Valentine’s Day gift ideas for your lover that won’t cost a $1–but maybe your pride

Whether you’re pursuing a girl (or boy) or maintaining a relationship with her, a Valentine’s Day gift is crucial in your plans for your relationship. While others may scoff at the commercialisation of the holiday, we know that you still have to come up with something worthy of your lover.

So what are you to do?

Here are some Valentine’s day gift ideas that won’t cost you $$$ or $–but they may cost you your pride. If you’re touchy about these sort of things.

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A poem (doesn’t have to be cheesy)

What you can’t buy with money, you can get with cheesiness. You don’t have to be Shakespeare to pull this one off. You don’t even have to write your own! There are a lot of poetry apps and websites that have their pieces tagged on various topics like “first love,” and “married life.”

You can write it down yourself on a card or create a graphic using apps like Canva. Don’t forget to share it on social media (which will make it really count *winkwink*)

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A song (doesn’t have to be original)

Again, there is nothing to lose but your pride, especially when you don’t want to spend anything or get the usual chocolates and flowers. Record yourself singing the favourite song (with some of your friends who know how to play the song) and upload it on Facebook or YouTube.

Doesn’t matter if you can’t sing–what’s important is the effort. Or so people say.

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A fake interview (but you have to answer for real)

A what? Do you know those press interviews done whenever there’s a big movie showing or when celebrities come to Singapore to promote a film? Why not set something up at home with a curtain, a tripod and your smartphone?

Make sure you’ve got good lighting and your best outfit on. Prepare a few questions ahead of time with your girlfriend as the topic, and answer them as if you were a celebrity. Ask your friend to edit the video or to even star in it as a fake reporter!

You can answer questions such as, “What do you like most about [insert name of lover here]?” Or “Describe how you first met and how you felt at the time.” At the end, promote your girlfriend or boyfriend as if they were a movie you’re starring in.

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All the fansigns (especially if you have famous friends)

Get your friends and family to hold up signs that say, “Happy Valentine’s Day from [your name here]!” The more random (and famous) people you get in on your gift, the more extravagant it actually is.

So if you have famous friends, blogger friends or celebrity friends, ask them for a favour this Valentine’s Day.

For the truly enterprising, you can always use Photoshop on famous people’s photos. It’s all up to you and what you’re willing to do (copyright infringement included), for the one you love.

We doubt this guy is getting anything for Valentine’s especially after cheating on 5 girls at the same time.

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All the love notes (may involve breaking and entering)

If you have access to their bedroom (or even their office desk), you can cover the room with silly love notes.

You can still use poetry or love quote websites to populate the content of your notes, but in the end, it’s the effort (and handwriting) that count.

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Do all the chores (even the ones that aren’t yours)

Nothing says “I love you,” like a clean sink, the trash taken out, a clean bathroom and a well-prepared meal.

Who has the time to do house work anyway? Well, for a special occasion like Valentine’s Day, you can perform some small acts of service.

How do you decide what to do?

Any of the ideas above can do the trick, but knowing your girlfriend or boyfriend’s love language does help.

If you know their Myers-Briggs personality type, you can check out this article on how to please certain types. Some personality types prefer spending quality time together while other prefer actual gifts.

For the truly broke

So is this about not buying into the commercialisation of Valentine’s Day? Or is this a broke guy’s guide to winning your Valentine’s heart?

The truth is, it’s up to you to decide if your girlfriend or boyfriend is worth the trouble.

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If you’re really feeling the love, why not buy something AND get them something money can’t buy?

What are you getting for your boyfriend or girlfriend this Valentine’s Day?

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