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How to do Valentine's Day on a Budget
Well I could be cheeky and say ignore it on the 14th and celebrate on the 15th or the 16th when the flowers are marked down, and the chocolates have been discounted and the steaks have been marked down to clear.
Or I could be even cheekier and say ignore it completely, and tell those you love that you love them every day of the year; show them that you love them by caring for them every day of the year.
But I won't be cheeky. I'll think about how I'd do Valentine's Day on a budget for my family.
I'd start by making little love notes to put in their lunches. Just little notes, hand written from me to them. Each one would be different, and just for the recipient.
Perhaps I'd make heart shaped pancakes for breakfast. To save time I'd make them the night before, and heat them in the morning. I'd chop some fresh strawberries and let them macerate overnight to top the pancakes. I could set the table with pink or red dishes and use a red tablecloth and pink serviettes. I could punch out red and pink hearts to sprinkle around the table.
For dinner the table could be set using my best dishes and nicest table cloth. I could break out the crystal candlesticks and put white candles in them (because I always have white, I would need to buy red or pink and I'm doing this on a budget).
During the day I'd look in the pantry and pull out the ingredients to make a cake for dessert. I'd use the heart shaped cake tins Aunty Elaine gave me when I was married, but if you don't have a heart shaped tin, you can still make a heart shaped cake.
You'll need a square cake and a round cake. Cut the round cake in half. Turn the square cake so it is on the diagonal. Put a half of the round cake on each side. Voila! You have a heart shaped cake. Cover it with icing or cream and no one will know it's really two cakes.
I'd use the choc melts (bought on half price sale in December) to make little heart shaped chocolates. Or perhaps I'd make a batch of MOO Condensed Milk and use it to make a batch of Two Minute Fudge, then use the heart shaped cookie cutters to cut it into heart shapes. If I was feeling extra fancy, I'd melt some white chocolate and dip the tops into it, sprinkle with red jelly crystals and let them set. I have cellophane bags in my card making stuff, so I'd package up a few in a bag and tie it with a red ribbon. Then I'd use the heart punch again to make a label for each one and tie it to the bag with some pink ribbon. One of these at each place setting will make the table look pretty and be a nice little gift too.
So far Valentine's Day on a budget hasn't cost a cent. Everything I've used has been on hand. Now that's great for the budget.
I don't have many flowers in the garden at the moment, but the white geraniums are pretty and there is still some lavender in bloom, so I'd pick a few stems of each and pop them into a mason jar. To tizzy it up and make it more romantic, there is some lace in the sewing cupboard that I could wrap around the neck of the jar and tie in a big, floppy bow. And there's a table centrepiece for dinner.
We're not drinkers, but I do have lovely wine glasses, so they would be brought out and just before we sit down to dinner, filled with sparkling water made using AJ's Soda Stream and some MOO lemon cordial.
For the main meal I'd check what was on the meal plan and that's what we'll be eating. I'll just make it a little nicer by serving on my good dishes and perhaps looking online for some presentation ideas so it looks impressive.
And after dinner, because it's Valentine's Day, I'll choose a movie we all like and we'll sit down together and watch it, with MOO caramel corn to munch on.
To me this sounds like the perfect Valentine's Day. Giving to the people I love most in the world. And not a single extra cent has been spent. Everything used and eaten and watched we already had.
So when you're thinking of Valentine's Day and cringing at how much the flowers and the card and the chocolates and the dinner out and the movie or whatever is going to cost, think about what you have, and how you can use it to make a memorable, budget friendly Valentine's Day.
Or I could be even cheekier and say ignore it completely, and tell those you love that you love them every day of the year; show them that you love them by caring for them every day of the year.
But I won't be cheeky. I'll think about how I'd do Valentine's Day on a budget for my family.
I'd start by making little love notes to put in their lunches. Just little notes, hand written from me to them. Each one would be different, and just for the recipient.
Perhaps I'd make heart shaped pancakes for breakfast. To save time I'd make them the night before, and heat them in the morning. I'd chop some fresh strawberries and let them macerate overnight to top the pancakes. I could set the table with pink or red dishes and use a red tablecloth and pink serviettes. I could punch out red and pink hearts to sprinkle around the table.
For dinner the table could be set using my best dishes and nicest table cloth. I could break out the crystal candlesticks and put white candles in them (because I always have white, I would need to buy red or pink and I'm doing this on a budget).
During the day I'd look in the pantry and pull out the ingredients to make a cake for dessert. I'd use the heart shaped cake tins Aunty Elaine gave me when I was married, but if you don't have a heart shaped tin, you can still make a heart shaped cake.
You'll need a square cake and a round cake. Cut the round cake in half. Turn the square cake so it is on the diagonal. Put a half of the round cake on each side. Voila! You have a heart shaped cake. Cover it with icing or cream and no one will know it's really two cakes.
I'd use the choc melts (bought on half price sale in December) to make little heart shaped chocolates. Or perhaps I'd make a batch of MOO Condensed Milk and use it to make a batch of Two Minute Fudge, then use the heart shaped cookie cutters to cut it into heart shapes. If I was feeling extra fancy, I'd melt some white chocolate and dip the tops into it, sprinkle with red jelly crystals and let them set. I have cellophane bags in my card making stuff, so I'd package up a few in a bag and tie it with a red ribbon. Then I'd use the heart punch again to make a label for each one and tie it to the bag with some pink ribbon. One of these at each place setting will make the table look pretty and be a nice little gift too.
So far Valentine's Day on a budget hasn't cost a cent. Everything I've used has been on hand. Now that's great for the budget.
I don't have many flowers in the garden at the moment, but the white geraniums are pretty and there is still some lavender in bloom, so I'd pick a few stems of each and pop them into a mason jar. To tizzy it up and make it more romantic, there is some lace in the sewing cupboard that I could wrap around the neck of the jar and tie in a big, floppy bow. And there's a table centrepiece for dinner.
We're not drinkers, but I do have lovely wine glasses, so they would be brought out and just before we sit down to dinner, filled with sparkling water made using AJ's Soda Stream and some MOO lemon cordial.
For the main meal I'd check what was on the meal plan and that's what we'll be eating. I'll just make it a little nicer by serving on my good dishes and perhaps looking online for some presentation ideas so it looks impressive.
And after dinner, because it's Valentine's Day, I'll choose a movie we all like and we'll sit down together and watch it, with MOO caramel corn to munch on.
To me this sounds like the perfect Valentine's Day. Giving to the people I love most in the world. And not a single extra cent has been spent. Everything used and eaten and watched we already had.
So when you're thinking of Valentine's Day and cringing at how much the flowers and the card and the chocolates and the dinner out and the movie or whatever is going to cost, think about what you have, and how you can use it to make a memorable, budget friendly Valentine's Day.