V-Day gifts that won’t break the bank

VALENTINE’S Day is just around the corner, and those of you who are in relationships have probably already started looking for gifts. It’s a day when you can show your partner just how much you mean to them, and giving them something special is usually the way to go about it.

The only problem is, not everyone has the cash to spend on a big, extravagant gift. However, that doesn’t mean you have to show up to your date empty-handed!

If you’re struggling to figure out what you can gift your partner given your limited budget, republicasia’s got you covered. 

1. Handwritten letters

If there’s one way to prove that chivalry isn’t dead, it’s writing a love letter to your partner. 

You don’t need to be as good as Shakespeare to write a letter like this; as long as it comes from the heart, then they’re definitely going to love it.

When writing your letter, tell your partner the things that you love about them, share some of your favorite memories with them, or talk about when and why you knew that they were the one for you. Make it personal and sweet – don’t just ChatGPT that sh*t. 

If you want to take it up a notch, you can also buy cute stationary, or buy a wax seal to close its envelope with. You can also doodle on the envelope to give it an even more personalized touch.

2. Paper crafts

While this may be time-consuming, paper crafts are an adorable way to show your partner you love them. Many would perhaps even prefer say, a paper bouquet instead of a real one, because the former takes much more effort to put together as compared to the latter.

There are thousands of videos on platforms like YouTube and TikTok to guide you; you can make paper bouquets, paper hearts, or Valentine’s Day cards. The (digital) world is your oyster.

Even if whatever you end up making may have some imperfections, or may not look exactly like it did in the tutorial you watched, don’t worry. It’s the thought that counts, and regardless of what it looks like, your partner will love it solely because it was made by you.

3. Personalized jewelry

There are many sellers on shops like Lazada and Shopee that give you the option to personalize your jewelry. You can get a locket with your photos in it, for example, or one engraved with a special memory of both of you. Or you can get a necklace with your name on it, so you can always be with them wherever they go. 

If you know that your partner isn’t into showy gifts such as those, then you can get something more lowkey; a ring with their birthstone, for example, or one that’s a replica of a piece of jewelry from their favorite show or movie.

In buying jewelry, just remember to keep it personal. Don’t get something just because it’s marketed as a “great Valentine’s gift”; get something that you know your partner’s actually going to like.

Also, remember to take note of the jewelry your partner wears, if they’re more of a silver person or a gold one. Knowing which one they are will definitely get you additional points.

4. Photos of the two of you

What’s more special than reminding your partner of the special moments the two of you have shared? 

A simple way you can do this is to find a nice picture frame at a thrift store and put a photo of the two of you inside. 

Something more time-consuming and more costly – but would also probably earn you more brownie points – would be making a scrapbook of the photos of the two of you; you can even label each page with details about the memory, and what in particular made it special for the both of you. 

If you’re going to go the scrapbook route, you can also add other things as well: ticket stubs or receipts from dates that you’ve gone on together, cute stickers, or anything that’ll give it a more personalized feel.

5. A mixtape

Though this may be more old-fashioned, you can never go wrong with a mixtape. All you need is a CD case, a blank CD, a laptop or PC you can use to copy the songs onto the CD, and you’re good to go. 

It only takes a simple Google search to figure out how to burn the songs to a CD, and it’s something your partner’s definitely going to cherish forever.

When picking songs for the CD, you can choose ones that you know your partner would like, or ones that remind you of them. You can also choose songs that, again, remind them of special moments in your relationship, like something you both sang along to while listening to the radio, or the one that you first danced to. 

There really aren’t any rules when it comes to this, or when it comes to gift giving in general. 

To finish off, print out a cute photo of the two of you, or make a custom album cover on Canva, Photoshop, or PicsArt. Often, the size of a CD case is 4.7 by 4.7 inches, so take that into account when making your design.

After that, voila! Your partner has a personalized mixtape, which they’ll cherish a lot more than a plain old Spotify playlist.