Don't be caught out on February 14th. Check out our top ten thoughtful Valentine's Day gift ideas for those on a budget.
If you’re on a tight budget you can still show someone you care with these ten cheap but thoughtful gift ideas.
Home spa day
It’s nice to be pampered and your home is as good a place as any to do it.
You don’t need to spend hundreds of pounds on expensive spa days and shell out extra for the treatments. Instead you can buy the products at a fraction of the price and treat each other to a day off from the stresses of modern life.
Sanctuary Hot Sugar Scrub is available for £11.25 or Sanctuary Massage Body Oil can be purchased for £7.50, both of which are products used in the pricey treatments at the Sanctuary Spa that you can buy and use at home. All you need is some luxury dressing gowns and slippers to recreate that spa day vibe!
Decoupage handmade gifts
Don’t waste money on anything that you can make yourself, especially as it always means so much more to receive something handmade.
One technique I’m a fan of that is really easy to get into is decoupage. The process involves using assorted cuttings and gluing them onto an object like a jar, old shoe box, hangers or even a cheap photo frame to transform it into a thoughtful personalised gift.
So whether your partner loves superheroes or cats you can gather some images from a magazine, newspaper, wrapping paper, stickers, cards or comics and paste them onto an old object like a jam jar with PVA glue to turn it into something fun, new and personalised.
Here are some decoupage examples to give you some ideas on what you can create.
Collect or write some poetry
Use poetry to express how you feel about those you care about. You could use famous love poems and personalise to suit, write your own, or you could make a collection of meaningful verses.
Use your local library or go online for inspiration. One of my favourite poems is the The Sun Rising by John Donne, but check out the sonnets from poets like Shakespeare, Edmund Spencer and Elizabeth Barrett Browning for some other good picks. You can adapt this idea to give something meaningful to a friend or family member too.
Personalised gift basket
You could put together a personalised hamper of affordable treats giving you the chance to show off what you know about your loved one and praise their little idiosyncrasies.
You could get them a copy of their favourite magazine, include a few of their favourite sweets, get a DVD of the movie you first went to see together, some weird foods only they eat and a little something they might need like socks or a diary to get organised. It doesn't have to cost the earth - check out pound shops to source the goodies.
Hobby related gifts
If your partner plays an instrument, sport, likes to cook or has a love of fashion, try to get a cheap related gift. A guitar pick maker, new squash balls, interesting cooking ingredients from Oil & Vinegar or even a magazine subscription to something like Vogue or GQ are thoughtful and affordable, costing between £4 and £20.
Photo fun
[SPOTLIGHT]Nice snaps or even movies you have of you and a loved one can serve as a great affordable Valentine’s Day present. You could make a photo slideshow to a soundtrack and burn it onto a DVD. MACs and Windows PCs usually come with a basic version of free software that can do this for you.
Or if you wanted to spend a bit of money Photobox and Snap Fish have innovative ideas on how to turn snaps into thoughtful gifts. You can turn photos locked on your computer into placemats, coasters, calendars, cups, jigsaws, iPhone cases or even photo books from under £9.
Memory scrapbook
You don’t have to limit yourself to pictures to create a great gift on the cheap. Use old ticket stubs, movie tickets, flyers, club or restaurant business cards, old posters and other mementoes you might have collected over the years in a thoughtful scrap book with annotations where appropriate.
You can get one for £5 from Paperchase.
Mixed CD
Unless your loved one hates music, a mixed CD can’t fail. You can buy a ten-pack of cheap blank CDs for around £6 at Amazon and burn a playlist made up of lovesongs, special tunes or even just tracks they might like but never heard before.
Take a little time to personalise the artwork and write the song names on the back.
Cook a meal or bake treats
If you're short on cash and can’t afford a nice meal somewhere then prepare something delicious at home for dinner or get baking. You can get loads of recipe ideas from Lovefood to impress and delight.
Make it that extra bit special by creating a dinner menu and light candles in an old glass bottle.
Voucher booklet
You could create a voucher booklet to present to your loved one with inventive things you could do that they would appreciate. It could include coupons for a night watching the football, going on a shopping date or breakfast in bed.
But it could even include other vouchers you might find in your local paper or online for meals out, money off at one of their favourite shops or discount codes they might like to use to buy something special.
More on saving money:
How to cut the cost of your cinema tickets
Poundland versus Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s
How to get your hands on free stuff
Loveholidays.com: new site that will save you a fortune on your holiday