5 budget-friendly gifts for Valentine's Day

To save you from all the stress of choosing the perfect gift and let you enjoy this celebration of love, we’ve rounded up a list of V-Day presents that balance thoughtfulness and budget.
 1. Love Journal

The best Valentine’s Day gifts aren’t necessarily the most expensive ones. A little book of love notes isn’t going to break the bank, but it will certainly leave a mark on his/her heart. Buy a journal and fill in the pages to create a personalised gift book that your loved one will want to read again and again. You can fill each page with lines that describe something you love about them. You can be as cheesy or as romantic as you like but it’s guaranteed to be one of the most memorable presents your partner will ever receive.

2. Fitness Wearable

Whether or not your partner is into fitness, this Valentine’s Day, gift them your care in the form of a fitness wearable or a smartwatch. So for this Valentine’s Day, surprise your partner by gifting them a fitness wearable that can help keep an eye out for the activities they do throughout the day.
3. Instant Camera

When you are with the one you adore, every moment is special and every moment counts. There’s no better way to capture those memories to remember than through a polaroid camera. The instant cameras bring that raw feel of photography and those prints are so compact and amazing. Pose, click, flip and voila, there’s your printed moment. You can easily paste it up on the wall or add it to your photobook and cherish those memories for years to come.
4. Planters

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic absolutely reshaped our lives, and though it took us a lot of struggle, pain and time to adjust to the new normal, it also kind of made us more aware of our surroundings and nature. Hence, this V-Day, gift your partner planters that will add an extra element of life to their house and transform the energy in the space.
5. Books

A good book is a better gift than candy and flowers combined, though books go great with chocolate and wine. Even if you are not able to determine the perfect book for your partner, think about the books that excite you the most. Or maybe even find one that the two of you can read together. In totality, it’s the personal touch that makes giving a book so fantastically special and even the Cupid would surely agree.

The history and significance surrounding the day of love

Love is in the air as the much-awaited Valentine’s Day will be celebrated today by couples of all ages. While this day is now known for gifts, fancy dinner dates, and an overall celebration of love, the origins of Valentine’s Day are far less romantic. Valentine’s Day is named after Saint Valentine, a  clergyman who lived in Rome during the 3rd century B.C.

How Valentine’s Day got linked with love?
The poet Geoffrey Chaucer, author of ‘The Canterbury Tales’, who lived during the Middle Ages was the first to link St Valentine with romantic love. This was the beginning of the tradition of courtly love, a ritual of expressing love and admiration, usually in secret.

This custom spread throughout Europe and stories grew about a High Court of Love where female judges would rule on issues related to love on 14 February each year. Historians believe that these meetings were in fact gatherings where people read love poetry.
The older practice of sending love messages gradually developed into people sending special cards expressing their affection. These cards were beautiful creations handmade by the sender and individually designed to show how much they loved the recipient. Cards would usually contain sentimental verse, proclaiming the beauty of the receiver and how much they were loved.

Initially, it was about having one valentine throughout the year. But it later evolved in the 19th century and sparked questions about the sincerity of exchanging pre-printed cards and the sanity of spending exorbitant amounts of money on them.
Valentine’s Day and the exchange of valentines were a way that people in the emerging middle class in the 19th century negotiated that complicated relationship between romantic love and the economic reality of marriage.
Valentine’s Day today is celebrated in a variety of ways. While it is celebrated in most countries, different cultures have developed their own traditions around this day.

In some parts of the world, Valentine’s Day is observed as a day for expressing love between family members and friends, rather than that of romantic couples. Some traditions include leaving lollies and gifts for children and others include acts of appreciation between friends.
For those who are trying to figure out what to do on Valentine’s Day, it is important to know that there are no rules. This is a new era that we live in, and people can celebrate this day of love however they deem fit, even if it is just through self-love.
A nice dinner outing, going to the movies, cooking a fancy meal at home, or hosting Valentine’s Day party are all great ways to celebrate this day of love. Whatever you might do, if you have a romantic partner, just make sure that both of you are on the same page to avoid any disappointments.