Will You Be My Valentine?

SPOTTED:  The snow is lightly dusting the streets outside of a posh restaurant where a doting boyfriend is treating his date to a romantic Valentine’s dinner.  He says all of the right things, got the perfect present, got the impossible dinner reservation, and looks just as your dream man would.  If your life isn’t right out of the movies, like most of us, then you know how stressful this romantic day is.  Don’t stress, because everything you need for a flawless V-Day is right here!  Read on, my Valentines, because I’ll never tell!

                      XoXo,

             

 All You Need is Love

After New Year’s glitter, pink, hearts, and candy start to takeover the aisles in every store, but of course it isn’t until February that you start actually thinking about Valentine’s Day.  Whether you’re riding solo, hanging with the boy, or spending it with your real soul mates (girl’s night!), I’ve got some creative ideas that won’t break the bank.

Start the day off right!

They say the most important meal of the day is breakfast, so what better way to start your Valentine’s Day than with a little sprinkle of love.  If you’ve got the time to whip up some pancakes, divide the batter and color some of it pink!  Use a cleaned ketchup bottle, frosting gun, or a Ziploc with a corner cut to add a little heart.  If your man doesn’t leave time for a sit-down meal, send him off with these cute little treats!

While pop tarts are super yummy in the morning, this snack is perfect for any time of the day…common who doesn’t like Nutella all day, everyday?! This recipe is super simple, especially if you opt for the prepackaged pie dough.  I go crazy for chocolate and strawberries, but any berry with this recipe will be out of this world!

Share the love!

What’s the point of having a Valentine if you don’t get to exchange Valentines!  Don’t you miss the days in elementary school when you would spend a week on your paper mailbox in art class and excitedly empty the countless Lisa Frank and Nickelodeon Valentines…complete with candy of course!  Well, you can still send out some fun cards to your hubbie, galpals and coworkers.  Last year, my coworkers and I made manila envelope ‘mailboxes’ and exchanged silly Valentines (mine was MadLibs!). 

For Your Man:

Get creative with your cards!  While Hallmark has some awesome cards, the one’s you make yourself really show them how much you care.  I don’t know why, but the layered and bedazzled 3-D cards are so much fun to get.  Papyrus stores have an awesome selection of nice cards and also really sick wrapping paper, like glitter, textured and reversible ones! 

If you, or your Valentine, are not very into cards (they’re just paper you throw away right?) then these DIY Valentines are right up your ally!  Show him how much he ‘comforts’ you with some super comfy briefs (I like funny ones, like those at Urban Outfitters), Southern Comfort (or his fave alch), new (non-holy) socks, and anything else you think he’d like.  Now that’s a bouquet any man will love!

I saw this next idea on Pinterest and was totally smitten by its thoughtfulness, as well as it’s genius underlying plan.  If your man is a no-frills manly-man type who hates date night, this is the Valentine for you!  Get a basket, cloth bin, or the container of your choice and fill it with 12 envelopes.  The dollar store is a great place to get gift basket supplies super cheap.  Inside each envelope are the details for one pre-planned, or pre-paid, date. It’s the gift that keeps on giving…for you too!  The more personal the dates are the more special this gift is; if you’ve talked about trying something new, plan it all out!  Shannon Brown came up with this idea and assembled her envelopes perfectly to make a scrapbook page per date!  Check it out here!

If that sounds like too much work, or you just don’t have enough time to whip it all together, that’s all right…save it for a birthday, holiday or anniversary present!  This gift basket is simple, sweet, and did I mention deliciously corny?  Who wouldn’t want to spend Valentine’s Day sipping on a root beer float for two?  Show your special someone how much they mean to you without breaking the bank!

For Your Friends and Coworkers:

This is such a simple and easy way to create a unique, yummy, handmade Valentine.  Take a trip to your dollar store, Target, or Michaels to grab little plastic bags, stickers, ribbon, or anything else you want to decorate these with.  Don’t forget the heart peeps, Hershey bars and grams! 

If you don’t want to get all mushy, or crafty, this is a simple treat everyone in the office will enjoy.  Show everyone that you are soda lighted to spend 8 hours a day with them!  I absolutely love the glass bottles, and a bunch of soda brands do this now, but if you are afraid of glass (or the price) the cans work too! 

Gift Guide for Your Guy

If you still aren't sure what to get your guy, take a look at these ideas according to how long you've been together!  I hope you're more excited for Friday, and from all of us at Groove, Happy Valentine's Day!