During my first year in college I dated a guy I’ll call Joey (because that was his name). Joey was super cute but not terribly imaginative, but he kept telling me not to give up on him and that he was planning something romantic for Valentine’s Day. The weeks turned into days and he still wouldn’t tell me what this top-secret romantic plan involved. Long story short, Joey put so much pressure on himself to choose the perfect gift and set up the perfect date that he panicked. He did nothing. He then rather sheepishly asked me to choose my gift along with something special for us to do on our date. I ended up choosing to spend the day with friends and picked another boyfriend, but that’s a story for another time.
The moral of this story? Don’t put so much pressure on yourself or your relationship that you let the gift overshadow the person. Whether it’s a package of marshmallows or a foot massage, the gift shouldn’t mean more than the person doing the giving.
To that end, here are some last-minute Valentine’s Day ideas that make it look like you put a whole lot more thought into it than you actually did.
- Class Act: If your boyfriend bemoans the fact he’s never had a chance to be on The Voice, you can do one better by offering him singing classes with Grammy Award winner, Christina Aguilera. Or maybe they’d be happier with a cooking class with world renowned chef, Gordon Ramsay? MasterClass offers a variety of classes and costs $90 each for lifetime access—certainly enough time for them to unleash their inner Shonda.
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(Ritani)You Ring, They Bling: Ritani just launched an on-demand diamond delivery service for last-minute gifts just in time for Valentine’s Day! They’re offering a variety of limited edition, one-of-a-kind handcrafted rings, and will guarantee the diamonds are delivered straight to your home or office within 2 hours from the time of purchase. It’s only available in the Manhattan area for now, though (which means that my fella can totally treat me to this gorgeous canary diamond if he’s so inclined).
- Light Up Their Life: Even if you don’t live together, Sylvania Lightify, can add romance or thoughtful moments to their day. It’s a smart lighting solution that makes it possible to control the lights and change their colors, throughout the house with a swipe of a finger on a smartphone, tablet or Amazon Alexa. So you can send them a set of lightbulbs or lighting strips which on first blush don’t seem romantic, but imagine welcoming them with a warmly lit up home after a long business trip or rough day at work. One caveat, I had a hard time getting the app to recognize my system, but when I did it was fun to use and easy to operate.
- Vitamin L: If your honey catches lots of colds or spends time on the road, they’ll love Care/of—a new personalized vitamins and supplements service that creates personalized vitamin packets based on answers supplied during a fairly extensive quiz. You treat, they choose and customize. In about a week, they’ll receive personalized individual pouches and will be reminded how much you care on a daily basis.
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(Hexclad)
Pan-tastic: I’m a big fan of gifts with extra gifts. So, for instance, don’t just offer to cook them dinner, treat them to a state of the art Hexclad frying pan which is basically the superhero of the cookware world. It heats faster, has a stay-cool handle, is dishwasher safe and can also be used in the oven at temperatures up to 500 degrees. Or you gift wrap a stylish Box Appetit! Lunch box and offer to make them lunch for a week (a month?) Want some extra brownie points? Pair with a gourmet food gift like the brunch Taste Trunk which offers a just add water White Chocolate & Raspberry Scone Mix.
- Tanks A Lot: Who says that your Valentine has to be a romantic partner? If your dad or granddad sends lots of angry letters, chances are good that he’s blowing through a lot of ink. There’s a new generation of Epson printers that includes the wireless Expression ET-2550 EcoTank. The most amazing part is the super high capacity refillable ink tanks, and comes with enough ink in the box to print for up to two years. Please note that the print quality for images isn’t great, but this is a workhorse printer and you won’t have to buy cartridges for him for a long, long time.
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(Polaroid.com)
Pics for Kicks: Along those lines, Polaroid’s new Snap Touch Instant Digital Camera brings back the old school feel of a point and print, but updated for the selfie generation. Grandma can almost instantly share pics of the grandbabies and newbie couples can make up cutesie stickers of their first Valentine’s Day together.
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(Xpresspa)
Queue for Two: Make up a joint Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime account and create a list of movies or series for the two of you to binge watch together. If you’re feeling extra romantic, make up a list that tells the story of your relationship, or pick movies that you know she or he’s been dying to see. Want to really be boyfriend of the year? Wrap up a pair of XpresSpa Reflexology socks and offer to give her a foot massage with every show. Added points if you make up a separate queue for you and your mom to watch together.
Rachel Weingarten is a noted and quoted expert on beauty, fashion and lifestyle. She’s also a beauty historian and public speaker and lecturer on both the graduate and undergraduate level. Rachel is the award-winning author of 3 non-fiction books, her most recent being “Ancient Prayer: Channeling Your Faith 365 Days of the Year” (Fall River Press 1/16). Rachel regularly writes for BravoTV.com, USA Today, The Guardian and many others. Get social with her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
