Not everyone is a fan of “single’s awareness day” or “Hallmark day” but I have always loved Valentine’s Day – even when I was single. For one, the colors are awesome, and secondly, hearts are fucking cute! Plus – Candy!! In high school I used to buy carnations and send them to my girlfriends for fun. They probably received them hoping they’d be from their crush and saw my name on the card and were immediately disappointed, but it’s the thought that counts I figure. If you want to get someone special a gift that is a little more unique than a box of chocolates or flowers, here are some ideas:

For the girly girl:

A pink tea kettle. I love this one from Amazon! And I may sound crazy, but my tea just seems a bit better when I make it with a tea kettle versus using the microwave to boil the water. It’s all about the ritual of making tea that is soothing. You can add in bags of your favorite tea, or loose leaf tea with a cute strainer, or local honey.

A pink handbag. I love this Kate Spade one. The hot pink stripes remind me of Barbie – who also fucking loves Valentine’s Day I’m sure! I blame my BFF, Jenna for getting me addicted to Kate Spade. She gifted me my first Kate Spade bag at my bay shower – a bright orange diaper bag with hot pink bows printed on it. It’s beat to hell after using it for two kids now, but I’ll never get rid of it. I bought myself the handbag below as a valentine to myself.

A festive throw blanket. Make a theme out of it. Buy this blanket, a nice bottle of wine, and get a movie off Netflix for a romantic, cozy night in. Or for you single ladies, cuddle up with this, drink wine, and watch chick flicks with your gal pals!

Fun socks: I’d like to say I was before my time, but it’s more that I was a nerd in high school and loved wearing printed socks instead of regular ones. Here are some cute ones that are festive as fuck.

For the athletic girl:

A water bottle and yoga mat. I love this water bottle and this yoga mat from Amazon!

A nice pair of headphones for the women in your life who love to workout or travel. Not that these headphones are just for travelling of course, but they definitely are great for cancelling out the background noises of your seatmates snoring or kids crying on crowded planes just as much as they cancel out the grunting of men at the gym chucking their weights. (A reason I hate the gym and prefer working out at home….what’s with the fucking grunting guys?!)

For the practical girl:

A coffee mug: Pair it with Kona coffee to up the ante. I love this one for gal pals. (Or for any of you men that read this, if your wife has a sailor mouth like me, she’ll love it too!)

A comfy bath robe. This one is adorable, cozy, and comes in either a festive red, blush, or bright pink.

For your neighbors:

Baskets of tiny, cute bullshit: I have three ladies on my street that I’ve become very close with. One of them, Jenny, reads this blog, so sorry Jenny, this is no longer a surprise for you. 😉 I recommend finding a cute basket like this or mug and filling it with chocolate, notepads, tissue, or any other appropriately festive trinkets you can tuck inside a cup.

For Teachers:

Goodie bags/baskets: Every teacher gets slammed with the “best teacher ever” boxes of chocolates. So I made cups similar to the ones above. Instead of heart notepads, I found notepads that say “Thanks for helping me grow” and other teacher-ish slogans on them. Then I tucked in Starbucks gift cards figuring they’d appreciate a caffeine hit after dealing with sugared up kids.

For him:

Fun Boxers: Vince isn’t a fan of the crazy printed loose boxers, but does like boxer briefs like these. But if the man in your life likes the crazy printed ones, try these!

Whiskey glasses like these. Bonus points if you also get him an ice cube tray to make sphere ice cubes like these so he can have his whiskey like a fucking gentleman.

Beard Grooming kit: This one is nice and has all he would ever need to keep his facial hair in check.

Underwater camera: One like this is great. If your man isn’t into snorkeling or diving though, then an old school polaroid camera like this is a great alternative.

A weighted blanket: One like this is great and you can pick the weight and dimensions of it.

For young kids:

Once again, baskets of tiny shit: This year I got each girl a heart shaped tin of chocolate, a barbie “blind bag” surprise pet, My Little Pony Equestria dolls, hard candy, lollipops, and chapstick. (Amazon currently has the Disney Princess packs of chapstick for just $5.54!) Valentine’s Day books like this, or a craft they can make like this are also great ideas. For boys, you can fill their baskets with Micro Machines, play doh, and baseball gumballs!

For the experience lover:

You don’t need to get an actual gift for your valentine. An experience like a massage, a night away in the mountains, a photography class, a dance class, or a cooking class are all great options!

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