15 Valentine’s Day Gifts for Every Type of Relationship

I decided that to try to feel a little better he would do a kindness for someone else, which inspired him to bring those gifts to his friend. Bearing witness to his gesture, and their friendship, permanently re-framed Valentine’s Day for me. Now instead of cynically seeing it as a day driven by commercial interests and marketing, focused on couples and romance, I see it as a day driven by appreciation,

Umm, what about long-term partners, unmarried, no kids? Pragmatic romantics in fact. We’re not going to be sweeping each other off for dinner in Paris but we love and understand each other very deeply. Apart from over Valentines Day – I never get this right!

a funny gift would be the whimsical, vintage, Taylor and Ng mugs that, if you look closely, are of animals being, ahem, “frisky”! you can find them on etsy.

You need a married with teens who will be starting college soon…and it needs to be free because you are broke and all your money is going to tuition, SAT prep class, winter dance flowers….

Thank you for always being so inclusive of all types of relationships. As someone in a same-sex relationship, I can’t tell you how much it means to me to see us represented in your posts. <3

My boyfriend is going to be in Japan on Valentines this year, and I’ll be spending the weekend at home with my mum and my cute 1 year old nephew while my brother and sister-in-law go for a fancy Valentines date. I’m going to buy some posh chocolates for my mum and I to share after we put my nephew to bed. Yay!

Last year, my (now!) boyfriend and I been out on maybe three dates, and he text to say “happy valentine’s from your not-so-secret admirer” and I just about collapsed into a puddle. I showed my affection by sending back a picture of a rose a coworker had bought me and said “you’ve got competition, buddy!”. I quickly clarified that the coworker had bought them for EVERYONE and that I was also his not-so-secret admirer. We’re celebrating the anniversary of our first date today!

Thank you for this sweet, uplifting post. It reminds me of one day at work a few years back when a man walked through the front door of our office loaded down with flowers, candy, chocolate, a stuffed animal- every Valentine’s type gift you can think of. He was delivering them to one of my colleagues, who told me later that they had been friends for a long time. On the day he showed up at our office his father was in hospice and the end of his life was imminent. It was a difficult day for the family, and they were having to make some hard decisions. This man decided that to try to feel a little better he would do a kindness for someone else, which inspired him to bring those gifts to his friend. Bearing witness to his gesture, and their friendship, permanently re-framed Valentine’s Day for me. Now instead of cynically seeing it as a day driven by commercial interests and marketing, focused on couples and romance, I see it as a day driven by appreciation, kindness, and thoughtfulness- not just for my husband, but my son, the neighbors, the clerk in the grocery store, my sisters, my parents, my dear friends. Spread the love around. We need it, right? and it does make me feel happy. (Epilogue: within the following year these two friends were married.)

My partner has never been big on Valentine’s Day. We’ve done the typical go out for dinner, one year we went to a concert. I will usually buy him a funny card and maybe a little gift but nothing major. One year he noticed that I was a little bummed about his lack of enthusiasm surrounding the day and surprised me by replacing my shower head. Mine was broken and hanging by a thread (literally). When I noticed it the next day I about peed my pants laughing so hard. From then on he has kept on the tradition of surprising me with very practical, home improvement type gifts that always makes me laugh. Last year he spent the whole day hanging bistro lights in our backyard and we sat outside and had cocktails admiring the view. It may not be traditional or even overtly romantic, but it’s our thing and I love it. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday, and I’m proud to say I’ve convinced a few naysayers to look at it with new eyes! I’m get so excited for it every year! These are very sweet ideas. <3 <3 <3

My tradition (going on eleven years, now) has always been a nice bottle of wine, a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, and a classic Michael Douglas double feature: Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct.

We’re not big Valentine’s people AND we have young children, so our solution the last few years has been a family celebration. We decorate the kitchen table with some cheesy heart-shaped decor. My husband buys flowers for both of our girls and me. The girls and I make special treats for my husband (5 year old requested chocolate covered strawberries this year). We all make/write cards for each other. Then we do a fun family dinner. Some years we’ve done all red food (i.e. pasta with tomato sauce, salad with red lettuce, and red fruit salad), others we’ve incorporated heart-shaped food (egg muffins baked in a heart-shaped muffin tin, heart-shaped pancakes, pink smoothies). Then we eat our dinner by candlelight, listen to soft piano music, and tell each person around the table why we love them. It’s pretty simple but our whole family LOVES it. It makes our kids feel so special and it’s a great reminder about all the different kinds of love. Then after the kids are in bed, hubby and I try to enjoy a little at home date night with drinks and a romantic comedy by the fire. After 15 years of marriage, this is by far my favorite Valentine’s Day tradition we’ve tried. Not too much effort but very meaningful, not too expensive, and I can be in my stretchy pants by 8:30 pm. Perfection!

My husband is traveling this year for Valentine’s Day, so I invited a bunch of friends and fellow romance novelists in NYC to my apartment for a reading! I’m going to have chocolates and champagne and am asking everyone to bring their favorite love poem, book excerpt, or something they’ve written to read aloud. I can’t wait! It’s the first Valentine’s Day I’ve looked forward to in a long time.

I first knew I wanted to marry my husband on our first Valentine’s, only one month into dating, and now — 11 years in — he still gets me the same things: a funny, sexy card; six beautiful, local chocolates handpicked from the display case; and a huge vase of hydrangeas and tulips. Be still my heart <3

My boyfriend and I have been together for over 3 years, living together for about 7 months. He’s become Cat Dad to my cat, Gomez, and I tease him that he only moved in with me to have a cat around. We aren’t big Valentine’s Day people, but, I saw an ad for those socks where you can put your pet’s face on socks, so he’s getting a pair of Gomez socks for Valentine’s Day. I think he’s going to love them more than he loves me, so, about as much as he loves the cat!

I love the excuse to love on my friends and family, so Valentines Day is so fun! I try to always send a special card at the very least. I usually find something sweet/heart themed for my sisters and mom. For my gf’s I find something that is a favorite. Prosecco and a monogram wine stopper for one bestie this year, and an adorable Snoopy pillow for the other bestie. I also love to pick out a book with a love theme or bring coffee or favorite chocolates. Anything that lets someone know I am listening to you and I remember the little favorites you have dropped along the way. :)

My best friend and I always give each other lipstick for Valentine’s Day! It is such a fun thing to look forward to in the middle of a dreary winter!

Fat Toad Farm caramel sauce is the absolute best! I attended college in Vermont, where it is created, and my college roommate and I used to make brownie sundaes with it a little too frequently. The perfection of box brownies, vanilla ice cream, and goat’s milk caramel sauce is unbelievable!