Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, and I must say, it was fabulous!!!! This is one holiday that I truly do not think you need to spend a ton of money on and still have the day be super special. Typically, Bradley and I cook on Valentine’s Day because it is much cheaper and it is something that we both enjoy doing. This was particularly true this year, since I am on maternity leave and not currently working. We wanted to have a fun day, so we decided that we would enforce a strict $5 gift budget, and a $30 dinner budget. This was actually really fun because it forced us to be creative with our gifts. Since it was Madeline’s first Valentine’s Day, I decided that his gift needed to be something involving her. Here is what I came up with:
I love to do arts and crafts, so I do have the advantage of having a craft room that is already full of paper, paint and ribbon. This surprisingly took a bit of time to complete, but I made it while Bradley was at work and Madeline was napping. I took a piece of glitter paper stock for the background and cut a smaller piece of polka dot scrap book paper. I then took a cookie cutter and cut a white piece of card stock in the shape of a heart and glued everything together. I then took a hole punch and poked two holes and tied a piece of ribbon at the top that I found in my ribbon box. I also have quite the stock of stickers, so I found a Valentine’s Day one for the bottom and the glitter ones for the “We Love Dada” at the top. I assembled everything and waited for Madeline to wake up from her nap. I was very worried that her handprint wouldn’t work out, so I made sure and took a picture of what it looked like before to show Bradley in the event that it got messed up. 🙂 Luckily, princess cooperated and let me put her handprint in the middle. I set it out to dry, and I was very pleased with the result!! Bradley was so excited when he saw his Valentine that he actually wants to set it out at work!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
I also made Bradley cookies (recipe here) while Madeline was napping, which were big hit with the hubs! This dough recipe is one that you can make ahead of time, which is very convenient. I already had the dough, so all I had to do was cut and bake the cookies while she was sleeping. Once Maddie woke up, I put her in her highchair beside me in the kitchen so she could “help me” while I decorated them. I used a basic glaze recipe and used some pink food coloring that I got for 60% off at Michaels!! This is a great time to purchase baking supplies because they are typically on sale at the various craft stores, and the colors can be used for lots of different events. I definitely need to practice my decorating skills, but I was happy with the finished product. Here is a close up of the cookies:
I save a lot of wrapping supplies so I am not constantly having to re-purchase things (which I HATE to do). This tiny bag was left over from Christmas, and the sheet of paper was actually left over from last year – LOL! I put Bradley’s gift inside and voila, there is a great Valentine’s Day gift for $5!! Yes, it definitely helped that I had a lot of this stuff in my house already. However, this is why it is so important to have your home organized. If you have everything clean, neat, and in an assigned location, then it is super easy to find things when you need them in a pinch (wrapping paper, scrapbook supplies, ribbon, etc). It will help you save quite a bit of money over a year, particularly during the various holidays.
I had everything set out and ready for when Bradley arrived home from work. I lit a candle that I already had, which added to my table decor. Here is the final product of what was waiting on him:
I took a cute video of the before, and it will be later featured on my YouTube channel. Bradley was extremely happy with his presents, which is a bonus after all of that hard work. He is an EXCELLENT cook, so he took over the dinner portion of the evening, with me acting as his sous chef. 🙂 This is another reason we do not go out a ton is because his food is typically better than most restaurants, so we can save a lot of money by eating at home. Here was the final set up:
We didn’t go crazy on the food since we were on a $30 budget, but we did manage to still have delicious caesar salad, scallops, green beans and lemon orzo pasta. Yummy!!!!
My gift was equally thoughtful from the hubs. He knows that I enjoy baking, cooking and hanging out with my mini-me, so he bought me a cookbook featuring things you can make with your children (and managed to find it for under $5 at Ollie’s – woot, woot). HOW SWEET IS THAT!?!?!
Little Miss Madeline received a tiny gift as well. I managed to find this adorable little mouse on the Gymboree clearance rack for $2.75!! She instantly started smiling and chewing on it, so I guess that is baby language for her liking it! 🙂
Easy, inexpensive and full of love!! We had such a wonderful day and we hope that you all did too. We will be doing something similar for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, so stay tuned. We love a good holiday dinner/party, and you don’t have to spend a ton of money to have one too! 🙂
From my family to yours, Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
XOXO,
Tiffany
