HOLIDAYS
HOLIDAYS
Avoid breaking the bank for Valentine's Day without skimping on the experience. Just follow our easy tips to enjoying V-day with your honey while sticking to a strict budget.
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Write up a list of your favorite restaurants, and call them to check if they are having a special Valentine's Day menu. If they are, move on to the next restaurant on your list to avoid the limiting Valentine's Day menu.
Search online for restaurants having Valentine's Day deals in your area:
New restaurants and more casual places sometimes offer great deals for Valentine's Day meals. Pitfire Pizza, (a Los Angeles-based gourmet pizza restaurant) for example, offered a Valentine's Day special that included a salad, pumpkin ravioli, gourmet pizza and one of their famous red velvet cupcakes by Auntie Em's for just $20. This price is less than the items cost on their regular menu, and was intended to drum up publicity for their new location. Good deals at restaurants can be had - it just takes some online sleuthing!
Find restaurants where you can bring your own alcohol:
This might not sound uber romantic, but there are many quality restaurants that simply don't serve alcohol or allow diners to bring their own bottles. This will allow you to buy a special bottle of champagne or wine at regular retail price, which can make any meal more fancy. Veuve and turkey burgers, anyone?
There is always the option of dining at home:
In this case, call up your significant other's mom and get the recipe to his or her favorite home-cooked meal. The sentiment and effort is more meaningful than any restaurant meal.
The packaging is the priciest part of most Valentine's Day gifts. If you want to shower your loved one with roses and chocolates while staying on budget, get creative by finding your flowers and chocolates online or at wholesale dealers. Once they arrive, create your own beautiful packaging.
Calling All Chocoholics:
For chocolates, buy a pretty box at Michael's or other local craft store. Place your wholesale chocolates inside. Purchase a few sheets of matching tissue paper and ribbon to dress up the box, and you have the perfect budget present.
Fabulous Flowers:
If you aren't set on giving her roses, consider other types of flowers to give - roses can get pricey during Valentine's Day due to the high demand. A large bouquet of red or pink carnations are just as beautiful but cost a fraction of the price - especially if you buy a large bunch from the florist and wrap the bouquet yourself. Also consider a non-traditional Valentine's Day floral arrangement. 1-800-Flowers has the cutest carnation cupcake that would make any girl melt, and it's under $25.
Bouquet Wrapping 101:
1. To wrap the bouquet yourself, visit a craft store and buy a roll of red raffia ribbon and brown paper-bag style wrapping paper for a rustic-chic bouquet.
2. Cut a two-foot long piece of wrapping paper and position it diagonally, wrapping it around the bouquet (which should be already tied with a rubber band) with the end corner pointing upward like a triangle above the bouquet.
3. Wrap the red raffia ribbon around the brown paper mid-stem of your bouquet and tie it in a bow to secure the paper onto the bouquet. Finish it off with a handmade card from the heart!
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