Welcome to the third and final part of the Valentine’s Day Series. If you haven’t found a present yet, well… time is definitely running out! But don’t fear – for Reema is here! Wow, that was pretty cheesy, wasn’t it? Moving swiftly on, there’s only a few days till Valentine’s so this last post will contain a whole bunch of ideas that I’ve titled as “miscellaneous” stationery as they don’t quite fall under any one category. There’s still plenty of time to do these ideas because even if you do a “simple” version of them, they could still be really thoughtful and sweet. So without further ado, let’s jump right into the first one.
A gift full of reasons you love them or memories together
You never know how a little message of appreciation could mean the whole world to someone. Next to my bed, I keep a bunch of envelopes. Each of them were from a different retreat or weekend, where I introduced this concept to the group. Everyone had an envelope with their name on it, people then wrote messages to whoever they wanted and added that message to the respective envelopes. At the end of the weekend, they were given their envelope to take home, which was filled with messages from the rest of the group. I keep the envelopes I got next to my bed because they are full of amazing little messages that make me smile. Whenever I’m sad, I know I can read through those and instantly feel appreciated, cared for and mostly just loved. So this idea is based on this concept – because if a group of people I had met a few days prior can have that effect on me then imagine how you’d feel if it was from loved ones?
So what do you need to do?
Get an envelope or a container of some sort and add a whole bunch of messages in there. Messages that contain the reasons you love them, things you appreciate about them, things you admire them for… Whatever it is, make it positive, encouraging and happy. You could add some memories that you love about the two of you as well. If you have children, this could be a great way to get them involved too. Together, all of you could write a bunch of messages and gift them to your loved one.
To make it a little fancy, you could use a pretty box or a glass jar and decorate it with a bit of ribbon or a heart shaped sticker, for example. Any box would do, I know TK Maxx often has really beautiful decorated ones with different closures. If you have a local store, that might have something appropriate. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a glass jar then any jar that can be resealed would work, like this food preserving jar from Hobbycraft. If you want something that’s already decorated then this Valentine’s Day jar from Paperchase would be perfect for you. Once you’ve found your container and decorated it as you’d like then you can add your messages into it and close it.
For the messages, you could get a bunch of coloured paper (or perhaps go with a colour theme like different shades of pink, red with white?) or use some nice patterned paper. You could also use shaped paper, like heart shaped ones?! You could buy some premade ones (just Google for “heart die cuts”) but cutting out some yourself is very easy to do too – and might be easier since Valentine’s Day is literally around the corner. They don’t need to be perfect, it’s the thought that counts. If you do want them to be perfect, a cheap way to do it would be to pick up a shaped paper punch. I think this 3 inch heart one or the 2 inch scalloped heart one from Hobbycraft (both of which are currently on sale!) would be super cute!
But can’t you just buy a readymade version?
If you don’t want to do it yourself, then yes, you could also buy ready to write ones! Kikki K sells this cute little “Met You” jar with 20 blank hearts for you to write on. I think the price point is a little high for something you could easily make yourself but if you were thinking of getting a jar and a heart shaped punch that you wouldn’t use it again then it might be better to spend the money on this instead. You could certainly make it yourself for a lot cheaper but this is a faster way of getting the same job done.
Similarly, this absolutely stunning “Met You” DIY Message card from Kikki K features 6 foiled hearts that can be peeled up to reveal a little message. It’s super cute, letting you write 6 reasons why you love the receiver behind each heart. They can then open each window and read the reasons! It’s a similar idea to the jar but only has a few ideas. It could be great if you wanted to give the card to someone who doesn’t live nearby or you won’t be seeing soon, as it’s a lot cheaper and easier to post a card than a glass jar! If you’re in a long distance relationship, for example, this could go internationally without costing you a fortune and it reduces the risk of getting damaged before it arrives there! It does come with a matching envelope but, if you do post it, I would recommend you put the whole thing into another sturdier envelope that says “do not bend” on it.
Who would you give it to?
This would make a great gift for anyone – whether it’s a partner or a friend, a parent or a child, a brother or a sister. It’s a thoughtful little way of letting someone know how much you care. It’s particularly great for those that might be going through a rough patch or hard time, for example someone dealing with a lot of stress at work or in school, someone who might be suffering with bad health (mental or physical), someone who is scared about an upcoming event (such as an exam).
If you get a box with lock space (or any other container that could be locked closed), you could also add some private messages for them (whether that’s naughty or just personal, it’s up to you!) and add a little padlock to it to keep it closed. Obviously, make sure they know the code or it will wind up a bit pointless! I personally love the one I have, which is this cute Heart Shaped Padlock from Tiger. In fact, it’s super cute for any occasion, but just has extra meaning when you attach it to something like this.
The classic “coupons” to redeem later gift
Giving your loved ones some “coupons” that they can redeem has become a little bit of a thing. I would highly recommend you make your own, so you can pick what sort of coupons to give them and really personalise it. If, for example, they complain you never go to the cinema with then you could give them a coupon or two that they could redeem which offers to take them. It’s a great way to show you know them well and listen to them! Making them yourself not only allows you to customise each coupon to something you think they would love but also allows you to decide how many of each coupon you want to give. You may, for example, want to give them several “breakfast in bed” tokens but only one “full body massage” coupon – it’s totally flexible (excuse the unintended pun) and up to you!
Now, I’ll admit it outright – I love the rolls of coupons that Tiger do. I saw an ice cream one in the summer that I just had to have and now, there’s a Valentine’s version so I couldn’t resist but grabbing that too. It contains 200 coupons in the roll, that come with 5 different coupons (2 of them are kisses so there’s only 4 different actions). There’s a lot of tickets so you may not want to give them the whole roll but they are in the same shape as the tokens you’d get from an arcade machine, which I think is super fun. If you decided to do a treasure hunt, like mentioned in Part 1 of this series, then these tokens could be “earnt” as prizes throughout the game. There’s 1 for a hug, 2 for kisses, 1 for a homemade dinner and 1 for a movie night. I picked up this roll because it was super cute but I think I’ll give my mum some of these “hug” coupons as she’s always complaining that I don’t hug her enough and perhaps some of the “homemade dinner” coupons for her too, as she often complains I don’t cook food for her. “Movie nights” are a big thing in my family so I’ll be saving those to add to my scrapbook or planner for those nights. I know this roll is aimed at couples for Valentine’s Day but honestly? A lot of it is versatile and for £1, you can’t really go wrong!
If you want a few different tokens (or simply less than 200 of them!) and perhaps something less red/pink or with less lips on it then this “Met You” coupon card from Kikki K is super cute. It’s a little pricy compared to the roll of coupons but it’s justified as it comes with a beautiful gold foiled design on the front and all six coupons have also been perforated so you can easily take them off to redeem them, without damaging the rest of the card.
I really love this one because all of the ideas are perfect for anyone you love, not just your partner. Your children would probably appreciate having “one uninterrupted sleep in” if you’re always waking them up early and they moan about it! Though you may want to add the criteria that it can’t be used on school days on the back of it before they try that – as I know I would have done that if my mum gave me one when I was little!
The way to most people’s heart is through food!
I know they say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach but let’s be fair, who doesn’t love being treated to their favourite food by someone they love? Whether it’s breakfast in bed or a homemade three course meal for dinner, food is a great way to do something special for someone. You could even make them a packed lunch to take to work, if they are working that day. Treat them to something you might not normally do. It doesn’t have to be a proper meal, either. If you’re into baking then you could make them cookies or cupcakes. And just to make it a little bit more special, why not use a super cute cookie stamp or cover your cake with heart shaped flags? If they like eggs, then you could get a heart shaped egg mold. You could even shape the ice that you use with this heart shaped ice cube tray – which, by the way, you could use for other treats too! For example, you could make heart shaped chocolate or candy using it (I’ve done that before).
The small decorations that go a long way
If you’re planning to have a romantic night in, why not go a little extra this time? Having the right lighting can have a huge impact on the mood in the room. Candles, for example, could give the room a beautiful romantic mood – and if you get scented ones that you both would enjoy then that’s even better! I love the quote on the pictured one, which is from Paperchase. If you do opt for candles, make sure you think about fire safety and use proper tealight or candle holders, being mindful of the location of them and surrounding flammable objects. Don’t put the open bottle of wine next to the candle or place the candle right under the curtain, for example!
For a slightly safer option, why don’t you turn off the main lights and opt to go for indoor fairy lights? If you put them high up then you might be able to keep it out of any children’s hands or pets’ reach! You can even get heart shaped lights, which I’ve seen in Paperchase (pictured), Wilko and Tiger but will also be available in numerous other places. Fairy lights could be a good lighting for snuggling together under a massive duvet whilst watching films and candles could make your dinner a little bit more romantic.
What else can you do?
There’s not that much time left before Valentine’s Day so whatever you do, make it quick. I personally think it would be great to do a lot of these ideas spontaneously for your loved ones, rather than just on Valentine’s. However, if you head back to the introduction, you can check out the rest of the series if you missed them. There’s two other posts with gift ideas and activities that you can do with your loved ones this Valentine’s Day!
Thank you for joining me in this mini series, I had a lot of fun! I would love to know if any of these ideas are things you’ve tried or want to? Let me know how they go for you or if you have any other ideas! I’d love to do something different so comment away with any suggestions you have!
Note: All of the photos and images featured in this post belong to the respective stores (Paperchase, Kikki K, Tiger & Hobbycraft). I’m not sponsored by any of these to share these products. I’m sure there are other companies who’ve also got some great products out there but these are the ones I’ve come across myself that I liked.