Let’s be honest: Valentine’s Day is the most difficult holiday for gift giving. There are different levels of intimate, and sometimes you just don’t want to spend the money. Guys have it easy: they can just do the flowers and chocolates (and maybe jewelry!) thing, but we can’t. Here’s an easy guide that’ll make Valentine’s shopping a little less stressful.
For something really personal but on the cheap side, go for the Mix Tape. Before you say anything, yes, it’s a little corny, but so is Valentine’s Day. If you and your guy both agree to go the mix tape route, it can become a really cute and personal way to share inside jokes and favorite songs. Plus, it’s midterm week, and all a mix tape demands of you is a good ten minutes with your iTunes library.
Need some Valentine’s day beauty tips? Don’t know what fragrance to wear? What to do if you’re single? Check out the HC UPenn Valentine’s Day articles.
If you still want to keep it personal but are willing to spend money and give it a little extra time and effort, give your guy something that really speaks to the kind of guy he is. For example, if you’ve got someone who loves his guitar (and if you have a musician, lucky you!) go the extra mile by getting him personalized guitar picks. Pickfactory.com has them for you for $40.05. Put his name, your name, a cute joke or something endearing so the next time he’s playing you a song, he thinks about you more than he already is. He’ll definitely appreciate the effort.
If you’re still game to spend money but want to go for something a little more fun and a little less mushy, get him tickets to something! Dr. Dog is playing at the Electric Factory on March 24th and 25th, and tickets are on sale for about $50.00 through tickets-center.com. If he’s more into sports than music, tickets to the Mavericks @ Sixers game on the seventeenth start at an easy $12.00. Either way, tickets to something off campus are a fun way to get away from campus.
To keep things fun but not break the bank, keep it classic. He gives you candy, you give him candy. No guy won’t love a huge bag full of all his favorite candy with a cute little note – simple is good! Hit up CVS or Wawa and have fun piling together tons of candy.
In the vein of candy for your guy, what about your friends? Bring back the days of Kindergarten valentines and hand out lots of lollipops or small candies to all your friends. Put them in a cute bag and make everyone’s National Singles’ Day Valentine’s Day a little bit sweeter.
Finally, if you’re in a time crunch, the bookstore has everything you need to celebrate at the last minute. From Godiva chocolates to endless red Penn swag, they’ve got you covered.