Yes you can celebrate Valentine’s Day on a budget
While it would be inappropriate (in addition to being disastrous if you got caught) to give your beloved one a left-over box of Christmas chocolates for Valentine’s Day, there are various ways to celebrate without sending your bank account into overdraft.
Whether Valentine’s Day is a splurge for you or a time to keep expenses in check, there really is something for everyone on this romantic day.
• Rent a hotel room that has a kitchen where you can cook a meal together. It’s a bonus if there is a free breakfast. Remember to use those points that have been piling up on your credit card.
• There are plenty of single people out there. If you do not have a significant other, get together with your friends, dress up and go out for dinner at a trendy restaurant.
• Using recipe cards, write on each one a special memory or sentiment, using markers to decorate each one. Leave them around the house or taped to the steering wheel for your spouse to find.
• Secretly put a playlist of your shared favourite songs on your partner’s phone.
• It may be too cold to go outside for a picnic, but your living room floor is toasty warm. Set up a picnic blanket, basket and some fluffy pillows so you can watch a favourite movie while enjoying your snacks.
• Name a star for your loved one or as a couple. There are several different packages available at The Star Name Registry.
• Cozy up together on the sofa with your preferred beverage and work your way through ‘The Big Activity Book for Couples’ available from Amazon for $19.50.
• Prepare a book of homemade ‘love coupons’. Some coupon suggestions to get you started are: five nights off doing dishes, loading/unloading the dishwasher, one complete house vacuuming, taking the vehicle(s) to the car wash, choose where to go for dinner, washing/drying/folding/putting away two loads of laundry.
• Enroll both of you in one or more dance classes.
• Go to a wine tasting venue which includes you both making a painting that you can hang at home as a memory of that fun night.
• Pick up a copy of the booklet/magazine that is handed out to travelers visiting your area. Inside, you will find a variety of money saving coupons that you don’t have to be a tourist to use.
• Roses on Valentine’s
Day may be traditional, but they are the costliest at this time of year. If you are steadfast about giving flowers, check out the carnations or a blooming plant such as an African violet or Christmas cactus.
• If dining at a restaurant is not in your budget, find a recipe online and cook it at home with your loved one. When you add an elegant table setting that includes candles, you will treasure each other’s company as much as you would spending this time at a restaurant with three times the cost.
• Give back to your community as a couple by helping to serve at a soup kitchen or by sorting food at a food bank. They are always looking for volunteers.
• Buy a rectangular container that will fit in front of a window along with soil and seeds to plant an herb garden. Herbs are easy to grow and they add fresh goodness to your homemade meals.
• Make a chocolate bar bouquet in place of flowers or chocolates. Not a chocolate fan? Try a fruit basket.
• Have a fondue together at home - steak, mushrooms, onions and seafood in peanut oil followed by strawberries, cherries and bananas in milk chocolate.
• Sign up at a local hardware store workshop where you can make an item to take home and learn how to use some tools.
• Go geocaching. Simply download the app to your phones and head out on an adventure. GPA enabled devices will take you on a giant treasure hunt for fun.
• Check out your local bars for free live music or ones with a small cover charge.
• While your partner is not home, use dollar store purchases to decorate your home. After you surprise them with your ingenuity, order takeout for dinner.
• Stage your own photo shoot using both formal and funny wear. Make a collage in a frame to commemorate that special day.
• If you are single, get together with your other unattached friends and have a house party with a pot luck dinner.
• Visit an arcade for some friendly competition.
• Enjoy a movie night at home with popcorn and other snacks. If you do not subscribe to channels such as Netflix or Prime, check with your local library where you can rent DVD’s or digital copies of films for free with your membership.
No matter how you choose to celebrate, being with the one you love is the most important part of Valentine’s Day. Even if you are single, you can still partake in activities with your best friend or even a group of your likewise unmatched besties. As a couple, whether you sit together on the sofa watching a movie, go out for dinner or attend a dance, remember how lucky you are to be in love with your best friend riding this roller coaster we call life.