The thought of celebrating Valentine’s Day often conjures up visions of flowers, chocolates, expensive dinners and jewelry … and those images can conjure up thoughts of bills, debts, empty wallets and depleted checking accounts.
There are many ways to show your love for someone that don’t involve financial pain. Even within the expectations of Valentine’s Day, there are many options for keeping costs low that can maintain the romance of the day.
[See: 7 Signs Your Romantic Partner Is Financially Unstable.]
Here are four great inexpensive date and gift ideas for Valentine’s Day:
— Complete a chore your partner doesn’t enjoy.
— Write a love letter in your own handwriting.
— Make a meal your partner loves.
— Make a winter’s “love nest.”
A cost-conscious couple might find these ideas more valuable than a box of chocolates and an overpriced dinner. Read on for more information on each idea.
Complete a Chore Your Partner Doesn’t Enjoy
This might seem like an unusual Valentine’s Day idea, but any couple that co-habitates for a while will immediately know the value of this gift. Few things can be more loving and meaningful than taking care of some tasks your partner doesn’t like to do.
What does your partner take care of that he or she doesn’t enjoy? It might be something like folding laundry or cleaning the dishes. It might be a chore like washing the car or changing out a leaky faucet. Whatever those tasks are, find some time to take care of a few of them and surprise your partner.
In the end, this is really a gift of free time and relaxation. Being able to mark a few things off the old to-do list makes it easy to spend a relaxing evening with a load off your mind.
Write a Love Letter in Your Own Handwriting
Just get out a piece of paper and pen and put down your best thoughts about your loved one, your relationship and what your partner means to you. Having such a document in hand and being able to read it now and in the future is a deeply meaningful and powerful gift, and it doesn’t cost you anything other than a little time and a lot of honesty.
Love letters can be hard to write, so if you need a template to follow, simply start off by saying that you don’t often express what the other person means to you and wanted to do it well. Continue with a romantic memory — maybe the first time you realized you were in love — a brief list of things you love about that person, a few sentences about how that person has changed your life and close with a reaffirmation of that love. It’s OK to be a little cheesy, as it is far better to be cheesy and honest and authentic than to hold back.
[Read: 14 Best Valentine’s Day Sales and Deals for 2019]
Make a Meal Your Partner Loves
Rather than going out for an expensive, fancy dinner, think of a meal that your partner loves and then prepare that meal at home to the best of your ability. Find a recipe for that meal, do most of the meal prep, such as chopping vegetables or cooking some elements and storing them in the fridge, the night before or the morning of the meal. A thoughtful meal is surprisingly romantic.
If you’re not adept in the kitchen, don’t worry. Look for a simple recipe with few ingredients and make sure those ingredients are good. High-quality ingredients will vastly improve any dish, and a simple recipe with few ingredients is easier to pull off successfully.
[See: 10 Expenses Destroying Your Budget.]
Make a Winter’s ‘Love Nest’
In many parts of the country, Valentine’s Day is a very chilly day with snow on the ground. Take advantage of that by building a comfy warm “love nest” in the living room. Get together a bunch of blankets and pillows and cuddle up together to stream a romantic movie. If you have a fireplace, get it going. Pop some popcorn.
There are few things more romantic that you can do on Valentine’s Day than to simply spend time cuddled up next to each other. Just take a few extra steps to make it a little something different and something a little more special.
The best part of these date ideas? You can do all four of these things and create a truly memorable and loving Valentine’s Day without spending much money at all.
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4 Cheap Valentine’s Day Date and Gift Ideas originally appeared on usnews.com
