by Dale Dolmo

Created on: February 03, 2010   Last Updated: July 31, 2011

My Frugal Valentine

Like it or not, Valentine's Day has become more identified with shopping than with love. Advertisements hint that the amount spent on a gift directly reflects the strength of the feelings behind it.The truth is that you can find gifts that express your warmest feelings, without burning up your budget.

Love and Blooms
Flowers may be the least original - but still the most desired - Valentine's gift of all. Unfortunately, these days $25 won't buy very many roses - or even daisies! Even so, a flower-themed gift isn't out of reach. If your Valentine is a gardener, or even just a wannabe-gardener, you might give packets of flower seeds as a gift. You could attach the packets to the ends of skewers or popsicle sticks and stick them in a flower pot full of dirt, or maybe in a vase like a "bouquet." It may be February, after all, but Spring is just around the corner.

Verse That Couldn't Be Worse
Once upon a time, all you had to give your sweetheart on Valentine's Day was a card with a sentimental expression of your feelings. Why not personalize - and have some fun with - that tradition by writing your loved one some really bad poetry. I'm mean REALLY bad. Chances are, you already have a talent for writing horrible poetry; most people do! What's more endearing than seeing your true love's affection put into words? Seeing that affection put into hilariously corny, badly-rhymed words! Extra points to anyone who actually starts with this immortal phrase: "Roses are red, violets are blue..."

Dinner for Two - Catered by You
Dinner at a romantic restaurant is a Valentine's Day standard. In a cash crunch, however, picking up the tab for a night out may be beyond reach. The budget alternative is, of course, to provide your honey with a romantic meal in the comfort (the CHEAP comfort) of your own home. How do you bring a little something extra to your at-home dinner date? Just order your sweetheart's favorite restaurant dessert to go, and surprise him or her with it at the end of the meal. That way, you introduce a little of the restaurant flair, without the full restaurant price tag.

A Thousand Words for A Few Bucks
A nice framed photo of the two of you can be a romantic and fairly inexpensive gift. If you don't have a good photo of both of you together, resist the urge to give a picture of just yourself. This idea may seem romantic to you, but it seems egotistical to everybody else. A more creative idea might be to take a photo of a location that has special significance

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