With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, do you need some help coming up with unique ideas for that special someone in your life?

Roll up your sleeves

No more expensive dinners at fancy restaurants. It’s time to roll up your sleeves. Go to the grocery store together, get your ingredients and cook together. It’s sure to be a fun bonding experience. Turn on some music and belt out tunes as your dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets are reaching their golden crisp. If you’re both of legal age, you can have your own paint and sip night at home. If you want to do lunch instead of dinner, a picnic in the park can be fun, (unless it’s cold out) but a picnic in the living room is something you probably haven’t done before. Don’t forget dessert and a photo for the scrapbook.

Go local

If you do your research, you’ll be able to find tons of free or low-cost events in your community. Be on the lookout for open-mic nights, poetry slams and art exhibits. While they might not be on Valentine’s Day itself, you can always make a fun extended weekend out of the holiday.

Get lost

This sounds weird but I promise it can actually be fun. Get an unlimited daily bus pass and hop off when you see random places you want to check out. You might pass a new bakery, an art gallery, a park or a random statue you never noticed. Get lost without actually being lost, and discover something new. You just might find your new favorite hangout spot.

Set the mood

Paper hearts are cheesy but they’re also cute. Even if they aren’t symmetrical, they still show you tried and are sure to get you tagged in an Instagram post. Rose petals, streamers, old photos and balloons are always appreciated. Friendly reminder that confetti can find its way into every nook, cranny and crevice, so you might want to avoid it.

Write it down

Are they the cheese to your mac? The banana to your split? The cream to your Oreo? Let them know why you care. Extra points for making it rhyme.

Remember that whatever you decide to do or give, it doesn’t have to be big and extravagant. Just show you care. Down the road, you’ll both be able to look back at the photo album you have since added pages of photos to and remember all of the great times you shared. You’ll plug in the aux cord and blast that custom playlist on a road trip. They’ll pull out the lopsided paper heart they saved all these years. You’ll find that bus pass and be reminded of the small café you two found and make it your next destination for date night. Get creative, get personal and have fun.

Until next time…

-Jae Marie