Creative Valentine Gifts

By Joyce Reid

A card and a kiss are nice, but whether you have $10 or $1000 to spend, it's still important to give those Valentine Day gifts some thought.  It's easy to create a more interesting gift than roses and chocolates.  Valentine gifts, created from the heart, will be remembered years from now.

Be thoughtful.  It's not about the money you spend.  Ask yourself what this gift will mean to him or her.  How about something as simple as a small box of chocolates with a lovely heart pin or ring (and they don't have to be expensive) replacing a piece or two.

Shop in advance.  Running to the mall that morning will not make him or her feel nearly as appreciated as when you surprise him/her the first thing in the morning with a wrapped gift that has been hidden away or that you've arranged to have delivered to the office.  By planning ahead, you're showing them that they're not just a part of your last minute list of things to do.  The timing is often more important than the gift itself.

Romantic gifts come in several types:
the Personal
the Traditional
the Silly
and Things to do

While the traditional is easy to arrange, the personal, the silly, and things to do have much more effect precisely because they take more effort to prepare.  Here are a few creative Valentine Day gift suggestions to get you started.

A few well-chosen flowers can make just as important a statement as a dozen roses.  It is all in the presentation.  Select as many flowers as you need for a colorful variety.  Iris, lilies, daisies, roses, or choose the recipients favorite flower. 'Place each flower in a bud vase or a crystal water glass.  Make a gift tag for each flower.  Write on each tag a love token that can be redeemed for something he or she would enjoy -- a movie of their choice, sleeping in on Saturday morning, a back rub, breakfast in bed are some examples.  You could even add a special verse or poem to several of the tags.  Punch a hole in the tag and run ribbon through it.  Then tie one tag on each flower.  Arrange them in various parts of the house that he or she might go.  And remember men like flowers too.

Most guys don't like romantic movies but they can be fun to watch together.  For a special gift, fill a small basket with a couple of old favorite "tug at the heart" movies that you would enjoy seeing together.  Add movie candies, Cracker Jacks, popcorn, your favorite beverages and a box of chocolates.  

Everyone loves the surprise of opening a fortune cookies but for a surprise that will really be remembered, create a custom one.  It's easy.  Heat a fortune cookie in the microwave for 30 seconds.  It will become soft.  Open up the cookie and add your own fortune or a small pair of earrings, or a ring.  Reclose the cookie.  It will harden.

Record a favorite song that both of you love.  Place the tape ready to play in the tape player of the car.  Tape a note to the steering wheel instructing the driver to play the tape on the way to work.  Place a box, filled with chocolates, concert or movie tickets and reservations for dinner at your favorite restaurant, on the passenger's seat.

Buy a new date book and record some date nights and even a trip or two in it.  Don't forget to add your own special notes.

But whatever you, do, don't listen to all the commercials about having to buy roses, chocolates, or diamonds.  Remember that a gift created from the heart will be remembered for years to come.

This article was written by Joyce Reid, owner of Gift Basket Network and Creative Gifts To Go.  She is also a staff writer for Rave Reviews, the leading trade publication for the gift basket industry.