How To Make Your Partner Feel Special This V-Day Despite You Having Exactly $0 In Your Account

valentine's day

As a wise Depop seller once said, the Cozzie Livs is really getting us down right now. Given that most of us are just recovering from the Christmas/New Year’s-sized hole in our wallets, an expensive Valentine’s Day gift is probably out of the picture too.

Whether you’re a long-hauler or have just started seeing someone you fancy, Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to surprise your significant other with a little something that reminds them of just how obsessed you are with them. Unfortunately, while it’d be nice to woo them with a pair of designer shoes or a fancy watch, it’s probably not going to happen for most of us.

But fear not. There are still sooooo many ways to make your special person feel like royalty this Valentine’s Day that don’t require you to drain your bank account — so here’s a little inspo.

Make Them A Mixtape

A trick as old as time itself (or at least as old as recorded music has existed). Nothing is more romantic than making someone a mixtape of songs you think they’ll love or tracks that remind you of them.

While a big, heaping Spotify playlist could suffice, taking the old-school route of burning downloaded music onto a CD and making a cute little cover to go with it is romantic with a capital R. There’s a reason Seth Cohen was the heartthrob of the ’00s.

You could take it even further and take a leaf out of this TikToker’s book.

@swagcoolqueenmusic inspired valentine’s day gifts!!!!♬ Clay Pigeons – Michael Cera

Write A Big Ole’ Heartfelt Letter

I believe we’ve lost our bleeding heart and romantic touch as a society. So, in 2023, I propose we bring back the love letter, a la the Victorian era. If you’re into grand gestures, writing a million and five metaphors about why you think someone is the bee’s knees will win them over more than any expensive gift.

If you don’t have the best way with words, making your boo a custom card is an easy and cheap fallback. Outlets like Moonpig (who are bloody ‘uge in the UK and have just landed in Aus) are the masters of making custom, pop culture-inspired cards that’ll surely give your loved one a little chuckle and flutter.

They’ve actually just launched a Valentine’s Day capsule full of bloody hilarious cards that you can customise with a corny pickup line. The card-slingers take pickup lines so seriously, that they actually surveyed 1000 Aussies about what their favourite pickup lines are to nail the selection.

Some of the absolute zingers include, “I ought to complain to Spotify for you not being named this week’s hottest single,”, which 14% voted as their fave, and “Excuse me but do you have a weird, hungry and perpetually tired girlfriend? No?, Would you like one?”, from Tanya Hennesey‘s very own custom card design. 

lol

^Dead. 

Recreate This Iconic Marge & Homer Moment

Get dressed up, head in the car and order a wallopping amount of Maccas/KFC/HJ’s or something of the like. Then, drive to a nice look and blast your favourite tunes. There is truly nothing better than this. You’ll feel like you’ve created your own little world.

Leave A Little Trail Of Surprises All Day

C’mon, people, get creative. Write a cheeky little post-it note and whack it on their mirror. Shove their favourite choccy in their work bag before they head off in the morning. Send a perfectly curated line-up of TikToks for them to watch on their lunch break. Be thoughtful!!

Do Something Nice For Their Mum/Dad/Bestie/Sibling

Nothing says you love someone more than doing something thoughtful for another important person in their life — it literally means that you value everyone who they also appreciate and love. You geddit? It might seem like a bold move, but if my hypothetical partner bought my hypothetical mum a box of hypothetical choccies on Valentine’s Day, I’d surrender to the simp lifestyle forever.

Going cheap and sentimental will always be a little more complicated than relying on something expensive and showy. But, it is also always going to be way more special than picking out something meaningless on February 13th so that you’ve got yourself covered.

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