Want to get away from the typical flowers-and-chocolate-gifts for Valentine’s Day? Check out these 5 gifts to buy for Valentine’s Day instead ARE not flowers, and are in fact, waaaay better!

Valentine’s Day is known for flowers, chocolates, and cards. But do you know if your wife/girlfriend/significant other actually wants flowers or chocolate? I’m sure she’ll love anything you get her, including flowers, but here are some unique, easy gift ideas to buy for Valentine’s Day instead of flowers!

We don’t do anything special for Valentine’s Day – no big dinner plans, no fancy dates. In fact, I promised my husband that we could grab Panchero’s for dinner with our toddler that day (it’s like Chipotle, only waaay better).

So these are simple, easy ideas that would make me (or any woman) feel appreciated and cared about. Hint: you can do any of these on any random day; it doesn’t have to be Valentine’s Day. 

5 Gifts to Buy for Valentine’s Day Instead of Flowers

JORD Eila Suberhide Wallet

JORD is typically known for their gorgeous, sustainably made, high quality watches (trust me, your girlfriend/wife/significant other would love one of those too) but they’ve just launched a line of bags and wallets. 

3 reasons you should grab one for her as a last minute Valentine’s Day gift:

• it works as a wallet in her bag or as a clutch when she goes out. Women like versatile.  And most importantly, it’s big enough for a phone. 
• it comes already beautifully packaged for you, in a drawstring dustbag wrapped in a gift box with ribbon. Done and done. 
• the wallet (and the handbags) are sustainable sourced from the cork tree. It is one of only 3 types of trees that can have their bark harvested and still survive, so no trees are killed to make these amazing wallets! 

I don’t know many women who wouldn’t love to get one of these Suberhide (that’s cork leather, FYI) for Valentine’s Day or any other holiday. 

Click here to see the wallets and handbags and help JORD with their design survey! 

Give the Gift of a Cooking Date Night!

Valentine’s Day is about love, so a gift that the two of you could do together would be perfect! How about a meal subscription box? All the ingredients and the recipes are delivered straight to the front door, and you’re already to have a fun night cooking dinner together! You can even pick the specific recipes you want when you order, so you know that you’re getting something you’ll both love! Grab a steak or shrimp recipe for an extra-special Valentine’s Day gift that is so much better than flowers! My favorite boxes are EveryPlate, HelloFresh and Green Chef. And I’ve even got deals for you on all 3:

• : Use code BISCUITSANDGRADING30 to get 18 meals for $3.33 each and 6 meals free!
• : Use code BISCUITS90 to get $90 off! 
• Green Chef: Click the link and your $80 off + free shipping will be automatically applied!

$50 and a Trip to Target: 

Let’s face it: almost every woman loves a good shopping spree at Target. So, make her day by handing her some cash and then driving her to Target. Grab coffee together and share a long, romantic walk through the aisles of Target. Maybe she’ll return the favor with a trip to Bass Pro!

Make it even more special and use Canva to make her an invitation to her favorite aisle (for me: books/clothes/home decor)! She’ll definitely brag to all her friends about you!

A Couples’ Journal:

Flowers are sweet, but they don’t last. Grab a couples’ journal or letter-writing set and make some lasting memories together. Your wife or girlfriend will love this, because it (a) guarantees that you’ll spend time together to complete it, and (b) makes a lasting memory to look back on together. Here are some of my favorites:

• One Question a Day for You & Me: a Three-Year Journal – What I love most about this one is that it’s good for 3 years. So each question has three sections and you can fill it out every year and compare it to the ones before. 
• Celebrating Our Love: 120 Activities to Make Connecting Fun – This one is fun because it’s not just questions. It’s got games, word searches, and activities to make this whole thing fun. This one would be great for a guy who scoffs at a couple’s journal. It’s a great way to change his mind! 
• Me, You, Us: A Book to Fill Out Together – The layout of this one is so fun (click to go to Amazon and check out the ‘look inside’ feature) because it’s set up kind of like a bullet journal. It involves lots of quick notes and drawings, instead of long paragraphs to each other. 

A Couples’ Photo Session:

We did engagement photos, and wedding photos and maternity photos. But once we had a kid, all photo sessions were family photos. There aren’t any recent professional photos of just my husband and I. I’d love a chance to go take some romantic pictures with him (especially if he took the initiative to schedule them!), and I think it would make a special Valentine’s Day gift and a special date night. Check your local Facebook groups for photographers; a lot of them host mini-sessions for a very affordable fee! 

If you’re looking for some ideas for guys, check out this gift guide! Have a fantastic Valentine’s Day with your special person!