3 Awesome & Intentional Gifts for Couples This Valentine’s Day

It’s February! The holiday of love is soon approaching and I’ve got you covered with 3 Awesome & Intentional Gifts for Couples this Valentine’s Day! This isn’t a huge holiday for our family, but we do acknowledge it and celebrate love in all of its forms within our family unit.

I like to get a little something fun for each kiddo! And Eric and I usually make time for each other to celebrate. This typically looks like a date night out to eat and to a movie.

Instead of making a list of 20 “things” to throw together and gift, I tried to create a simple list of really great quality items or experiences for you to consider. And I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but after reading through this list from last year, I’ve got to say it’s quite good! haha I don’t really have anything to change. It even reminded me of things we still (thanks COVID) need to do ourselves!

There are three ideas in this post. One is super budget-friendly ($). One is your typical date-night-out expense ($$). And the last one is a bit of a splurge ($$$), which is sometimes needed if you’re in a marriage rut and need a reset.

We’re trying to be really intentional about gifting experiences over things, so this list is perfect if you’re in that boat, as well. Also, I haven’t met a couple yet that thinks marriage is easier after having children. Therefore, I think making a conscious effort to spend time with your significant other is important, as opposed to spending money on things. What better reason/excuse to spend quality time together than by celebrating the holiday of love – Valentine’s Day!

Okay, I won’t get too mushy here, let’s cut to the chase…

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3 awesome & Intentional Gifts for Couples this Valentine’s Day

1 – The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Cost: $

A few years ago, we were in Barnes & Noble around Valentine’s Day. I happened upon this cool little book that had a daily question/prompt for people to answer. They make these types of journals for individuals, kids, etc., but the one I got was specifically created for couples. It’s a three-year journal that has a prompt/question for each day of the year.

If you need a very simple and easy way to connect with your partner, I encourage you to get one of these books! Life is chaotic with children, and there is very little time each day to really connect and do something for your marriage.

These books provide a consistent way to connect with your spouse, and it doesn’t require a lot of time or effort. It’s also super fun to see what you write year after year in response to each question. You’ll have this little record book of your life for years to come. It’s so neat!

We started with this one – Our Q&A a Day – a few years ago. We’re currently using this one – One Question a Day for You & Me. However, I happened upon this Question of the Day for Couples one at Sam’s Club during my Monthly Shopping Trip and I just couldn’t pass it up.

Here’s my honest opinion – all of these books are good. The “One Question a Day for You and Me” book has been alright, but we don’t like the questions as well as the first one. The new one’s questions look better than both, so we’re going to start in January and catch up quickly for the year.

Update 2021: In full transparency, we’ve gotten way off track doing our journal (sigh). In fact, I don’t know that we’ve touched one since I wrote this post last year. Here’s a tip, if you get one of these keep it out where you see it daily (ask me how I know, ha)! Life just gets a little crazy sometimes. I think I’ll go pull ours out of the nightstand right now, so we can get going on it again!

                           

And also note, the “Question of the Day for Couples” is themed in a religious format. It’s not just scripture and faith-related questions, but there are some and the quotes at the bottom of each page are from scripture and bible verses. I wanted to touch on that so you can get the one that best suits your relationship!

2 – The Budget-Friendly Quality-Time Date

Cost: $$

Couples Experience – We are really into going out to eat (preferably trying something new) and then going to a movie. It’s our go-to date. But, I want to challenge you (and us!) to go above and beyond that this time. Do something new!

Tell me, what do you do when you go out to eat and go see a movie (hint: it’s pretty self-explanatory)??? Let me help you out. You go and you eat, and then you go and you watch the movie. Whoaaaaa…. mind. blown. Haha!

I do have a point, I promise. While those two activities are fun and easy to do (like I said, they’re our go-to’s), they aren’t really providing good ol’ quality time together. You aren’t really spending a lot of time talking or looking at each other. There isn’t a whole lot of effort or interaction taking place from either party during those activities. So, I’m challenging you to step out of your comfort zone and do something else!

It doesn’t have to be something you’ve never done before, just something that requires a bit more effort and attention from each of you.

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Here are a few ideas that I’ve added to our list to try sometime:

1. Go to a cooking class together. If you enjoy Italian, this is an excellent option in Des Moines: Cooking with Alessandra.
2. Go make something for your home together. There are a variety of businesses locally that do the grunt work and facilitate the project for you, but I went to Board & Brush in Des Moines a couple of weekends ago with my Mom. It was very laid back, super easy, and I assure you there were other men there doing a project, too (in case your partner needs some convincing!).
3. Heck, if you guys are handy and can work well together on your own, build something at home together or tackle a DIY house project together. Just make sure the kids are out of the house and you do the project together! Eric and I did this Accent Wall together when we were preparing our nursery. It was fun to work together (we still had our moments of bickering throughout the process, don’t worry) and the finished product was well worth it!
4. This is one I think we should definitely go do together – Go sledding or skiing together! If you don’t have access to hills at home, there’s Sleepy Hollow in Des Moines that has great sledding hills. They’ll even pull your ass butt back up the hill. Let’s be honest, might be worth every penny just for that! If there is anything I’ve learned about becoming a parent, it’s that it’s fun and super duper okay to be a dang kid every once in a while! This would be an excellent option for letting your freak flag/kid flag fly for a few hours!
5. Go do a wine/beer tasting or cheese tasting somewhere! The options for this type of date are almost endless. We’ve been wanting to try The Cheese Shop in Des Moines for quite some time (hint hint, honey). They make it more of an experience because their events are also educational. It sounds super fun! Pick somewhere new you’ve been wanting to try and hit the road (even if it is a couple of hours away, just do it!).
6. And finally, we love to go do escape rooms together. Yes, just us two! Fun fact, we did our first one over in Edinburgh, Scotland on our honeymfoon back in 2014 before they were really even a “thing” here in the U.S. We were hooked! We’ve done a couple here in Des Moines, too – Escape Chambers and The Escape Rooms. This is a great COVID-friendly option!
7. Axe Throwing – We’ve done this in a group setting, but it would be fun to do as a date, too! Here are options in Des Miones – Lumber Axe, Ironside Axe Club

3 – Couples Stay-Cation

Cost: $$$

I have a detailed post about our recent, spontaneous stay-cation in Des Moines during a snowstorm. You can read all about it here! If you and your partner are in need of an extended amount of quality time, you should consider making a weekend of your Valentine’s Day celebration.

It’s surprisingly fun to play “tourist” in your own town. You can try new restaurants. You can stay at a cool hotel or B&B (we love staying at Bed & Breakfasts!) and do something new in your own town! Maybe there’s a little town nearby that you’ve been wanting to visit. Now is a great time to make it happen. If you’re local, go see how we spent 24 hours in Des Moines. It was so much fun!

Whatever you do, Celebrate Your relationship

3 Awesome & Intentional Gifts for Couples this Valentine’s Day

During these long, cold, winter months (along with COVID living now) it’s easy to get cooped up and too comfortable with just going through the motions of everyday life. Making an intentional effort to try something different with your partner can help refresh your perspective. It’ll also give you the boost you need to get through the last few weeks of winter!

Whatever it is you decide to do to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, I hope it’s fulfilling for you and your partner. I hope these 3 Awesome & Intentional Gifts for Couples this Valentine’s Day sparked some interest and inspires you to step outside your comfort zone. Send me a note, comment below, or share your Valentine’s Day experience with me on social media. I’d love to hear from you!

Cheers to Love (and the chaos)!

-MG

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