Valentine’s Day Gifts for the non-romantic

Here’s the conundrum I’m in. I love Valentine’s Day. L-O-V-E it. Or like Ashlee Simpson once sang, “L-O,L-O,L-O-V-E” it. Pink, sparkles, hearts, glitter, swirly things, flowers, candy… yeah that is UNDOUBTEDLY my kind of holiday!

Buuuuttttt. I’m not really a romantic. I cringe at romance scenes (think the one-on-one dinner dates on The Bachelor. Those things STRESS. ME. OUT). The Notebook gave me so much anxiety because they were just so enamored with each other it made me feel really anxious.

But then again, I LOVE VALENTINE’S DAY.

So I present to you some gift ideas you could give on Valentine’s Day to someone who is not a romantic.

ONE // EXPERIENCES

Places to go, people to see, things to do… with Pinterest being the ultimate bucket list of what we wish we could do, I think we all have a running list in our minds of what we’d do if we had: time, money, someone to go with or figure out the details, etc. A few weeks ago, Justen and I bought an Elephant Encounter on Groupon so that I could TOUCH AN ELEPHANT (MY DREAM AND SOMETHING ON MY 101 LIST). Groupon is FULL of affordable things you can do with someone to make them feel special, try something new, and show them you love them. Do me a favor, and if you’re going to buy through Groupon… go through eBates, where you can get 7%ish cash back. If you don’t want to buy something, look up a hike. Exercise + fresh air + limited technology = wining combo!

TWO // GIFT CARDS

I know this is a REALLY unpopular one because APPARENTLY gift cards are “impersonal,” but I LOVE gift cards. If I get a gift card to a place I love, like… idk…. TARGET, I get SO EXCITED because I’ll hold on to it until I see something I REALLY want and wouldn’t buy without the gift card. If it’s to a place I’m not familiar with, I love that I get to step out of my comfort zone and try new things. It’s like the experiences in a way, but giving the other person a little more freedom. Have you heard of Seashells? It’s a site where you can buy gift cards and get cash back. Check out Seashells before you buy a gift card. It will put some money in your pocket just for buying a gift card! and side note: you can stack a gift card from Seashells with an Ebates purchase, and I am 100% serious. Join Seashells and use the code mw1llubX to get $5 when you sign up!

THREE // TIME COUPONS

You might be like.. time coupons, what the heck? but hear me out. We live in a time where EVERYONE is stressed and busy and rushed and wants to do all the things “if I could only get time,” and I want to encourage you to give the gift of TIME. This isn’t like a romantic coupon book or anything, it’s literally a handwritten note that entitles the bearer to…. IDK, because I’m not the person you are giving the coupons to. Here are some ideas:

• Taking care of dinner when they’ve had a bad day.
• Helping organize papers.
• An evening with no phones/computers/ipads/etc.
• Getting to choose the movie when you can’t decide together.
• A car wash

Those are just some ideas. I wrote more on my $0 gift guide I published a few years ago.

FOUR // GAMES

I love games, and I’m not sure when I became one of those people. I love board games like Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride (I feel like those are really basic games), and Justen and I fell in love with Monopoly Deal over Labor Day weekend. I recently received the Personalogy Family Fun Card Game to try out, and it would be a great Valentine’s Day option, especially for families. It’s a fun how-well-do-you-know-me game where players try to guess each other’s answers. Here’s a little more about it:

A Laugh-out-loud discovery card game for the family (ideal for kids 7-11). Brings families together instantly – the playful, heart-warming and silly questions gets everyone talking, laughing and having fun! Questions have multiple choice answers to make it easy for kids. Play at family meals or game night.Discover something new about your family. perfect for birthday or holiday parties, family gatherings, A perfect antidote for traveling with kids, road trips, and plane rides. The speciality box is designed to be small enough to put in your purse, backpack or glove box. Cards are the same size as a regular deck of playing cards. Many of the questions were co-created by kids 7-11. Three ways to play, with or without points and can be played in teams. 122 fun, silly, laugh-out-loud and memorable questions and even more surprising answers. Made Amazon’s Best Sellers Top 100 Card Games for 2015! Enjoy!

Learn more on PersonalogyGame.com // Purchase on Amazon: Family Edition / Party Edition

Justen and I recently went on a hike and we threw the game in his backpack to play as we hiked. Some of the questions were no brainers, like what color would I be. Others were a little… um… stumpier. 🙂

I love that you can take the box with you anywhere to get a conversation going in any situation where you would need an ice breaker. I’ll definitely be keeping these in my car so that if there’s ever a lull in conversation we can have a way to keep talking.

ps: Bald eagle + red/pink, duh.

FIVE // COFFEE

Obviously I had to end with this one, because when it doubt, Starbucks it out. 😀

What about y’all? Are you romantics or not? What do you do for Valentine’s Day? Last year I was in Nashville, so this will be my first Valentine’s Day with Justen!

Don’t forget to check out Personalogy!