Crossword Puzzle
Go to Education.com and create a free customized crossword that incorporates words and clues from your relationship. For example: 3 Down: What you hate to take out. Answer: Garbage.
9. Make a Romantic Playlist (or Borrow Mine!)
Make a romantic playlist of your favorite love songs as a thoughtful throwback to the mixtapes we used to make “back in the day.” It’s a gift that will last well beyond Valentine’s Day and doesn’t cost a cent to make. (Feel free to use my Valentine’s Day Playlist instead — your secret is safe with me!)
10. Opening Day Tickets
Baseball season is just around the corner, so why not surprise the sports fan in your life with tickets to opening day? Put the tickets in a Valentine’s Day card, or pair it with a t-shirt or hat.
11. Frame It Up!
Here’s one of my favorite quick Valentine’s gifts: download a free printable (there are lots and lots to be found on Pinterest) and put it in a frame. I love this particular quote! :-)
More Ideas You'll Love
12. Take the Day Off From Parenting
Plan ahead to have the kids stay with Grandma or another relative overnight on Valentine’s Day (or around then — it doesn’t hurt to be flexible!) This will give you both some “alone time” to focus on each other, and to sleep in!
13. Heartfelt Romantic Breakfast
Wake up extra early and start Valentine’s Day off special with a batch of heart-shaped pancakes! Just pour the batter in the frying pan in a free-form heart shape and serve with strawberries and whipped cream. This would definitely show your loved one how much you care. You could also make heart on his smoothie with strawberry juice or even bake some heart-shaped donuts and go crazy with sprinkles!
14. Play Tourist in Your Home Town
Plan some touristy activities that you and your honey have never gotten around to doing, and don’t be embarrassed to take a zillion corny couples pictures.
15. A Winter Picnic
Take a picnic blanket (or even a sheet) and set up a romantic picnic in your living room. Feature food from your favorite deli or gourmet shop, and maybe a fancy beverage. You could also make your picnic an outing, like parking your car at a scenic overlook.
16. Spread the Love
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, so consider branching out from romance into charity and friendship. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, send flowers to nursing home residents, or contact a local women’s shelters to ask how you can best show love to those who live and work there. Little things can make all the difference for people who are in need of a little extra love.
17. Do the Chores They Dislike
Is there a chore that your partner typically does? Is there something he/she has been meaning to do, but hasn’t found the time to do it? For Valentine’s Day, do something that will make your significant other’s life easier. Organize the garage. Take over laundry duties for a week/month. You get the idea.
18. A Dozen Roses + a Dozen Dates
Turn the traditional “a dozen roses” into something extra special. Think of 12 date ideas that suit the both of you, write those down in a card, and gift the card along with a dozen roses. Good Housekeeping has 130 Creative Date Night Ideas that can help you brainstorm.
Want to score extra Valentine points? Have them delivered at work. It will make your beloved’s co-workers sigh at your thoughtfulness and leave your sweetheart smiling.
19. The Gift of Pure Relaxation
If you’ve waited until the very last minute for a gift, a gift card for a massage is a fast option that doesn’t require you to wait for delivery! If you really want to kick up the romance factor, make it a gift certificate for a couple’s massage. Most spas these days offer gift cards or gift certificates!
20. Go Beyond the Chocolates
Chocolate-covered strawberries are my absolute favorite! If you have never tried these, you are missing out. My husband always buys me a dozen for Valentine’s Day. They are divine!
More Ideas You'll Love
More Sweet Ideas For Valentine’s Day
- In the mood for romance, or a sweet treat you can share with the fam? Here are some other Valentine’s Day ideas to consider:
- 6 Romantic Valentine’s Day Mocktails Your Sweetheart Will Love
- Valentine’s Day Dinner For The Whole Family
- A Romantic Valentine’s Dessert For Two
What’s the best Valentine’s gift you’ve ever received?
Lasy Year My Husband gave Me A Box Full Of Hershey Kisses, I Love Chocolate, [:
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband always does a great job surprising me with wonderful gifts. I always love when he buys me tulips.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I mailed surprise boxes of goodies to my 3 college kids. Its been such a long depressing winter and it made me feel excited to send them something fun!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband brought home dinner and flowers and chocolate. I had his favorite dessert ready and some fun candy that we never buy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.One Valentine’s Day, when Apple had just released the ipods, my husband surprised me with a mini I-pod. Engraved with “a thousand lovely things for my love”. (The ipod could hold 1000 songs.) The ipod doesn’t work anymore, but it will always be on my desk, and often one of our 4 kids will pick it up, hold it and read the inscription over and over again.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best Valentine’s present I ever received was a little spiral notebook where every single page was filled up with “reasons why I love you”. It must have taken ages, as well as incredible foresight, for my boyfriend (at the time) to have written such a heartfelt book.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband once gave me a check for a million dollars! It was written on our joint checking account, and, as we were graduate students at the time, we had only about 3 figures in our checking account, not 7. But it was awfully sweet.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I gave my 2 yr old niece flowers and she LOVED them! Seeing her lights up made my day.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite Valentine’s gift came a month early – my husband and I celebrate our anniversary in January and count that as Valentines as well since they’re close together and we are tight on money. He took me to a Hilton downtown where we went on our honeymoon with a jacuzzi tub and had flowers waiting for me when we got there. It was so sweet!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best V-day gift I have received was a surprise date to the ballet.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I gave my husband, then boyfriend, an engraved cigar lighter and a card with matches or something along the lines of being “hot”! :) He loved it!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.In my 17 years w my husband we rarely celebrate Valentine’s Day, but I’ll never forget last year’s – a trip to Largo for a comedy show + Taco Bell Takeout. For some reason the latter was truly special, b/c we appreciated one another even more.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best fit I ever received is actually going to be this weekend. We are going to spend the day together on Saturday, without the little man. We moved almost 2 years ago and it’s probably been that long since we have had a true date. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I like that every year my husband brings me flowers and pulls one out for each of our (now) three girls and puts them in separate vases for them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best V-day gift i have received is my darling 16 year old daughter!! I know for a fact that she was conceived on Valentines day evening! 40 Weeks later…a beautiful baby girl!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.When i was 8 , my Dad and little brother sent flowers to me at school. It was the first ones i ever got and was so proud!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best gift I gave myself, was to quit having high expectations from my husband. He is not a big gifter, so now if I receive something, it is unexpected. We just usually have a nice dinner at home that all our family likes, and then hit up somewhere for icecream afterwards.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best gift I ever got from Valentine’s day was the Valentines day when we were engaged. My hubby gave me my “something blue” to wear on wedding day that he had purchased on a vacation we went on with his family!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband usually gets me several little things for Valentine’s Day that he knows I like…my favorite candy bar, a new scarf , a couple lottery tickets; & the best part is the time we spend snuggled together watching an old favorite movie!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband (boyfriend at the time) took me out to eat awesome Mexican food and frozen yogurt. Afterwards he surprised me by giving me his favorite childhood book Ferninand since I had never read it before!! So sweet since he knows my love for children’s books. Thanks for your great ideas. I love them all, but especially love the crossword puzzle, winter picnic, and breakfast. We shall see, but I am going to attempt to do all of these three things!! You are a life saver lol.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I gave my husband a canvas painting of our kids hand prints saying, we have the best dad hands down!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have 3 daughters and my husband always worked on Valentine’s Day so I would make a special dinner for my girls. Fancy tablecloth with candles and I made Chicken Paprika and Dumplings and salad. The dessert was chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and raspberry drizzle. We would drink a red pop in fancy glasses. I would make each one a Valentine and some little gift. I have done this every year for 27 years. The last few years have been with my youngest daughter and her son. My middle daughter carries on the tradition with her family. That first year was my best Valentine’s Day and it has continued year after year. It is better to give than receive.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best gift I ever gave was a homemade photo book of memories that I placed meaningful quotes around.
The best gift I ever received was a massage…so relaxing and so needed!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you so much! I’m actually going to try the crossword puzzle idea.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite gift to GIVE was last year. I wrapped up all the letters I wrote before we were dating, while we were dating and up until our wedding day(that I gave to him on our honeymoon) and added one more letter to it. It had both of us crying!
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