5 Thoughtful DIY Valentine’s Day Projects for Men
Valentine’s Day is the perfect occasion to remind the man in your life how much you love him, but there’s no question that all of the classic gifts – chocolates, greeting cards, wine, even fuzzy socks – can get extremely overpriced and expensive, not to mention the fact that it can be hard to find a generic gift that is personalized enough to make your partner feel special and loved. A homemade do-it-yourself gift can make the perfect addition to a store-bought product or something that you ordered online, and depending on the magnitude of the gift, can even stand alone as the perfect gift. Here are some clever gift DIY projects for you to create and give to the special man in your life!
A fun and flirty “coupon book.”
Put together 10 to 20 (or more, if you’re really into it) “coupons” for your special guy to “cash in” whenever he wants all year long! You can make the coupons worth any activity or treat as tame or as saucy as you want – obviously, you know him and the things that he likes better than anyone. Best of all, you really don’t have to spend big money on printing the cards on some special stationary or through a service. Handwritten coupon booklets work just fine, just be sure to use lots of pink and red decorations and stickers. He’ll love this gift because it was made just for him with his interests and preferences in mind.
A stay-at-home movie night gift basket
In the age of Netflix and Amazon Prime, it’s hard to remember that there was once a time that people put DVDs and even VHS tapes into consoles to watch a movie. If you have a DVD player for your TV, or even a disc drive on your laptop, pick out a few of his favorite movies (especially if there are sequels). If you don’t have the physical DVD, you can just write a cute little note in the card explaining that you’ve bought or are planning to rent a movie of his choosing online. Wrap it up with a big, soft blanket, some popcorn, and those big movie-sized candy bars to create an in-home movie theatre experience!
His favorite home-cooked meal.
No matter which one of you usually does the cooking, or whether you both tend to get your food through Uber Eats or Postmates, a home-cooked
A Travel Album
This is a great gift for the adventurous couple, and the best part is that it’s easily modified depending on the specifics of your relationship. Pick up a three-ring binder, scrapbook, or even a small photo album from your local bookstore and fill it with ticket stubs, boarding passes, developed photos, and other paper souvenirs from any trips or travels that you have already been on together. Haven’t explored anywhere fun yet, but you want to get started? Splurge on some tickets and place them in the front pages of the album with a card explaining your idea – he’ll get the message. If you can’t afford to make big trips, start small, with local museums or concerts. Any sort of memory photo album is a truly precious and classic gift in the age of the smartphone.
“I Love You Because…” dry-erase board
. These make a great decoration to put up all year round or hang up next year, once the winter holiday season has died down a little bit but before the special day has arrived for that year. You can order a special dry-erase board with the message “I Love You Because…,” or you can spend an afternoon crafting a little card or sign yourself to glue onto the board. With these signs hanging up, it will be a sweet and thoughtful activity to write a new message on it everyday so that he can feel truly appreciated when he comes home. Another great idea is to get a matching set of dry-erase boards, perhaps monogrammed or color-coordinated, and you can both make a project out of reminding each other the reasons for your love!