Aaaaaahh, love. What is it about this magical four letter word that turns your legs into jelly and gives you butterflies in your tummy? If you’re pro-valentine’s day, welcome. This article is for you. If you’re on the anti-valentine’s team, we get it. Love should be celebrated every day, it’s true. If you and your partner celebrate love every day, we are SUPER envious. But more often than not, people get caught up in their lives and work, and celebrating love takes a backseat. So it’s nice to have a day to remind you to celebrate your partner and your special bond. You can’t deny that!
Sure, the cliché chocolates/flowers/perfume gifts work great! But maybe you’re looking for something a little non-traditional or more personal? We’ve got just the ideas for you!
1. Make a custom story-book
Do the both of you have the cutest story about how you met? storybird.com will help you put the story into an actual book! You can choose from a variety of formats, and a gazillion of the cutest pictures you’ll ever see! The website is incredibly easy to use and you’ll find yourself typing away the most heart-touching of stories. A hardcover book costs around AED 110, and an e-book (pdf file) costs only around AED 11! The only downside is that this website is based in America, so shipping to Dubai will cost you an arm and a leg. We recommend downloading the pdf and getting it printed from Dubai!
2. Make a photo-box
Ok so you like the idea of telling your story, but maybe you’re not really good with words or you can’t afford the shipping. We’ve got the perfect alternative! These fun pop-up photo boxes are easy to make and sooo adorable. You can customize these to tell your story or just put pictures of all your favourite memories together, or however else you please! You could even write a small note behind each picture.
You can find a tutorial at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHNe3eaxQpA or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT6zdhBuYpI.
3. Bake them some roses
This is for all the sweet-tooths out there. These apple rose tarts require literally just three main ingredients to make, can be made by even amateur bakers AND they are so so so gorgeous! A foodie’s take on the traditional rose bouquet, if you will!
Watch the tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS0z9DSZNHo
4. Gift them a forever Rose
So maybe baking isn’t your thing, but you still want to get them a rose. How about gifting them a rose which lasts, literally, forever?! These beauties 100% natural, and if you keep it in its glass dome, it doesn’t even have to be watered or receive sunlight! An unprotected rose lasts a good three years. The only downside is that it is quite pricey; USD 70 for an unprotected rose and a protected one starts at USD 199. But shipping to the UAE is free, and it does last forever, so it could be a good gift to show someone that you truly care!
Buy one at https://www.thebellarose.com/online-store.
5. Get their caricature drawn
This is perfect for a fun loving couple who enjoy the occasional digs at each other. www.dezains.com is an Indian website, and you can get caricatures drawn of your partner/you/both of you! They even have tons of products that you can print these caricatures on like canvases, magnets, posters, t-shirts, etc. They do offer international shipping, and if you email them with your product description and location, they will get back to you with the estimated delivery time and shipping cost.
6. Show them you care with a care box!
This is, personally, one of my favourites since it can be customized to suit your partner’s tastes. All you need to do is get a box/basket, and put in a load of their favourite things! You can do a movie night box with popcorn, drinks and a couple of your favourite DVDs, or for a chocolate-loving partner you could stuff a bunch of their favourite chocolates! It’s simple to make, doesn’t have to be too expensive, and shows that you put in a lot of care and thought! Plus, this is a gift that you can actually share with them! 😂
7. Tell them what you love about them (with a little help)
What I Love about You is a book by Kate and David Marshall, specially designed to help those who aren’t very good at verbally expressing their love. The book is described as a fill-in-the-blank book which prompts you to say what is in your heart, but may not always be at the tip of your tongue. Tell the most important person in your life just how much they mean to you by completing the scores of unique, evocative checklists, short answers, and phrases in this attractive gift book.
Find the book in bookstores or purchase it from Amazon.
8. Have dinner with them…IN THE SKY!
We’ve saved the priciest one for the end. Have a three-course meal with your partner, sip on a few drinks, enjoy some music..all the while floating in the frikkin’ sky on a platform! Dinner in the sky has been named as one of the world’s most extravagant meals by Forbes magazine. Prices start at AED 499 per person and each session lasts roughly around 90 minutes. What brings two people closer together than dangling at a height of 50 metres from the ground, eh? 😂
P.S. Not for the faint-hearted! For bookings contact https://dinnerinthesky.ae.
9. Make them feel loved from miles apart with some roses & champagne
Gifting gets infinitely harder when your loved one lives on the other side of the world. Thankfully online services such as Roses Only (among others) make it much easier to bridge the gap. You can choose from different gorgeous sets of roses, lilies, teddies, champagne bottles and chocolates. They are available in Singapore, UK, Hong Kong and the US.
Written and Researched by Zeba Bashir
