14 affordable ways to celebrate Valentine's day

While Valentine’s Day is not a public holiday (shockingly, it’s business as usual on the day of sweet love), when it comes to spending, it might as well be. Truly, Valentine’s Day can be a little hard on the wallet, especially in a brave new world where a single movie ticket can cost upwards of $20. The good news: you don’t need money to celebrate your honey if you use a little imagination. After all, celebrating V-Day is all about spending quality time with the one you love (or the ones, if you’re spending it with friends). The fact is, there are plenty of fun and creative routes to romance you can travel that won't leave you broke, baby.

1. Exchange massages

Settle in for the night and pamper each other with massages. Wanna create a spa vibe? Add candles, massage oil, and/or an essential oil diffuser to the mix. Let a relaxing playlist be the cherry on top. If you wanna go real big, prep foot soaks, bath bombs and robes. If this sounds like a lot, or you're both too exhausted to give a massage, you may be able to find a spa deal via Groupon.

2. Stage a DIY photoshoot

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. Either enlist a friend or a selfie stick/tripod to capture some adorable pics, which you can then put up around your place—and on social media if you’re into that sort of thing. Or, if you're erring more toward a naughty Valentine’s Day, consider doing a DIY boudoir photoshoot—either with your partner’s participation, or as a surprise gift.

3. Take a hike

Weather permitting, head out on a hike for a breath of fresh air that will end in some gorgeous views from on high. Being outside is known to boost your mood, and being together make it even better. Too much snow for a hike? Consider cross-country skiing or snowshoeing instead. Bring along a sweet snack to enjoy when you get to where you’re going.

4. Make it a picnic

Lay out a large, cozy blanket in the park (or the living room, if it’s too cold), and adorn with cushions and/or pillows for seating/leaning/making out. Light some candles, play some music or nature sounds—hell, you might even scatter some rose petals—and pack a basket of all of your favorites goodies, of course, like those fudge brownies you lovingly baked for the occasion.

5. Write each other love letters

If it suits your couple, discuss doing a letter-sharing thing, where you both spend a few days beforehand working on love and/or lust letters to one another. Then, make a night of reading them aloud and toasting to your future together. Genuine love, high romance.

6. Find a river to skate away on

Bundle up and head out for a romantic evening of ice skating (or find an indoor rink). Skating is the perfect V-Day activity because holding hands is natural. If you’re winter enabled, you might also brave the elements to build a snowman, have a snowball fight, or go sledding. Whatever you do, be sure to follow up with snuggles and hot cocoa.

7. Take a bubble bath together

If you have a bathtub big enough for the both of you, seize the day and sink in! Think essential oils, rose petals, maybe even some bubbly (and strawberries!) to make it extra. There's no better way to relax with your lover.

8. Play sex games

You can play regular boardgames, of course, but why not add some frisk to your play? Not only are naughty games largely free of charge, but they’re also a creative way of extending foreplay and fostering intimacy. Does anyone really need to justify making sex more playful, creative, longer lasting, and intimate? 

9. Plan a scavenger hunt

If you have some energy to put into it, have some fun reliving some of your favorite moments together by planning a cute scavenger hunt. Go the DIY route with handwritten clues that lead to different spots around the house until the final destination and prize is reached (hint: you’re the prize).

10. The couple that bakes together

Seeing as how it’s a day for sweethearts, you and your partner can both pick your favorite desserts and then proceed to make them together, from scratch. Alternatively, you might go out to a restaurant and order only dessert. Either way, it’ll likely end with chocolate, and chocolate is an aphrodisiac—you heard it here first.

11. Slow dance

Slow dancing is a lost art, yet there's no better way to get up close and intimate with the one you love—no special moves required. Note: making out is 100% allowed. If you can’t think of any place to go slow dance in public, the privacy of your home is pitch perfect anyhow. Think of it as an extended hug, to some of your favorite tunes.

12. Make a scrapbook of your love

Make something you’ll cherish for years to come by organizing a scrapbook of your relationship together ( a real, live scrapbook, with scissors and glue, and the like!). You’ll want to print out favorite photos in advance, of course. In this all-digital era, nothing says I love you like a memoryscape you can hold in your own two hands!

13. The long-distance phone call

For couples who are navigating love (or at least Valentine’s Day) long-distance, we know that video chats offer endless kinky possibility, as do certain intelligently designed sex toys. But let us not forget the lost art of the phone call. Lovers used to twirl their phone chords ‘round their pinky fingers till the wee hours of the morn—talking, connecting, honing their vocabularies, and yes, even gettin' down and dirty. If you’re separated from your SO this V-Day, consider a good old-fashioned phone date.

14. Start a tradition

Why not start a meaningful (and cost-effective) tradition that you and your partner can return to every year on Valentine’s Day? You might have coffee at the diner where you first met; you might make V-Day a device-free day where you devote undistracted time to one another; you might fill a jar with future date night ideas and every year commit to doing whatever gets picked—you get the idea. Whatever it is, make it something you can do together and look forward to.

One love to all. <3