London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2025

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at home this year with these thrifty but nifty ideas

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at home this year with these thrifty but nifty ideas

Enjoy a romantic evening at home this Valentine's Day with these budget ideas for the big day. They're on us!

Valentine’s Days will look a bit different this year. But who says it has to be about long-stemmed red roses, fancy truffle-filled chocolates, pricey restaurant reservations and expensive romantic getaways. This is the year to explore the wonderful Valentine’s day budget ideas to celebrate on the cheap from home.

We see the seasonal date as a lovely excuse to spend time with the one you love. Keep it simple, keep it cost-effective. In place of splashing the cash on an evening out, this year spend Valentine’s Day at home for a fuss-free, fun time with these budget date ideas…

Valentine’s day budget ideas
1. Start the day right




Prepare to serve breakfast in bed. it can be as simple as toast and a tea, but make it feel special by serving breakfast in bed. As Valentine’s day falls on a Sunday this year a lazy lie in is well-deserved.

2. Craft a homemade gift




Forget banana bread, the popularity of beer bread is on the rise! While we can’t get out to the shops making your own gifts is a fabulous idea. Not only does it keep costs low, it shows it’s the thought that counts. From a homemade recipe gift set to a scrapbook of treasured memories, 2021 is the year for thinking outside the box for gifts.

3. Decorate your home




Get arty with your decorations by making them yourself. This is better than any fine-dining restaurant reservation. Make your own cute paper hearts to fashion garlands. Of course you can buy them ready made, still cost-effective and an easier option.

Take a leaf out of the trend setters book and put up a Valentine’s day tree even!

4. Make a Valentine wreath




Cut from the garden or make do with a budget bunch of roses, craft your own wreath. this hung on the front door is a sign of love for all that pass by.

5. Bond over a shared passion for craft


From painting to sketching, or even taking the lead from ‘Ghost’ and trying your hand at pottery, an arty activity is an intimate way to spend quality time with your partner. Jess Martin, expert party planner at Ginger Ray suggests, ‘Stick on some chilled-out tunes, pour yourselves a glass of red and take a moment to really absorb yourselves in this soothing activity. It’s a great way to spend some one-on-one time with your loved one without having to pull out all the stops.’

‘If you’re looking for something a little more hands-on, there are some amazing online art classes out there that you can take with your partner – such as life drawing. If you guys fancy keeping it between the two of you and spicing up the evening, then why not use each other as life models? Or, if you want to get your Patrick Swayze on, order an at-home pottery kit and let those creative juices flow.’

6. Re-enact your first date




For serious brownie points, re-enact your first ever date (if you can remember it!), whether that be a mock picnic, karaoke night or cocktail-making session.

7. Theme your evening




Whether your partner wishes they were in New Orleans or Thailand, theme the evening with food and decorations from their most lusted-after romantic getaway.

8. Get your glad rags on




Just because you’re staying in doesn’t mean you have to be in your pyjamas. Put something sexy and sassy on and make the effort! It is Valentine’s Day after all.

9. Create a home spa




Light some candles, fill a bath with bubbles and take time out to relax. Because you can’t go to the spa, make the spa come to you. Even opt for a couple’s massage – all without having to leave the house or spend a penny.

10. Cook a sweet treat


The way to the heart is through the stomach after all, so get cooking your sweetheart’s favourite dish or bake their guilty calorie-laden pleasure for a treat.

11. Host a movie night




There’s not a lot that beats a movie night in. Get their favourite film (make it a rom-com) or the latest release and hunker down for the night in a fort of blankets and cushions surrounded by the glow of fairy lights.

12. Host a cook-off


A little competition is always healthy so challenge your partner to a cook-off. One of you makes the main whilst the other does desert but be sure to judge fairly!

13. Set up a scavenger hunt




Set up a fun treasure hunt with trails of clues or rose petal paths dotted all over the house leading to their gift. Ginger Ray’s Jess says, ‘It may seem cheesy, but a treasure hunt can be a really great way to pick up the pace of your festivities and make an event out of your gift exchange. Get sentimental with your special someone by dotting little sweet notes around the house and garden for them to stumble upon. Adults like games too you know!’

14. Stargaze




For true romance finish the evening under the stars! Set up camp in the garden beside a fire pit and stargaze all night whilst you roast marshmallows and sip hot rum drinks.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
×