valentines day gift ideas

Ah February, the month of love! Some people love Valentine's Day, others don't; I'm a big, soppy, hopeless romantic so I think you can guess which category I fall into! I know it's a super commercial, Americanised holiday but I like the idea of having a day to indulge in being all romantic + showing your partner how much you care about them! My boyfriend + I became 'my boyfriend + I' the day after Valentine's Day so I think I'm allowed to fall for the hype! I don't like the super corporate, over advertised side with every shop filled with tacky teddies + money-waster gifts but I try to distract myself from that nonsense + concentrate on cutsie side, aka being in denial!

Being a creative person, when I something catches my eye, half the time I think "ooh I wouldn't mind having a go of that myself!" both a curse + a blessing seeing as I don't actually have that much spare time on my hands! I love anything handmade + the sentiment that comes with spending that little extra time to put your personal touch to something. With boy's being a little harder to shop for on this particular holiday, I at least like to make sure that I have the perfect card!

PAPERCHASE sweep me off my feet £2.50; love you muchly £2.75; light switch £2.50; my valentine £2.25; love you babe £2.75; alphabet £2.50. 

(Sorry if you can't really make out what the cards say but the links above will take you to each card.)

Paperchase always stock real quirky cards + for Valentine's it's no different. With a mix of cute + cheeky cards there's something for everyone's personal taste! To add that extra personal touch you could always create a card on moon pig + funky pigeon. I've used Moon Pig for cards a few times now + always have been 100% happy; it's so easy to customise the text + to add your favourite photo!

I WANT ONE OF THOSE 'i love you' sweet words £16.99; PAPERCHASE black kraft square scrapbook £8.50; URBAN OUTFITTERS red glitter heart photo frame £5; ASDA moet & chandon champagne brut £32.48; AMAZON red heart shaped sky lantern £5.66.

I don't really get the whole buying proper presents for Valentine's Day, cute gifts on the other hand are okay! Last year I bought a scrapbook from Paperchase + filled it full of photo's of all the fun things we had done over the past couple of years. I actually got a deal off Groupon for the printing of the photo's too so it worked out to be a soppy, sentimental + pocket friendly gift! After making a scrappy research book for my university project + really enjoying it, I wouldn't mind doing a one for myself if I get any spare time! I also love this Urban Outfitters glitter frame! They had snow globe versions in store Christmas time, I think they are so cute + a great gift for a little bit of fun!

I don't like milk chocolate so I think this sweet 'I love you' gift appeals more to me than my boyfriend! This is such a great idea to re-create at home; there are tons of tutorials online to make your own boxes, you could then fill them full of your partners favourite treats or little IOU's! Another sickly cute gift idea is this red ballon lantern, maybe a little too soppy but undeniably something a little different!

If I was to spend a bit of money on a Valentine's gift it would be on a nice bottle of bubbly! This will be our fourth Valentine's day together with each year spent completely different, ranging from a spa day to a surprise weekend in Birmingham to a quiet night with a home cooked meal + a DVD. I love a nice glass of champagne so usually pick up a nice bottle from the supermarket to make dinner at home a bit special or to celebrate in the hotel room while we're getting ready if we stay away! Plus you can both enjoy, ever so sneaky! I'd love to know if you've given/received any non-traditional valentines gifts!(: