5 Unique Valentine’s Day Gifts

Looking for a great Valentine’s Day gift? We have 5 unique and meaningful ideas (in addition to chocolate)

If you’re anything like me, work and family life can get super hectic in the New Year, just before Valentine’s Day. I’m always scrambling at the last minute to come up with a gift for my significant other that isn’t just a bar of nice chocolate or a bottle of wine. He loves both of those things, but he really deserves a little more time and thought.  Whether you’re a procrastinator like me, or you’re planning weeks in advance – no worries, we’ve got you! We scoured the internet and came up with our top 5 meaningful and unique Valentine’s Day gift ideas:

A Donation to Their Favorite Charity

Is your significant other socially or environmentally conscious? If so, making a donation to their favorite charity in their name can be a great gift. Print out the receipt or certificate on nice paper, pick up a card, and write a heartfelt message inside. Need a few ideas of who to donate to? Here are three of our favorite local charities:

• The Inter-Faith Food Shuttle: The Inter-Faith Food shuttle is working to solve hunger and food insecurity in the Triangle region. They focus on hunger relief, community health education, farms & gardens, and more. Triangle Food Tours supports the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle through donations.
• Second Chance Pet Adoptions: Their mission is to champion healthy or treatable homeless cats and dogs to find their forever homes. They engage with our community to promote responsible pet ownership, and ultimately reducing future generations of homeless animals.
• Rescues4Rescues Pet Adoptions: Although this 501-C3 non-profit formed in 2012, they have been rescuing animals for much longer. They work to get all animals in their program adopted. Their mission is to save, assist, educate & advocate on behalf of animals & people with disabilities.

Night Sky

A Night Sky Print

These gorgeous star maps have been all over my social media lately. Here’s how they work: you enter a significant date (a first date anniversary, wedding, birth of a child, etc.) and a location. Night Sky then creates a 18x 24-inch print with a map of the stars on that night. You can even customize the text on the map to really make that special message pop. Click here to check them out.

Hand-Written Vows by sablewoodpaperco on Etsy

A Framed Copy of Your Wedding Wows

For those of my married friends, check out Etsy.com. This site features several calligraphers who will create a beautiful, hand-lettered copy of your wedding vows. Take it to a craft store to be matted and framed, then wrap it up for a romantic and meaningful Valentine’s Day gift.

So you’ve framed your wedding vows, why stop there? Find a meaningful poem and frame it. You can either write from the heart or check out some of our suggestions below, choose a letter or poem that you and your partner connect with.

Books of Poetry

Love Letters from Great Men book by John C. Kirkland

No, nothing has the power to part me from you; our love is based upon virtue, and will last as long as our lives -Voltaire to Catherine Dunoyer

My angel, my all, my very self -Beethoven to Antoine von Birkenstock Bretano

I love you …as the dew loves the flowers; as the birds love the sunshine; as the wavelets love the breeze… Mark Twain to Olivia Langdon

“Sonnet 43” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.

“She Walks in Beauty” poem by Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies

Local Bookstores

A Great Date Event

Show your significant other that you actually have been paying attention to what they say and that you support their interests. Stop at your local independent bookshop and pick up that book (or cookbook!) they’ve been talking about for ages. Write a nice note to your significant other on the fly leaf and call it a job well done! We particularly love Quail Ridge Books, Nice Price Books and Records, and So & So Books in Raleigh. Many of these local bookshops also have book signings and speakers. Bring your partner to check out a cool book event.

Join a Food Tour

A Date Tour

Last but not least, our very favorite Valentine’s Day idea is to give the gift of time and connection. It will probably come as no surprise, given that we are a food tour company, but we believe that a Triangle Food Tours is one of the best dates for residents of and visitors to the Triangle.

We give you and your significant other the opportunity to create fun, lasting memories together.  Our 3-hour tours give you and your partner the chance to connect and bond by learning, eating delicious food, and experiencing the unique culture of the Triangle together.

Click here to visit Triangle Food Tours, learn more about our tours, and pick up an online gift certificate for your next date night.