Last Minute Valentine Gifts & Ideas

Ranked #4,035 in Culture & Society, #85,635 overall

Last minute doesn't count really, because any day can be the Valentine's Day

Last minute Valentine gifts - the title said it all. Whether you have simply forgotten all about Valentine's Day or you just couldn't find appropriate gift because you wouldn't want to repeat yourself every year by going the same old "flowers & chocolate" routine, this is the page for you. There are plenty of unique fresh ways of showing your loved ones that you care - it's not all in the wrapped up boxes, you know! This time you can make a gift they will never forget, because chances are it's going to be the first time they ever received such a gift. And at the same time you will not have to stand in those long lines in overcrowded shopping malls only to pay for something that just about everybody else is buying.

Sounds too perfect, I know, but you can relax. The perfect ideas are always the most simple ones, and that is why I just love these last minute Valentine gifts!

Why is it important to give gifts?
It is not only a token of appreciation and love, but a way of paying forward as well. If you read the book or saw the movie, you know what I'm talking about. (See below for more information on the movie). Gifts are like the power grid - they connect power stations (people) and conduct electricity (people's emotions) providing light, enabling us to see things more clearer, raising our awareness of what is really important in life, making us feel connected, in unity with others. And the best thing is the gifts are reciprocal in nature. Every bit of energy you send out will sooner or later return back to you. What you give is what you get! You'd better give something of value then. Something that counts.

NOTE:
Any day can be the Valentine's Day! It is really sad that people tend to make gifts only on Christmas or birthdays or Valentines. On those days people expect to receive gifts anyway, but imagine the impact you can make on someone when you give them something just because it's Friday, or just because it's the first day of Summer, or because the Moon is full again, or for no reason whatsoever. Talking about that power grid - you'll be needing a lot more storage capacity!
Important!

There are two things about the gifts for Valentines

One
The gifts that most women hope to receive on the Valentine's Day are flowers, jewelry and chocolate. Men on the other hand expect candies, a cologne or some kind of entertainment product, such as electronic gadgets, computer accessories or DVDs.

Two
The usual way of spending an evening on the Valentine's Day is going out to a restaurant for a dinner, or to the movies.

This Is The Essence Of The Gift

presenting gifts People hope to get things that already made them happy at some point in their past, but what really made them happy were not material things. It was the good time they spent with the people they loved, and that brings us to the essence of making a good gift - YOU!

You can make them any gift you like, no matter how small or symbolic it is, as long as it's wrapped up in a special kind of way. The wrapping in this case is the way in which you will present the gift.

Of course, you don't have to be naked like in this picture (unless you want to), but everybody knows that gifts work best if they are wrapped up in colored paper, have a love note attach to it, or is accompanied with a kiss. That is the essence of the gift - not the gift itself, but the way you present it.

Make A Multi-Leveled Gift

You might say that a perfect gift is one that has a multi-leveled structure:

THE GIFT ITSELF


A FANCY DINNER


SOME QUALITY ENTERTAINMENT



These three levels of a perfect gift is something you can do at your home, at a very low price, and you can repeat it as many times as you like in the future without the risk of getting bored.

Last Minute Valentine Gifts & Ideas - LEVEL 1

MAKE A GIFT BASKET

THE BASKET
Fill the basket with the things you know they'll enjoy. For example, various types of candies, pieces of white and dark chocolate, candy bars, gummy bears... whatever. The more the better. What's important is that the basket is filled with lots of candies of different colors and shapes.

It is also important that it's the type of candies they like, of course. I for one love gummy bears, and once I got a gift basket full of all kinds of gummy bears I was completely overwhelmed. Happiness truly is the simplest thing.

THE SECRET GIFT
Now, here is the twist. You're not making an ordinary gift basket, you're making the secret gift basket.

After you're finished with all the candy-unpackings and basket-fillups, put a special little item, your special little secret gift at the bottom of the basket. I will help you later on in finding that little special item you would want to give to your special one, but bear in mind that this is the part of the task that needs some investigation. You will have to remember what it is that they really would like to get. Dig through your memory, try remember their preferences, their likes and loves, their crazy-about-it's. There must be something. And it usually isn't something unaffordable. It could be some quite inexpensive little thing, but for them it will be very powerful, and that's just because you presented it in a special way. (see below for suggestions on secret gifts)

HAVE YOUR GIFT BASKET READY IN 41 MINUTES

You can come up with hundreds of homemade gift basket ideas It will take you 1 minute to download this book, 10 minutes to get an idea and another 30 minutes to shop for the things you want to put in the basket, even less if you look for them on-line (see below for some quick ideas).

Now, how's that for the last minute gift!

Last Minute Valentine Gifts & Ideas - LEVEL 2

CREATE A FANCY RESTAURANT AT YOUR HOME

What makes a fancy restaurant?

1. Good food Secret recipes, mystery ingredients, special preparing techniques, spells and magic... It's all bull! This might have worked in 17th Century, but today we live in the information world - there's no more secrets! Well, not too many of them anyway.

I will point you to a very special place here. It is the ultimate source of all kinds of recipes. But what really makes it special is the simple fact that they took the jealously guarded recipes from the The Cheesecake Factory®, KFC®, The Olive Garden®, PF Chang's®, Red Lobster®, Chili's® and many others restaurant chains, and place it down for you to recreate them at your home.

As I said before, the perfect ideas are almost always the simplest ones. You will find how easy it is to make all kinds of secret sauces, comfort foods, desserts, even beverages!

Good food goes with a good wine. There is popular misconception when it comes to wine. People tend to believe that the only kind of good wine is the expensive one. That cannot be farther from truth. Quality wines can be cheap. I suggest that you look for the brands that come from "non-wine" countries. For example, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia. These countries posses very good vineyards, summers are long there, with a lot of sun and right amount of rain, which result in high quality grapes. Chile and Argentina also produce quality brands. Chilean wines are exceptionally good, and I must admit they are my favorite (look for Casillero Del Diablo!!!)

Look these up in your local stores. They are cheap, sometimes very cheap, and they posses the quality and taste that stand side by side with the world's most famous French, Portuguese or Californian brands. Trust me on this. Save your money by buying quality not a brand!


2. Atmosphere
Atmosphere makes the half of the dinner you eat. This fact is often used in restaurants that don't have quality food. Did you notice it? Candles, flowers, colorful tablecloths, over-sized napkins and waiters that smile too much. Well, it works. It almost makes you embarrassed that you're so well catered for, so the food comes in far second place.

This kind of atmosphere can be easily reproduced at your own home - you just need some imagination. (You can skip the grinning waiters.)

Search your cupboards. Find tablecloths that you unforgivably rarely use, some napkins (they don't have to be big) and all the candles and candle sticks you can find. Don't be afraid to improvise - if you don't have those long stem wine glasses you see in the restaurants, ordinary ones will do just fine. The same goes for the plates - they don't have to be the size of Texas to enjoy the meal. Always remember, you are the essence of the good atmosphere. Without you this whole stuff wouldn't work for your partner anyway!

So, set the table, turn the candles on and put some downtempo ambient music in the background. There's your fancy restaurant! When you put that magnificent (and expensive looking) food that you prepared on the table that you so beautifully set, and when you put on something that you don't wear every day, and when the music gets into the mix, you'll have all sensations covered - visual, olfactory and audible. This is the gift that can stand all by itself!

Last Minute Valentine Gifts & Ideas - LEVEL 3

BUILD YOUR HOMEMADE MOVIE THEATER (No bricks needed!)

So...

The candles are burning with that warm yellowy light that sparkles your lover's eyes as you're holding hands, chatting in a relaxed way about something so pleasantly unimportant.

The food is still warm and tempting, the glasses with wine look like rubies of some ancient royal chalices. The basket filled with candies aside, still treasuring the secret gift yet to be found.

You could be only two people left in the world. You could be first two people on a newly found planet. Romance can be felt like a long friendly hug on a snowy morning.

What better time to watch a movie! Together. Curled up under the blanket.

Thousands of movies at the press of a button. The choice is yours. The genre as well. Maybe something you've already watched, something that you know by heart and enjoy every second of it. Maybe something new with a promising title, something that could fit the perfect evening you're having. Maybe something silly 'cause you feel like laughing forever. Or
something romantic, something sexy...


All days can be like this. Every minute an adventure, every hour a universe with billions of stars waiting to be wished upon. But this is not the end. There is one more level, the ultimate elevation, the very doorstep of divinity. (see below)

50 Greatest Romantic Movies (1980-2009)

Choose One Of These To Watch After That Dinner

This is the list of top 50 greatest romantic movies you may consider to download for your special evening. They all work like a charm. Women love them, and men pretend to not care. That's why I attached stars (*) next to those that according to surveys men adore!

Somewhere in Time

(1980, Jeannot Szwarc) (Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour)
Beyond fantasy. Beyond obsession. Beyond time itself... he will find her.0 points

Titanic*

(1997, James Cameron) (Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet)
A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets0 points

An Officer and a Gentleman

(1982, Taylor Hackford) (Richard Gere, Debra Winger)
It will lift you up where you belong.0 points

Amelie

(2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet) (Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz)
One person can change your life forever.0 points

The English Patient

(1996, Anthony Minghella) (Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche)
In love, there are no boundaries.0 points

You've Got Mail*

(1998, Nora Ephron) (Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan)
Someone you pass on the street may already be the love of your life.0 points

Ghost*

(1990, Jerry Zucker) (Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore)
A love that will last forever.0 points

French Kiss*

(1995, Lawrence Kasdan) (Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline)
Kate's stuck in a place where anything can happen with a guy who'll make sure that it does0 points

Shakespeare in Love

(1998, John Madden) (Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow)
..A Comedy About the Greatest Love Story Almost Never Told...0 points

A Walk in the Clouds

(1995, Alfonso Arau) (Keanu Reeves, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon)
A man in search. A woman in need. A story of fate.0 points

Dangerous Liaisons

(1988, Stephen Frears) (John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer)
Lust. Seduction. Revenge. The Game As You've Never Seen It Played Before.0 points

Body Heat

(1981,Lawrence Kasdan) (William Hurt, Kathleen Turner)
It's a hot summer. Ned Racine is waiting for something special to happen. And when it does... He won't be ready for the consequences.0 points

Made In Heaven

(1987, Alan Rudolph) (Timothy Hutton, Kelly McGillis)
12,000 babies will be born in the United States today. Two will already have fallen in love.0 points

Pay It Forward

(2000, Mimi Leder) (Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt)
Like some other kids, 12-year-old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded.0 points

Sleepless in Seattle*

(1993, Nora Ephron) (Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan)
What if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew was the only someone for you?0 points

Persuasion

(1995, Roger Michell) (Amanda Root, Ciaran Hinds)
Whom will he marry? One of Anne's sister's husband's sisters? Or will he and Anne rekindle the old flame?0 points

Message In a Bottle

(1999, Luis Mandoki) (Kevin Costner, Robin Wright-Penn)
A story of love lost and found.0 points

The Princess Bride*

(1987, Rob Reiner) (Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn)
Scaling the Cliffs of Insanity, Battling Rodents of Unusual Size, Facing torture in the Pit of Despair. - True love has never been a snap.0 points

Pretty Woman*

(1990, Garry Marshall) (Richard Gere, Julia Roberts)
Who knew it was so much fun to be a hooker?0 points

The Bridges of Madison County

(1995,Clint Eastwood) (Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep)
The path of Francesca Johnson's future seems destined when an unexpected fork in the road causes her to question everything she had come to expect from life.0 points

Ladyhawke*

(1985, Richard Donner) (Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer)
Cursed for eternity...No force in Heaven will release them. No power on Earth can save them.0 points

Moonstruck*

(1987, Norman Jewison) (Cher, Nicolas Cage)
Life. Family. Love.0 points

Kate & Leopold

(2001, James Mangold) (Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman)
If they lived in the same century they'd be perfect for each other.0 points

Always

(1989, Steven Spielberg) (Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter)
They couldn't hear him. They couldn't see him. But he was there when they needed him... Even after he was gone.0 points

City of Angels

(1998, Brad Silberling) (Nicolas Cage, Meg Ryan)
She didn't believe in angels until she fell in love with one.0 points

Ever After

(1998, Andy Tennant) (Drew Barrymore, Dougray Scott)
Desire. Defy. Escape.0 points

The Last of the Mohicans*

The Last of the Mohicans - (1992, Michael Mann) (Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe)
The first American hero.0 points

Jerry Maguire*

(1996, Cameron Crowe) (Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger)
Everybody loved him... Everybody disappeared.0 points

When Harry Met Sally*

(1989, Rob Reiner) (Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan)
Can two friends sleep together and still love each other in the morning?0 points

Romancing The Stone*

(1984, Robert Zemeckis) (Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner)
She's a girl from the big city. He's a reckless soldier of fortune. For a fabulous treasure, they share an adventure no one could imagine... or survive.0 points

A Room with a View*

(1985, James Ivory) (Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands, Daniel Day-Lewis)
Lucy Honeychurch, a young Englishwoman, makes her first visit to Florence, Italy in the early 1900's. There, she meets a quiet yet eccentric young man.0 points

American Dreamer

(1984, Rick Rosenthal) (JoBeth Williams, Tom Conti)
She was an ordinary housewife until her trip to Paris turned into an extraordinary adventure.0 points

Emma*

(1996,Douglas McGrath) (Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam)
Cupid is armed and dangerous!0 points

Out of Africa

(1985, Sydney Pollack) (Robert Redford, Meryl Streep)
Based on a true story.0 points

Regarding Henry*

(1991, Mike Nichols) (Harrison Ford, Annette Bening)
The story of a man who had everything, but found something more.0 points

Dirty Dancing*

(1987, Emile Ardolino) (Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey)
Have The Time Of Your Life0 points

First Knight*

(1995, Jerry Zucker) (Richard Gere, Julia Ormond)
Their greatest battle would be for her love.0 points

Life Is Beautiful*

(1998, Roberto Benigni) (Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi)
An unforgettable fable that proves love, family and imagination conquer all.0 points

Remains of the Day*

(1993, James Ivory) (Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson)
A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years post World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty has been.0 points

Under the Tuscan Sun

(2003, Audrey Wells) (Diane Lane, Raoul Bova)
The Only Thing More Surprising Than The Chance She's Taking...Is Where It's Taking Her0 points

Forest Gump*

(1994, Robert Zemeckis) (Tom Hanks, Robin Wright Penn)
The story of a lifetime.0 points

As Good as it Gets*

(1997, James L. Brooks) (Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt)
Brace yourself for Melvin.0 points

While You Were Sleeping

(1995, Jon Turteltaub) (Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman)
A story about love at second sight.0 points

Notting Hill

(1999, Roger Michell) (Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts)
Can the most famous film star in the world fall for just an ordinary guy?0 points

Sliding Doors*

(1998) (Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah)
There are two sides to every story. Helen is about to live both of them ...at the same time. Romance was never this much fun.0 points

Like Water for Chocolate

(1992, Alfonso Arau) (Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos)
A feast for the senses!0 points

Overboard*

(1987, Garry Marshall) (Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn)
Rich bitch Joanna hires country carpenter Dean to build a closet on her yacht. When the two don't see eye-to-eye, Dean is left unpaid while Joanna sets sail.0 points

Green Card*

(1990, Peter Weir) (Gerard Depardieu, Andie MacDowell)
An irresistibly charming comedy!0 points

A Walk to Remember

(2002, Adam Shankman) (Mandy Moore, Shane West)
Love is like the wind. You cannot see it but you can always feel it.0 points

I.Q.*

(1994, Fred Schepisi) (Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan)
Think Love.0 points

http://www.michellepfeiffer.co

0 points

Last Minute Valentine Gifts & Ideas - LEVEL 4

ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE

There you have it. We've come almost to the end of the road. There's one more level to visit. You may decide to accomplish just the first one, or to go a little further, to the second level. Or perhaps if you feel like really giving something unforgettable do all three levels. You may mix it up a bit, use one of those today and leave others for some future occasions. Whatever your decision may be, you are bound to make an impact on your partner.

People run out of ideas. The pattern dictated by the commercials and big chain stores has the tendency to turn us all into the mindless robots that just shop because they were told to. We've stopped listening to our hearts - we listen the voice on the screen, feast our eyes on motley assortments of richly colored packages and odd-looking .99 numbers. It is time we regain our souls and start giving each other something that counts, something from the heart, not the TV commercial.

Level 4 will let you enter the new realms of excitement and human brilliance. It will rekindle your innate ability to ride the ebbs and flows of life with ease and confidence, to look upon things as they really are, to feel joy and fulfillment in everything we do, to dream once more and watch the dreams come true.

This is no magic... but there IS a trick to it.

If you're ready to go I will lead you to the next level. If you're not, come back when you are. There is no hurry - it will always be there waiting for you. You cannot lose it.

(to be continued... check back soon)

Secret Gift For Her

***************************************

Karat Platinum Open Heart Pendant, 18"

Amazon Price: (as of 02/12/2012)Buy Now

This beautiful karat platinum open heart pendant is just perfect for your secret gift. Buried under candies and waiting to be found when your girlfriend is sure she already got her present, it will secure your place in her top 3 gifts she has ever received. This one counts!

Of Something Like This

Loading

Secret Gift For Him

****************************************

Could not locate item B0019446N8. Please try again.Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.

Or Something Like This

Loading

Reader Feedback

submit

by

RobynBains

I believe in love. I know it sounds corny but I don't care.
Love can change the world. Imagine if we could all draw our attention to the things we l...
more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!