21 Valentine's Day 2017 ideas: plan your perfect date on a budget
You are on a budget and you are looking for an idea for your Valentine’s day date without breaking up with your pay check? Do not worry, love cannot be bought and you do not need to pay too much for a perfect date with bae. Here are 20 great ways to spend less and have more fun on your 2017 Valentine’s day!
1. Plan a romantic dinner at home
It is not because you want to save money that you have to plan your dinner at home, it is because you want bae to have an unforgettable Valentine's day. You can start with noting down your girlfriend/boyfriend’s favorite dishes. The next thing you need to do is to thoughtfully prepare the menu and set the romantic mood before the date starts.
Do not forget the music and candles, be creative when choosing romantic decorations. You should also take time to decide on the appropriate location: if you plan to eat in the garden, make sure it is bug-free. Think about the place you do not normally eat so the night would be more special.
Tip: Always have a backup plan in case things go wrong. Make sure you have instant noodle or frozen pizza to save you when your home cooked meals do not go smoothly.
2. Have a romantic movie night
Movie night at home is not only simple to set up but also easy to plan. All you have to do is to choose a great movie (romantic and comedy is the best to lighten the mood). Then you should set up the romantic atmosphere with a warm blanket and some pillows. And of course, a movie night is not a movie night without popcorn and snacks.
3. Spa night
You do not need to spend a lot of money to have a fancy sauna, you only need some home items to set up a romantic spa night with your love one. Spending a cozy night is one of the best way to make Valentine’s day more special.
Here are the checklist you might need to look through: scented candles, healthy drinks (like fresh juice, vitamin water etc.), essential oil, shampoo, conditioner, scrub, bubble bath, face mask, smooth rocks for the massage, towels, lotion. You can plan all the special treatments that you want bae to enjoy such as steam shower, haircut etc.
4. Have fun at the arcade bar
You and bae might love to spend time at the mall, but this Valentine's day forget all the clothing stores, let’s go to the arcade bar and have fun. Try to win a big teddy bear as a gift for your love one.
5. Go stargazing
Another idea for a romantic Valentine's day is stargazing. If it is too cold or cloudy for a real night sky, take your love one to the planetarium.
6. Hit up the museum
Some museums are free entry and a natural history museum might be a good choice for you. Who doesn’t love dinosaurs and taxidermy collections? When you are on a budget, do not miss the fun that is free!
7. Spend a night at the karaoke
What is the best part of being a singer? Fun! Take a couple of shots and sing your heart out during a duet.
8. A surprise getaway
An idea that will melt her heart is an experimental gift. Do not forget to put some romance into your agenda. A simple tent and a flashlight might not be costly, but you will need to get some Valentine's day atmosphere such as roses and balloons etc.
9. Go for a snowball fight
Winter is not over yet so why not have an active Valentine’s day outside and have some fun? Put on your snow pants and find a perfect sledding hill or a nearby park. After a snowball fight, do not forget to have some romantic time with a hot cup of choco for two.
What about Valentine's gift ideas? Do not worry, here are the list of the unique Valentine's gifts you should not miss to win your partner's heart! Remember, the gifts do not need to be expensive but they must come from your heart. It is not difficult to be on a budget and show your love in eveything you do to make Valentine's day sweeter at the same time.
10. Handmade vouchers
Are you looking for a Valentine's day gift for your partner? Because cheesy gifts are the best gifts, design a coupon book and print it out to surprise your love one.
You can check out the top ideas for your love coupon book:
- Breakfast in bed
- Movie night
- A big cuddle
- Candle-lit dinner
- Slow dance
- Laundry
- Free wish (this coupon is for when you run out of ideas)
Note: Because this coupon book is for your partner, do not write the vouchers which you would like. You should spend time to find out what your love one like and surprise him/her with your thoughtfulness
11. Valentine's day sweet treat: chocolate and roses
Your love day will never be completed without chocolate and roses. A box of handmade chocolate for him and roses for her, that might be enough for a perfect date.
You can be creative with the best chocolate related recipes for Valentine such as molten chocolate lava cake, Chocolate Soufflés, Fudge Brownie Hearts, Mocha Meringue Kisses, Original Chocolate Fondue etc.
12. A mixtape
Music- the best way to express love. You can follow the traditional way by using cassette tape, but now CDs or even flash drives filled with MP3 files can serve the same function.
Note: Be selective with all the songs you choose, you do not need to fill up your mixtape with a hundred love song. Maybe you only need 3 songs to show him/her your message. Less is more, do not forget to add a name to your mixtape and decorate it.
13. A book box
A classic gift of all time: book. However, you should be more creative with your gift by adding some love: you can put your partner's favorite coffee or tea into the box, some scented candles that he/she would like or a bookmark made by you.
14. Follow the pom-pom trend
Wait, why do you should follow this trend? Because the pom-pom trend will not go away—it’s everywhere from clothing to accessories to even home décor. Plus, not only pom-pom is so cute it is also easy to DIY (in case you do not like DIY, pom-pom accessories and home decor are not expensive).
Tip: a cute pom-pom beanie would be a perfect gift this year, do not wait to find a way to make it yourself!
15. A writing box
Does your partner love to write? If the answer is yes, you should give your partner what he/she likes the best. Prepare a Valentine's gift box with a note book, a pencil box, a good pen, some stickers and a day runner notebook. Choose each of the items carefully by imagining how your partner would use your gift.
16. His and hers gifts
- What your partner and you both like
- What your partner and you both need
- What your partner likes and he/she would love if you like it too
Be creative, you can think about some humorous pillowcase, phonecase or hoodie etc. This Valentine's day, you can also show how serious the relationship is by giving matching rings or necklaces.
17. A jar or a box of reasons
This is a cheesy gift idea, you know why? Because Valentine's day is the best occation to warm up your love! You should prepare a beaufitul box or jar, fill it with the reasons why you love your partner. You can also put it the jar the love message you want to send, a song lyric makes you think about him/her, a poem, his/her favorite candy or a heart-shaped teabag etc. All you have to do is to be sweet, be caring, be romantic.
18. Change all the wrappers
It sounds easy but it is one of a kind gift you can think about. You should look for all the items your partner often use (maybe the first think he/she would use in the morning). The next thing yo should do is to change all these items' wrappers into love message. You can be creative and funny with all the message, but it can be as simple as "I love you".
You can buy his/her favorite bread and change it wrappers too! Your partner will feel the love from everything smallest thing you do.
19. A love potion kit
You will need to gather a few lovely things for a romantic night like a bottle of red wine (or pomegrante juice, because the red color is so Valentine's), heart ice cube tray, two glasses, red-white striped straw, some strawberry (or his/her favorite fruit). The most important thing you need to remember is to set the romantic theme on all items of you love kit.
20. Funny Valentine's card
Do not miss the best occasion to be romantic and funny at the same time! You can start with a funny message on the outside of the card such as "I would totally shave my legs for you", "You are my pizza, you make everything better", "I think you are suffering from a lack of Vitamin me". Inside a card, you can melt your partner's heart with every cheesy thing you want to tell him/her.
21. Help your partner manage his/her budget better with Money Lover Premium
Do you and your partner want to be "Together through thick and thin", "For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer..."? Are you planning on a long and serious relationship with your partner? Well, because many couples cannot get through either richer or poorer due to their bad money management skills, giving bae Money Lover Premium would be a good idea to let him/her know you are being serious.
Money management can be challenging for every couple, especially for newlyweds. With Money Lover Premium, the problem is solved. Now you have the most convenient budget planner that let you set unlimited budgets. This friendly and handy application will let you know where your money goes and provide the simplest way to keep track of your spending, plan the budget to save your money up. Because managing budget is important, let bae knows you want a long-term relationship with him/her.
Love is in the air, Valentine’s day is really close. Do you have any other ideas for a date on a budget, or a cute gift that does not cost too much? Share with us by dropping a comment below!
Read on:
1. Easy ways to create and manage budgets with Money Lover