Valentine's Gifting
Organized by love language, of course. Plus, printable Valentine cards and lovey dovey wallpapers!
This letter is packed full of red, pink, and so many ideas. I made a Valentine’s gift guide with some creative ideas for delighting your Valentine, friend, or Galentine. Because this little red & pink day is the perfect time to remind the people around you that you care about them. We need more love, and this holiday is a perfect excuse to spread it around like confetti.
I’ve included a giveaway in the comments, too. I’d love to send you a Valentine!
At the end of this article, for supporting subscribers of Feeling!, I am including printable Valentine’s notecards, phone, and desktop wallpapers. One of my top pieces of advice for cultivating a lifestyle with a little more magic in it is leaning into seasons and embracing them. I utilize this Substack to the best of my ability to equip you with resources to delight.
Whether it’s changing your desktop wallpaper this week so your co-workers feel in the Valentine's mood, or printing little Valentines and dropping them off for friends, I hope you will do something a little extra pink this week.
A Gift Guide, Based on Love Language:
For the holiday all about love, I have organized some small gift ideas by love language. Everything does look a little extra red, but ideally, this is a resource you can use for upcoming birthdays or holidays too. The concept here is about expressing love, which transcends just February 14th.
These ideas are for your friends, family, or a special Valentine. I tried to include both shoppable items AND actions, ideas, and things that cannot be wrapped.
*How do you know someone’s love language? Well, you can probably guess. It is usually the way they most naturally express love. Do they show up with a gift in hand? Do they take on the role of coordinating time together? Do they reach out to hold your hand or give extra-long hugs? You can also have them take a quiz online, which loses your subtlety but guarantees accuracy. But no stress — everyone wants to be loved, and everyone needs a bit of every love language for a full dose of love! If a gift idea makes you think of them, you are probably right on track.
Words of Affirmation
For the ones whose hearts perk up when a loving word is spoken, here are some ideas that will surely feel like they are known and loved:
First and foremost, a love letter. Make it long, recall memories, and detail what specifically about that person makes you appreciate them. Write it inside a gorgeous greeting card.
Make photo books, filled with pictures of the two of you, customized with handwritten thoughts and memories. Write notes in pen about what you love about that person, what about that specific memory strikes you, or what you remember about their time together.
Papier makes beautiful printed photo albums — I like this classic fabric design and this photo booth-inspired design
Topdrawer sells traditional scrapbooks in vibrant fabric solids. This red one would be perfect for making a scrapbook for them.
Urban Outfitters makes landline phones, and for someone who loves to debrief and talk, you could order a pair of matching landlines. It would be so special to have a ringing phone to reach only each other. One for you, one for them — a thoughtful gift for long-distance pairs.
A word-lover will love this special print of Wuthering Heights, with a history of Emily Brontë’s life, special artworks, and gorgeous binding.
Carry a piece of your Valentine with you wherever you go — Sézane makes beautiful initial bracelets with a simplistic chocolate-brown cord. Alternatively, they make gold initial pendants for necklaces. Pair with a thoughtful note explaining that you are always with them.
Gift the wordy a fresh notebook, and leave a heartfelt letter inside for them to discover. I like Moleskine’s classic red notebook and Papier’s cherry spiral journal. Pair with a Levenger pen: the Gelato (magical) and Classic Carrara caught my eye.
Reimagine using a digital frame for sending constant digital love notes. You can send photos, sure. But you can also write notes, take a photo of them, and then they will magically appear on your Valentine’s frame. I see this as a long-distance gift that keeps giving. I’ve used the Aura Frame, and cannot reccomend it enough.
Print a booklet of quotes that make you think of them. Or paste quotes on the pages of a vintage book.
Make them a playlist! Burn a CD, even! Just choose songs really thoughtfully, because they will be listening to every single word.
Acts of Service
Some people have hearts that soar when you thoughtfully take something off their plate. They feel deeply cared for through physical acts of devotion. Here are some ideas, many free or low-cost, to delight them:
Prepare a multi-course homemade meal for them. Even print a little menu. The goal is not culinary excellence, but extreme thoughtfulness.
Give them something especially helpful to a dream or goal they have. If they want to be a writer, gift a nice pen and paper. Maybe there is some piece of technology or a tool they need to further explore a passion — a specific knitting needle, SD card, camera, kitchen knife, baseball bat, lens, etc. It shows you believe in them, and you’ve heard when they share what they need.
Give them a peaceful at-home spa. If you live together, you could draw a warm bath for them and fill it with relaxing epsom salts, a fluffed-up towel, and a candle burning. Or you could gift them with bath salts and shower steamers to enjoy.
Pick up their very favorite treat from their very favorite place — a specific cake, latte, etc., and have it waiting at home for them.
Plan an entire date so they do not have to coordinate one thing.
Clean their space until it sparkles. Wait for them to come home. Surprise!
Pick out some essentials they need and love, and put them into a basket. Just a bunch of little thoughtful gifts, all at once! (Think refills: their favorite face wash, candy, socks, lotion, snacks, candle, etc.)
Offer your time to help them finish that thing they need to do, but always feel overwhelmed by — paint a room, organize receipts, write thank you notes, etc.
Quality Time
Someone in your life is probably a quality time lover, and you can tell because they are always putting plans together. Here are some ideas to make them feel extra special:
Snakes of Wrath is a simple, beautiful, and fun two-player game that has some strategy, but will not take all night to play. You can gift the game with a promise to play frequently and keep an ongoing score. It is meaningful to have those traditions and routines together for someone who craves quality time.
Document time together with a vintage-inspired digital video camera, inspired by classic Super-8’s. The camera doesn’t even have a playback screen, prompting you to be present as a real film camera would. You can pair this with an outing you’ve planned to a museum, botanical garden, or park — so they can immediately test out their gift.
Imagine inviting them over, and then having this puzzle, themed “A Match Made in Heaven” on the table, cozy music going, and no other plans.
Alex Mill makes a vibrant, iconic, customizable weekday bag. Order your Valentine one with their initials — but accompany it with a little trip. It could be a trip just to the park for a picnic, or a weekend away. You could stuff the bag with a few clues and let them guess where you are about to spend time together.
If you want to take that idea to the next level and stay out of town longer, the Vera Bradley quilted duffle is a beautiful, larger option.
Give them a new routine you can both delight in. Get really good at something, side-by-side. In my kitchen, we’ve both made an effort to invest in learning to make our favorite coffee shop drinks for one another. You could gift them a gorgeous matcha kit from Fellow, with the commitment of learning the new skill together until you perfect your lattes.
An idea for your book-reading Galentine: Buy a set of matching books for you both to read together, and include a cute bookmark inside the pages. You could do this for a whole group! Quality time = book club.
Physical Touch
Ideas for the cuddly:
Faux fur blanket + Oaui Detergent: Find the plushest, softest blanket you can and pair it with Dedcool x Oaui’s scented detergent. I’ve been using this laundry detergent, and it makes my house smell like a beach resort — notes of rose that are muted and coastal. The combo or blanket plus magical detergent is like a never-ending good-smelling hug.
Plan an evening in, just the two of you, for maximum coziness. Matching pajamas, a movie ready to go, take-out ordered, and an abundance of snuggles.
This Soft Services x Dedcool set includes a hand cream that is a muted blue pump vessel for the cream, and a travel-size perfume of Xtra Milk (my favorite scent). It looks like a decorative object sitting on your nightstand. It is a thoughtful touch for soft hands and warm aromas.
For this never-ending winter, a hot water bottle is such a comforting gift. Dress it up with a really adorable cover like this quilted one, or this striped knitted one.
This logic may not track, but I have a gut feeling that someone who likes physical touch would like a house plant. No science there, just feelings. A Norfolk Island Pine caught my eye, because it is wintery but can thrive all year.
Give them a stuffy to hug when you are not there. Jellycat has an adorable Valentine’s collection out now. But really, you can never go wrong with any Jellycat.
Matching cozy socks and slippers would be a hit, as long as there is an accompanying promise of cuddling on the couch. For the holiday, Bombas’ red “tomato” slippers caught my eye. And then I found they have red RUFFLE socks right now too! Bombas also has an incredible collection for men in both slippers and socks. Maybe a matching set?!
Gifts
If their love language is gift-giving, you are already on the right track. The key is to give gifts that keep giving. Give a bag, but make sure there are trinkets stuffed in the pockets too. Little surprises, good wrapping, and thoughtful intention will win their hearts. Also, be prepared for them to give YOU a really thoughtful gift — don’t come empty-handed.
It’s hard to beat a Fujifilm Instax as a perfect gift. Wrap it with extra film, and a note about how you look forward to documenting memories together. You could even include a blank photo book to fill.
For a Galentine, this cherry beaded necklace is so deliciously colored. Pair with a thoughtful greeting card (and maybe chocolate-covered cherries?).
This shop on Etsy makes incredible monochromatic frames for your photos. I love this gift lets you capture a memory, but a decorative piece.
You can order a custom locket signet ring for your Valentine. Lox & Chain allows you to choose an engraving font and initial, and includes instructions for printing a tiny photo that rests on the inside of the signet ring. Romantic!
Thirsty Cowboy, based in Brooklyn, just released a “Strawberry Matcha Lip Butter,” and the scent is absolutely perfect. These are the only lip balms that do not chap my lips in the winter, and I have used them like a lifeline.
This Joyn cherry bowler bag is the cutest Valentine’s Day pick — and it FEELS like the holiday! Make sure to secretly stuff it with candy and other trinkets, because they will notice and rejoice.
Orchids are such beautifully timeless gifts. Pick out an orchid, and customize it with a pot that matches its personality. You can ship one directly from the Sill, with some custom options. This works for a grandparent, sibling, parent, best friend, or really anyone who could use some thoughtfulness this season.
Printable Cards & Wallpaper Downloads:
First, here are the phone wallpapers! Hand-drawn by yours truly:
