Valentine’s day ideas don’t need to break the bank or empty out your wallet to be considered great.
Lately, many companies intend to sell sell sell for Valentine’s day. Buy flowers, buy chocolates, little stuffed animals, and more. But what if you did something totally different and unique this year?
We’re talking about doing something different and unconventional. Your wallet and your partner will be so happy to have a unique experience this year.
Forget dinner and a movie. Forget about expensive flowers, wine and chocolate. Here are all the best Valentine’s day ideas.
17 Best Valentine’s Day Ideas
1. Geocaching
You may be lucky enough to live in a place that has geocaching. What is geocaching exactly? Basically, it’s when someone anonymously hides a “prize” at certain coordinates, and you have to go find it.
It’s actually not as simple as showing up to a location for a prize. Typically, there are some hidden clues and puzzles that lead you to the actual geocache, and you have to figure them out.
Check out: Geocaching.com to discover treasure hunts in your area.
On the website you can log your own geocaches, or log which one’s you’ve found.
I love this idea because it’s so unique. How often do you hear about people going geocaching together, and it’s a great team activity.
2. Scavenger Hunt
What may be more fun and creative than geocaching is coming up with a scavenger hunt yourself! This one definitely requires some effort to make it good, but it’s such a great idea.
Watching your partner go around figuring out clues and giving them hints is such a fun activity. It’s also a great way to be outdoors and not spend a ton of money.
What’s better, is you can set up your scavenger hunt just around the house or around the local area. Make the locations crazier depending on how extensive you want the hunt to be.
Check out these ideas for adult scavenger hunts.
3. Gift Giving Game
Play this gift giving game where you both go to Target and pick out gifts for each other from different categories. For example, get each other a gift that is their favorite:
- food
- color
- hobby
- book genera
- something that reminds you of them
- clothing item you think they’d like
These are just a few suggestions. You can tweak the game to however it suits you, and you can put a spending limit on the gifts.
This game is adorable and sentimental. It’s intimate, and a great idea for staying at home to celebrate with each other.
4. Build A Blanket Fort
Extra blankets, Christmas lights, and a good movie are all you really need to make a simple and sweet Valentine’s day date. Maybe add in some popcorn!
How long has it been since the last time you went into a blanket fort? Building a blanket fort will be such a sweet surprise for your partner.
Just think about how cozy you two could be snuggled up in a blanket fort with a good movie.
February is also one of the coldest months of the year, so it’s the perfect time for you to both be snuggled in together without a worry in the world.
5. At Home Wine Tasting
For all the people who love to try different wines, you could have your own at-home wine tasting. Wine tasting always seems like a pricey idea, but it doesn’t need to be.
2 buck chuck is really all you need to wine taste. Truth is, master sommeliers can’t even tell the difference between cheap and expensive wines.
Make it more fun by hiding the type and make it a guessing game!
6. DIY Escape Room
This one sort of plays off the scavenger hunt idea, but you can keep it to your own house.
If you’re someone who’s super creative and loves to play pretend, then this one’s for you!
Each of you can come up with a different set of clues and time each other to see how long it takes to get out of the escape room. The winner gets a prize! Some prizes could include the loser having to cook dinner that night.
Check out these Escape Room Ideas for how to start setting up your own puzzle.
7. Cook Each Other’s Favorite Dish
Alright, this one is definitely one of the more typical date ideas. Cooking dinner together is just such an easy way to spend time together.
Make it fun and interesting by cooking each other’s favorite dishes and sharing them no matter how different! You might run out of room in the kitchen, though!
An even better idea would actually be to try cooking a dish neither of you has ever tried before. This is great for the foodie and adventurous couples.
8. Become Astronomers
If you happen to live somewhere where it isn’t in the negative degrees on February 14th, consider going outside and studying the stars.
There are a lot of different astronomy apps that you can download to see where certain constellations are.
- SkyView Lite
- Star Walk 2
- NASA
- Star Tracker Lite
These are all a few good apps to check out if you want to become a master astrologist for the night.
Stargazing is a really cozy and intimate way to spend the evening together, especially if you need to cozy up with one another to stay warm.
9. Have a Picnic
Having a picnic is a for sure, affordable way to spend Valentine’s day. Forget spending money on eating out at a restaurant. Pack up your favorite, easy lunch and head to the park.
If you’re lucky enough to live in a place that stays warm all year round, then an outdoor picnic is a great option.
If it’s rather chilly where you are, then consider doing the picnic, but indoors! It’s still the same setup, isn’t it?
10. Movie Marathon
Now, this is one suggestion I’m all about, especially if Harry Potter is involved. Just gather up all the sequels in your favorite movie series, and hunker down for the night.
Grab some soda, candy, and popcorn, so you have an unlimited amount of snacks throughout.
Spending a movie night in is astoundingly more affordable than going to the theaters. Now, with most theaters closed, it’s probably the most viable option!
11. Hammocking
Again, if you live in a warm place year-round, then hammocking will be a wonderful Valentine’s day idea.
If you don’t have a hammock, they only run about $30 or under for a pretty sturdy one.
Just make sure to check the weight limit before cramming two people inside! I have made the mistake of not doing this, and it’s not super pleasant to come crashing down.
For a better experience, you and your partner can bring a book to read while laying in the hammock and enjoying the outdoor air.
12. Invite Others To Celebrate
Celebrating with others is another one of my favorite Valentine’s day ideas. Since we’ve already sort of decided that Valentine’s day is overrated and commercialized anyway, spend it with other people!
Invite some of your close friends over who maybe don’t have a Valentine. Maybe even you don’t have a Valentine, but find the day a good excuse to do something nice.
You can still celebrate and cook dinner at home and ask each person to contribute something keeping your costs at a minimum.
13. Have a Game Night
Game nights are great it’s just the two of you or a few people, should you decide to host a little get together.
You can play plenty of two-person games, such as Chess, Trivia, Boggle, Scrabble. All the brain-tickling games are good for partner affairs.
14. Volunteer
How often do you volunteer? Not very I presume. I myself am rather guilty of not doing this as much as I should either.
The winter months are hard for many people, especially coming into a new year, and especially since the pandemic has started.
Volunteering together can help you do good for your community and come closer together. Some ideas include:
- Volunteering at the local food bank
- Handing out gift bags to those in need
- Volunteer at a local community center
Check out Volunteer Match to see what kind of opportunities are available near you.
15. Open When Letters
This is one of my all-time favorite Valentine’s day ideas. It’s so easy to create and costs as much as it does to buy paper and pens.
Just write down times when your partner should open each letter. Some examples include “Open When…”
- You’re Sad
- You Miss Me
- Now
- You’re Sick
- You Had a Bad Day
Each envelope can contain a note or a gift like a giftcard for something. This gift is so sentimental and creative as well. It will really show your partner the amount of effort you’re willing to put in to make sure they know you care.
16. Make Them Something
Valentine’s day gift are expensive and cheaply made, for the most part. Replace a commercialized Valentine’s day product with a handmade one.
I’m thinking of things like a giant arm-knitted blanket, or a homemade macrame wall hang.
You could also make clay plant potters and hand paint them, or DIY terracotta vases from upcycled glass.
The options are truly limitless, and it’s only up to you to decide what you want to make.
17. Bake Something Together
Baking together is almost always fun, until it ends in a flour fight! Bake something you’ve never baked before.
Baking is actually pretty difficult, so you will need to work together in order to get it to come out just right. Afterwards, you can reap the benefits of your hard work.
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