Valentine’s Day Gifts – 5 awesome (and cheap) ideas

Breakfasts in bed

A breakfast tray is a lovely Valentine’s Day gift that keeps on giving. If your partner is partial to breakfast in bed then buy a tray with legs (which allows for movement without spillage). Include a note or a book of vouchers for breakfasts in bed ( a kid could be encouraged to make the voucher book…just sayin’).

Shopstyle or IKEA both offer low cost trays.

Cost: Under $40 (the IKEA one is $15)

Love coordinates bracelets

Made by a social enterprise in Bali, these unisex bracelets are custom made to include the coordinates of a place that is special to your relationship. Maybe it’s where you first met or your wedding or honeymoon location or where your partner was born. You name the place and they make the bracelet. Order one each so you can both wear a reminder of that special place.

Tip: Make the coordinates a surprise. If your partner puts them (e.g. 27.7079N 80.0242W)  into the Google maps search box the mystery location will be revealed

Cost: Less than A$40 each, depending on the $US exchange rate.

Photos of your shared history

Gather photos of some of your favourite ‘couple’ moments from the duration of your relationship – the holidays, the birth of your kids, your wedding, photos from dates you’ve been on. Upload them to a digital photo frame and give it as a gift to your partner. Having the constant, revolving display of your love for each other is a lovely reinforcement.

Digital frames are hard to find. Your best best is eBay or Amazon.

Cost: Between $50-$100.

Bacon roses

Your meat-lover will go crazy for these delicious crispy bacon bouquets! There are plenty of instructional Youtube videos that show how to make them.

Cost: If you can recycle some fake flowers then it’s just the cost of the bacon and skewers, so under $10.

Give walks in the rain

A super romantic idea – swoon. Get an umbrella large enough for two, buy some colourful waterproof shoes and tie them up with lots of ribbon. Attach a card with a message e.g “For long walks in the rain with me” and present to your partner as a Valentine’s Day gift.
If you want to ramp it up a little then get wet and re-create the kiss-in-the-rain scene from the movie, The Notebook.

Most of the large stores will carry umbrellas and gumboots – try Big W, Target or KMart. Ebay is also a good source, even Bunnings has them. Who would have thought they’d be a source of romantic gifts!

Cost: You can do this for under $50 if you shop around, but it’s more likely to be $100 in a last minute raid.

Need more ideas? Search our treasure trove of Valentine’s Day gift ideas

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Romantic gifts that science says will bring happiness

Buying the perfect romantic gift for your loved one can often result in a visit to decision hell. Should you get that piece of jewellery your partner admired recently or will this start an argument about overspending because the budget is tight? How about equipment for their favourite hobby (that you know nothing about) … with the risk that you’ll choose the wrong brand or an item that doesn’t work with the equipment they already have (can you sense my previous pain?)

The good news is that you can use your money to buy both yourself and your partner happiness if you understand the basics of the science of happiness. And you can cover off that birthday/anniversary romantic gift at the same time. Winning!

Buy an experience as a romantic gift

Do you think the gift you’ll remember on your death bed will the new smart phone your partner gave you or the hot air balloon ride over vineyards at sunrise that you shared? That’s right – ‘to do’ wins over ‘to have’. A study published in 2003 by researchers at the University of Colorado and Cornell University found that purchases of experiences made people happier than material purchases. Need some ideas? Our online tool has loads of awesome suggestions for experiences that can be given as a romantic gift. From gondola rides to gypsy caravans to flight simulators.

Share the experience

A 2013 study by Stony Brook University and the University of Rochester found that experiences shared with others delivered more happiness than material items or solitary experiences. So not only should you buy your partner an experience as a romantic gift, it should be an experience to share (preferably with you!). Winning again!

Make it a novel experience

Of course, you could send your partner and a friend off for an experience, which would also be nice, but if you choose a heart-pumping, adrenaline rushing experience then be sure to do it together. Why? Because science also says that regularly doing things with your partner that are novel and challenging will keep the romance alive in your relationship. New experiences activate the brain’s reward system. If you are rewarding your brain by doing novel things with your partner it builds an association between spending time together and being rewarded (in the same way addictions work).

A word of caution

Don’t rush off and book a sky-diving session for two if your partner is terrified of heights. That will end badly. ‘Novel and exciting’ doesn’t equal terrifying. If your partner is timid then start slowly – learning a new skill is enough to be novel and you can build up to bungee jumping over time (or not). There are plenty of ideas in our online romantic ideas tool.

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