Your valentine will love these gifts
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Here are some simple gift ideas for Valentine’s Day. Extravagance is out, and meaningful is in as you honor your valentine:
■ Make a Lollipop Bouquet. This simple project means you have to go to the store and find pretty lollipops. Once home, fill a small vase with sand, red hots or – and this is what I used – sugar. Pop the candy into the vase and add a ribbon. Place a valentine card next to it – and there you have it.
■ Hide a Card. A hidden valentine card or note in a lunchbox, briefcase or coat pocket is a nice surprise in the middle of the day if you can’t be together.
■ Cook a Favorite Meal. This is one of the best ways to a man’s or woman’s heart. How about meatloaf? I know that sounds crazy, but it’s an easy meal to make and it doesn’t hurt that I use tomato sauce on top to add some “red” for the occasion.
■ Traditional Dozen Roses. Yes, it seems cliched, but there is nothing wrong with tradition. Spice it up a bit by purchasing roses in chocolate instead of the garden variety. Or send as many roses as years you’ve been married.
■ A Special Breakfast. Pancakes are a special treat in my house because we don’t think to make them that often. If you plan ahead, you can pull together the mix, some berries and heart-shaped cookie cutters. Once the pancakes are cooked, cut out heart shapes and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Have berries and syrup on the side, and you’re done! Extra credit goes to those who cut a heart stencil out of cardboard and dust the pancake with a powdered-sugar heart!
■ A Family Night. Valentine’s Day is for the entire family as well as your spouse and there is time for both. Set aside some time after dinner to play a game that is a family favorite.
■ Switch Duties. It gets to be a drag doing the same chores all the time. For the week of Valentine’s Day, switch duties. Men, do the cooking. Ladies, take out the garbage. Guys, do some wash. Gals, fill up the gas tank.
■ A Spa Date – for Him! Although men are afraid to admit it, the idea of going to a spa with massages, pedicures and facials – basically pampering – probably sounds pretty good to them. If your man is up for it, go together and enjoy the time together.
■ Colors and Shapes. Actually, anything in red and/or pink, or in a heart shape, will make a perfect Valentine’s Day gift. For instance, school folders in pink and red tied with a bow; heart-shaped candles; white undies and socks with a bag of red hot candies included – the list goes on. Just dress it up with ribbons, bows, candies and cards and your thoughtfulness will be appreciated.
■ Make a Photo Album. It doesn’t take that long to select a few of your favorite photos of you and your spouse or your whole family. Now this isn’t a scrapbook, it’s a quick and easy photo album for your loved one to browse through and share with others.
■ Draw a Relaxing Bath. No, not for you; for someone else. Get the candles lit, the bath beads close at hand, dim the lights and fill it to the brim with bubbly hot water. While your valentine is soaking, take a clean towel and toss it in the dryer to warm it up. Wow, I got the shivers just thinking about it. Winter nights are the perfect time for hot baths.
■ Hand-Write a Letter. On real stationery, not a lined yellow legal pad. This isn’t so much about a love letter as it is about giving some time of yourself to say hello to someone out there who might be lonely or just surprised to hear from you.
■ Wash the Dishes. If you don’t normally have dish duty, it’s nice to lend more than a helping hand. Do it all yourself. Send your significant other to the TV or a favorite book and clean up the kitchen. You may find that you like the time to yourself and can start a new tradition.
■ Make a Special Cover-Up. When my daughter was away at college, she missed many of the holidays at home. So to make up for them, I would do something extra special for her and send it. One year I made a flannel blankie for her out of valentine-themed fabric.
■ Buy a Toy. Matt suggests that you get the guy in your life a Lionel Train or some other nostalgic toy. For her, maybe a replica of a favorite doll, a special game from her early years. Just go online to look for manufacturers of old-time toys.
■ Computer Cleanup. It doesn’t cost that much to get someone (check out the Geek Squad at Best Buy, for example) to clean up a loved one’s computer. This removes viruses and all the extra junk that ends up on your computer, making it run sluggishly.
■ A Closet Makeover. Every woman (and man) would kill for one of these. And I mean get in there and get rid of some stuff. Does he really need 35 old T-shirts? Does she? Most have shrunk and are out of shape. And what about those 30 pairs of socks – or I guess I mean those 30 stray socks that don’t have mates anymore. Get in there and clean your valentine’s closet out. Allow him or her the courtesy of looking through the stuff that you are planning to get rid of so your significant other can salvage anything that really has meaning.
■ A Themed Gift Basket. Do you know your valentine at all? If so, select something that you know he or she loves to do and fill a basket with gift items that support that love. Could it be a sewing basket? A basket with all the fixings to go to the movies? A basket full of hunting, bowling or golfing stuff?
■ Name a Star. You got it: Name a star after your loved one. Go to www.nameastar.net for more information.
-- Make Something ... Anything! Yes, anything homemade or “from the heart” is the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day. Can you sing or play the guitar or piano? Then write a song and perform it for your loved one. Can you sew? Build in the shop? Write poetry? A simple poem, silly as it might seem, will stay with your valentine for years to come.
