Our DIY Valentine’s Tradition
Our first Valentine’s together was 13 years ago. We were two kids, fresh out of high school, new baby at home, a couple of weeks from getting married. Ash was a stay at home mom (because it didn’t make financial sense to work and pay everything to daycare for Daniel) and Randy worked his tail off in retail … We lived in this tiny one bedroom apartment, shared a car, ate more quesadillas and ramen noodles than we’d care to admit … we were lucky to pay all our bills and be able to afford groceries at the end of the month.
But we were blissfully in love and none of those hardships mattered much because
we had each other.
Valentine’s Day may be somewhat a corny holiday for 97% of us, but it’s one we celebrate every year. We don’t go crazy on Valentine’s with the jewelry, flowers or chocolates (although, some dark chocolate Bordeaux’s from See’s Candy isn’t something either of us would say no to!) … instead, we celebrate it each year the same way that we did that first Valentine’s when we couldn’t afford to spend an extra $50 on cards, candies and flowers, let alone go out to a fancy dinner, get jewelry or go on a romantic getaway.
It’s become our Valentine’s tradition.
We homemake each other a Valentine using stuff from around the house – scrap construction paper, glue, glitter, stickers, puffy paint, markers, crayons, tissue paper – whatever we’ve got in stock in our art supplies box. The frillier, the better; the cornier, the better. Bonus points for puffy paint and glitter.
We’ve kept the Valentine’s we’ve made for each other over the year – some have faired better than others, some have actually become framed decor in our house … it’s little reminders that when it comes down to it: love gets us through it all.
So this Valentine’s Day, guys: don’t stress over spending a ton of money on your Valentine.
Don’t let a tight budget stop you from celebrating your love (and this goes much further than just celebrating Valentine’s Day!).
Love letters and glitter go a long, long way!
The key to a meaningful and romantic DIY Valentine’s gift is the time and love put behind it!
