Frugal Valentine’s Day Ideas

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Valentine’s Day is coming up, and no doubt many of you are trying to make some plans! Whether you love or hate Valentine’s Day, it can be an expensive holiday, with cards, flowers, gifts and fancy dinners. I will admit that I don’t think we have ever gone out to eat on Valentine’s Day (we were both servers at one point, and remember how crazy that night can be!), and we don’t usually do lavish gifts either. For many of our early Valentine’s Days we simply could not afford to do anything, and now that we could afford it, it seems like a waste of money.

Here are some frugal Valentine’s Day, or just general date ideas! Many of these we have actually done ourselves.

Cook Dinner Together

Cooking doesn’t seem that exciting, but you could try to recreate your favorite takeout dish, or if you want to take it up a notch you could have a Chopped competition and see what you each make from ingredients you already have. One thing we used to do was have an “International Date Night” where we would pick a country and one of us would make the main dish, and one would make an appetizer or dessert, you didn’t know what the other was making until the day of! It was really fun and a great way to try new food.

Play A Game Together

I love games. I grew up in a family that played games all the time and it’s one of my favorite things to do with my husband or a big group of people. You could play a board game, a video game or card game together. Take it up a notch by betting that the loser has to make dinner!

Make Cards

Cards are expensive, although I admit that I love them and keep them all. To keep costs down you could make cards for each other. Try to be as creative as possible! I personally love funny ones.

Make Fondue

We’ve done this one a couple times on Valentines Day! We got a fondue pot as a gift a long time ago, but you could always melt cheese or chocolate on the stove for a delicious fondue!

Walk or Hike

I love getting outside, even in the winter! Going for a walk in a local park, or a hike on a trail is a great way to spend time together and enjoy the outdoors. If it’s snowy where you are maybe you could try snowshoeing! In Halifax where we live, you can rent snowshoes from MEC for $15 a day.

Skating

Even if you’ve never skated before, it can be a fun activity! Local arenas may have skates for you to borrow for cheap or free, and family skates are usually cheap or free!

Brewery or Winery Tour

If you live close to a brewery or winery you may be able to take a tour, or at least go in for a tasting flight for pretty cheap. It’s also a great way to try a new brew before you commit to a whole bottle or case!

Go For A Drive

Sometimes it’s fun just to go for a drive and see where you end up. Put on a podcast, or your favorite playlist to sing along to. Stop wherever looks interesting!

Bake Bread (Add Wine & Cheese)

Most people have the ingredients to make bread already in their kitchen, but if not, pick up some ingredients along with wine and cheese and make yourself a little cheese board. Artisan bread is easy to make, even for those less experienced with baking! Try this tried and true recipe.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are so many things to do together that aren’t expensive! Sometimes you just need to think outside the box a little. Are you doing something frugal on Valentine’s Day?