Romantic Valentines Day Ideas for $10 or Less

Valentines Day, the most infamous day of love and romance. And it all comes with a pretty price tag that says I love you. Most people spend on average about $100 to $1000 bucks during the love holiday, and thats cool if your a surgeon. But for most of us thats our monthly rent. So lets say that your a sophistacated girl or guy wanting to spice up a lil somethin, somethin and also want to seem creatively ingenius. This tiny blurb of a blog will help you keep whatever fatness there is to you wallet while making you the love doctor.

Ingenius Idea # 1: LOVE BAKING

This is a fast and romantic way to get your message out. Literally. The key to message making is having it be personal to your relationship, and all you need is a roll of cookie dough (pre-made or handmade) and a tube of writing frosting which are only a couple bucks at your local supermarket. Of course you can go the traditional route in what messages you want such as "your cute" and "I love you" which is good. But writing something like "Starry Nights" is great if you guys met at an outdoor party, or could inspire "Romantic Bonfires" as a message. Of course if your like me and have a sense of uncanny humor, I'll probably write "Fantastic Ass" or "Geek Love" on mine, lol. But I would only suggest that if you've been together for a while and are understanding of each others humor.

For people who want to hand make there dough or might be too broke...here is a simple Sugar Cookie Recipie:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Should you want to use cookie cutters, refridgerate the dough overnight and roll out to 1/3 of an inch the next day to cut with. If you want sprinkles add before you put them in the oven.

For handmade frosting:

Make your Custard Base first which consists of -

1 cup milk
5 tbsp. flour

Combine (whisk) milk and flour in a microwavable bowl. Microwave until its thick and dont allow to brown or scotch. The mixture will be very think, so dont worry. Let it cool completely.

For the Butter base-

1 c. butter (2 cubes)
1 c. regular white sugar

Cream the butter and sugar until its fluffy, and then add the custard base. Beat on high speed or stir quickly until color changes from yellow to an off-white...about the color of whipped cream. If you want to add food coloring or any kind of extract, stir 1 Tbsp in thoroughly. Then frost your cookies when they've cooled and not before, otherwise the frosting will run off.

Then take your writing frosting and go to town on becoming romantically inventive.



Or if your going to a party and want some treats to bring for everyone, cookie sandwiches are the next best thing. And always remember that presentation is everything, lay them out on a platter or stack a couple of and tie them with a pretty ribbon.

Next and last thing on LOVE BAKING is how to make your own Romantic Fortune Cookies. Thats right, how awesome is that?

Here is a short video that explains the preperation really well, becasue I dont know if your like me but I like to see what I'm doing so I know I dont screw up. Here are the ingredients you'll need before hand :

-2 large egg whites
-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-8 tablespoons granulated sugar
-3 teaspoons water

Of course if you'd like to have yours decked out in chocolate with heart sprinkles, melt a hershey bar in a glass bowl in your microwave, dip and then sprinkle with love with some morsels.

Ingenius Idea #2 : Customized Threads

All you need is a can of fabric spray paint at your local craft store or Walmart, and a pair of blank underwear or shirt. Now for chicks I'm going to recomend the underwear just because it also makes a sexy gift, and guys the t-shirts because its super romantic for your girl to know that your hers. Think of a good title for your t-shirt, maybe you'd go with something like this "Taken by the most awesome woman in the universe", or have the front say "Taken" have the back say "(girls name) owns this". Or just go traditional and put her name on the front "Jenna's guy". And girls for your underwear, write your guys name on the back and it will make him feel superior to any other guy all day.

If your really artistic or have a steady hand and good eye coordination, then you can probably have a field day with a sharpie and some fabric writing paint. The more creative the better, don't let your own ideas intimidate you. Here is a link to buy some fabric spray paint online for $6.50 http://fabricspraypaint.com/page/stencil_spray.html, and a tutorial video on showing you how your roughly supposed to stencil with fabric spray paint. Then below that I'm going to put another video that shows you how to make your own incredible stencils.

Make sure to make an entrance. I would definitely consider taking them out to eat and showing up with your new t-shirt, or popping into the bedroom with nothing more than your new branded underwear. Being outgoing is the most fun part about Valentines Day, don't worry about what other people will be thinking because its almost a guarantee that someone else somewhere is doing something even more mushy than you.

Ingenious Idea # 3: The Treasure Map

Yes, you just read that right. The treasure map baby, its one of the most traditional Valentines Day things my family has done for years and years. I remember when I was a kid making treasure maps with my Dad for my Mom, and then when I got my first few steady boyfriends I put it to good use. Ok, there are two different ways to do the treasure hunting, one is that you actually make a map and the other is more like a blindfolded hunt.

So here's what you'll need for the Treasure Map Hunt:

• A piece of paper good enough to draw on
• Pencil
• 10 different dollar items to hide
• Patience ;)
• Hiding places relatively close to each other
• A lighter (adults only)

What you'll need to do is figure out where you'll be hiding your items. Draw a map of wherever this hunt will be taking place. Then put numbers over the place where the item would be, from 1-10 in order on whats to be found first. Then for full artistic effect, singe the edges with a lighter. Be careful not to burn yourself or burst your map into flames. Tell them they have to do it on there own (watch from afar), and they can get one hint per item (tell them to text you). That way while your perparing for the finale, they wont interrupt you. Of course the finale should always be last and I find that making yourself the last surprise is always romantic. Put a bow on your head or some lingerie, and when they walk into the room trying to figure out where the next thing is, I'm sure it'll put a smile on there face if not more.

The extra items you'll need for the Blindfolded Treasure Hunt:

• Thin rope 12 to 30 feet long (depending on how far away items are spaced)
• Blindfold
• No map*
• Clear paths to items

Now this version is a little bit trickier, but still just as much fun. And its definitely hilarious to watch, lol. The basis of this is to take the rope and start at one end of the house, by wrapping the items lightly around the rope and placing them in strategic places to follow. Of course your victim will be blindfolded so they'll need a clear path. Then after you blindfold them securely, hand them a basket or bag and give them the end of the rope and explain for to them to follow it. That way they can put there gifts in something as they go. Again the last present is always a great one if its yourself, so hold on to the rope when they get closer to the end.

Ingenious Idea # 4 : The Romantic Dinner

The candles sparkle and so do her eyes, as she looks at you with wonder at the fact that you pulled off the perfect romantic night. You pick up your wine glass and take a sip of the fizzy alcoholic beverage. You smell the Alfredo pasta, wafting gently making you put down your glass to take a mouthful of deliciousness. Rose petals scatter the table, and she picks one up to feel the softness on her skin...shes beautiful. Freshly chocolate dipped strawberries tempt you in the middle of the table, and she leans in as if to let you know how into this she is.

The perfect romantic night, you can still have all that under $10. Your thinking "Kat your crazy", but hold on now let me explain and maybe you'll be thanking me after you take the time to read.

The items on that list are:

• Strawberries- $2.50
• Wine coolers-$4.00
• Melted chocolate -$1.00
• Egg noodles (1 pack)- $1.00
• Cheap Alfredo cheese sauce- $1.20
• Mini tea lights-$1.00

Alright, I admit its 70 cents over. Phooey. But if you already have any of these you've just saved yourself some mula, if not then as you can see all you need to do is go to your nearest Walmart or Kmart and pick up these goodies. Single roses are usually around $1.00. Just to let you know some regular chocolate isn't good for dipping since it slides off easier, at times you will have to get the specific fruit dipping chocolate. If you dont have a white linen tabel cloth, take that other white linen that you use every night (clean bed sheets) and fold it into a square for dining purposes. Most of the time you cant tell the difference, and the only thing that can give you away is the thickness and the creases. So fold and smooth those sheets out.

If its warm where you are you can go to the park and set up a picnic. Same idea, same priciples. Bring something that will twinkle, candles, laterns, even white christmas lights. Bring a blanket, a bottle of something yummy, food and your sense of a romantic. Another good idea is download songs that you know your significant other likes to your phone, that way you'll have something to listen too. Or you can go old school and take a lesson from Berry White.

Now if your REALLY broke, and dont even have the gas money to go anywhere or get anything. Alot of you might think that sounds overboard, but I've been there. Use what you have, get creative and have a picnic on the floor in your living room. Or in your backyard, if its got a nice enough lawn.

If you live near the coast and its somewhat warm, then man are you lucky. You have the coup de grâce of romantic places to set up. Bring a small table, a couple of normal chairs a table cloth and tape or string to hold it down with. And then bring all of your goods to the beach at sunset. I might rethink the rose petals though and just keep the rose intact. Stick it in a low laying vase and add it to the table. As you know it can get pretty windy at the beach.

Ingenious Idea #5: Photo book or Scrapbooking

So, so simple. Yet so, so meaningful. Why do guys not do this more often? I would say girls too, but girls tend to like to do this kind of thing anyways. Its such a cheap way to share all of the memories that you've had together. Well unless you have over like 5,000 photos, and I actually think I might have that many, lol. Just pick out the ones that are really special and really made a landmark in your relationship. Or that you had a great time in. If your significant other was having a really crap time in one of the photos, but you were having a great time...guess what? Don't put it in your Valentines Day album, it supposed to remind them of the good times. Walmart right now is the cheapest to get your photos developed. And if you really want to, you can get a photo book made from the photo center for under 10 bucks. Not to shabby, take a look: http://photos.walmart.com/walmart/storepage/storePageId=Pick+Up+Today

Scrap booking is actually easier then you think it is, and another great invention is that they have scrap booking kits nowadays. You can usually go to your supermarket and get one, or if you want a more customizable one I would suggest going to a craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michael's. This way you get to tell your story and add your own personal feelings in there, I would definitely recommend this. The price tag on this is a little higher if you want to get a big scrapbook, which are about $10-20 and the kits are around $5-10. You can actually make your own "scrapbook" with some cardboard, copying paper, hole puncher, and string or ribbon. Here are some tips and instructions on how to make your own scrapbook binder http://www.ehow.com/how_5076720_make-scrapbook-binder.html. And heres a lil video thats from one of my favorite scrapbook sites to show you a tutorial on how to make a great layout. Dont be shy if your a guy, it doesnt make you any less of a man ;)

Ingenious Idea #6: Homemade Sexy/Chore Coupons

This is one of those last minute things....if you've forgotten, that will fix your situation of not having a gift. Sexy dirty coupons, or chore and errand coupons. Or a mix of both. Usually your computer will have a coupon maker in your mocrosoft word if you have Windows 7 software. But then again you can make coupons out of anything, you can scrapbook them, staple them, or put them in a special box.

There are even sites where you can print out coupons, how shnazzy is that? Very, if you go to http://www.hotdateideas.com/love-coupons they'll give a variety of romance coupons. From chores, to naughty things. Just remember to make it personalized to your relationship.

Ingenious Idea #7: Write a song & rock it!

Writing a song is like writing a poem, and whats more romantic then that? Of course you can write an emo song, but this is for the one you love so hopefully it will inspire you to write about the romantic side.Tiny details are important, just like anything else making it about your relationship and your love. Here's a video lesson from Zosia who wrote the theme song from "The Hills", which is pretty awesome if your trying to find your own creative song writing process.

Usually you would need to play an accompianing instrument like the guitar or piano, or if you have a friend that knows how to play have them work with you on coming up with a melody. Simple songs consist of a few chords, and can be learned really easily from books or sites on the web if your up for learning. Sometimes you can find music software that you can play around with, that can work on coming up with sound for a song.

Once you've got your song and all of its glory, get your music maker/instrument/musician friend/instrumental CD and go to an open mic night at your local coffee house and rock your heart out to your one and only. You absolutely cant go wrong if you've done your homework on this one, and even if everyone doesnt think your the most awesome thing in the world....it doesnt matter. You know why? Because the only thing that matters is them, and they feel like most important person in the world. For the simple fact that you wrote a song about them and are declaring it for everyone to hear.

Another idea for musical inspiration, is making a mixed CD of all the songs you've both really gotten into, they like, and possibly "your song". And if you dont have a song yet, choose one that you know you both will like and declare that to be "your guys song" so whenever you hear it on the radio or play it they'll be reminded of how romantic you are and your relationship.

Ingenious Idea # 8: The Love Letter

So you've seen many, many movies come into play that revolve around a love letter. Now its time you make one of your own. You may be intimidated by writing a love letter, but again its easier than you probably think. All a love letter consists of is the truth, and emphasis on what you love about your significant other. You shouldn't try to copy any one persons style, make it your own and tell him or her exactly how you feel and how happy you are to have found them. It doesnt have to rhyme, just take it paragraph by paragraph and make a rough draft for yourself. Here are some tips, if you have a case of love writers block...

Another great idea to counter a love letter, write a list of all the the things you love about that person. Then you can try and add them into sentences and eventually form an entire paragraph. Or you can still leave it in a list form, just dress it up a little bit so it looks even more special on the outside. You can even find romantic or vintage stationary at craft stores near you. Put it in an fancy envelope or roll it up and tie it with a ribbon. You can even drip some wax on the envelope seal or to seal the love letter scroll. Leave it somewhere nonchalant but also where they'll notice.

I know you can do it!! Dig deep and write soulfully. If your really desperate for words, find your favorite love poem and decorate the oustside in the same fashion. I'm sure it will still make a still make a mushy splash. For now thats all I have for Valentines Ideas for $10 or Less, I hope you find something that will inspire you to a greater love holiday. I now graduate you to an official love doctor. :) Happy V-Day!!