With the country in recession, new VB contributor (drum roll please), Rosemary Hutton, examines a handful of the hundreds of ideas that can be done for less than a tenner. Ed
Having spent enough February 14ths as a singleton, I have become very jaded about the idea of big bunches of flowers, teddy bears (I hate cuddly toys), boxes of chocolates, and cards from a shop.
Back in the days before commercial corporations took Cupid by the throat and charged people to see him, Valentines Day was regarded as a day to send love notes to your loved one. And before that, it has relation to catholic saints – a history lesson that we should all perhaps take into consideration when having high material expectations of Valentines day!
I personally hate the idea of making it a massive corporate commercial venture.
Making an effort to show that you are capable of expressing your own words speaks VOLUMES.
What I want is to know that the person that loves me is willing to go that extra mile to do something SPECIAL from them to me (and vice versa!)
With that in mind, I’ll be suggesting some alternatives for you to try, starting with …
Get Creative
Grab some card (coloured or plain), some felt-tip pens or pencils, or even some paints and brushes and make a card.
Even if you think you’re rubbish at art, I bet the person you love won’t think that.
If you have kids, get them to help out with it!
Nothing says ‘I love you’ like getting your kids to dressing up like cherubs and hand deliver your card to your partner in bed!
If that’s all a bit too sickly for you, grab a good poem and write it out by hand on a nice piece of paper.
A friend of mine on Twitter also made the suggestion of writing on rice-paper that can then be eaten. Be sure to use a food colouring (or something non-toxic) for ink!
Check back later for more cost effective ways to treat your Valentine.
If you’ve got a bit of cash to spare and would like to help support Island businesses, don’t forget you should be able to find what you’re looking for on Valentines On The Wight.
Images: Petals: aussiegall
Leaf: madmoiselle-lavender
