Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and similar to other countries throughout the world, in Albania it is a thriving holiday! In fact, next to New Year’s it is the most celebrated holiday of the year for the population at large. Coffee shops and restaurants are filled to the brim throughout the whole day with starry-eyed couples savoring their love.
With the economic crisis tightening many wallets this year, I thought I’d share a few simple, frugal, yet meaningful Valentine’s gift ideas that I gave my TCLH Valentine last year which he really enjoyed.
1. Create a Wordle and frame it.
Words are a powerful source of encouragement. And we all like to be creative. Wordle.net provides a way to put your words in a colorful arrangement. This is a meaningful gift not just for Valentine’s but I’ve often used a Wordle for a friend’s birthday or just to brighten someone’s day. You can choose different colors, fonts and arrangements to make your Wordle to your liking. 
You can save the Wordle, print it out and frame it for your special Valentine. (Just a warning here– it can be addictive trying to get the perfect design.)
2. Create an Animoto Video Valentine.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s your chance to communicate several thousand words with some of your favorite pictures to surprise your Valentine. I used Animoto’s free service last year and posted it on my Facebook page to surprise TCLH. It was a fun way to send a special “I love You” message to start the day.
3. Bake Something Special.
Chocolate is always a favorite on Valentine’s– and since my Valentine loves strawberries, I made chocolate-covered strawberries and orange slices last year for our candlelight dessert.
So easy to make– and inexpensive– simply melt baking chocolate or even a dark chocolate bar, being careful to stir continually, dip the strawberries (or whatever your passion is) in the chocolate and place on a plate covered with tin foil. Give it time to cool and then enjoy a scrumptious dessert to top off the evening.
Okay, so mine didn’t quite turn out like this one pictured, but you get the idea.
What Valetine’s gift ideas do you have that are simple, inexpensive, loving, meaningful and fun?
P.S. Happy Valentine’s TCLH… TDF!
