Frugal Fun: Inexpensive Last Minute Valentine's Day Ideas

We’re bringing this post back around because it’s that time of the year again! It’s so timely because the holiday is only just a week away! We updated some of our suggestions from before and even added some links you can quickly Amazon Prime or ship to your favorite store if you want! Want to know what some of the things are that we do, have done, or would suggest for you to do for Valentine’s Day if you’re planning for it at the least minute? Check these suggestions out!

Last Minute Valentine’s Day Ideas

I remember when my husband and I first started dating, I was really excited for Valentine’s Day because it was the first time I would have a valentine to celebrate within a couple of years. A commercial holiday that I normally dreaded was now something I was excitedly looking forward to.

Well, our first Valentine’s Day was spent together at Moe’s because my now husband did get me anything nor plan anything. I dressed a little nicer than usual, expecting something and getting nada.

Needless to say, we had a conversation that night about what our expectations were and are for Valentine’s Day, so there wouldn’t be any more years of disappointment.

Now that we’re married, Valentine’s Day isn’t really as exciting simply because we try to work in date nights and times where we’re spending intentional time together as much as we can. However, we still try to celebrate it because it’s a good opportunity for us to spend additional intentional time with other without many interruptions, but normally we’re last minute when it comes to planning it.

Go figure, huh?

I think last year was the second or third year we planned it in advance, but before that it was a struggle trying to find a place to take a last-minute reservation. Some years, V-Day just seems to slip from us. If you’re in the process of currently trying to determine some last-minute date and gift ideas, I have a post for you!

DATE IDEAS

Cook a Meal Together

Trying to reserve a table at your favorite restaurant will be pretty much impossible on the day of Valentine’s Day. Trust me. We’ve tried. However, grabbing some of your favorite ingredients from your local grocery store and making one of your favorite dishes together? Priceless and no need to deal with pesky traffic or parking. To make it really special, you can add ambiance music similar to what you’d hear playing in the background of a restaurant (bonus points if themed for the cuisine), dim the lights and sit at the table as if you’re eating out.

Movie Night with a Popcorn Bar:

My husband and I love watching documentaries together. It’s one of our favorite ways to relax together after a long day of working if we can manage to find one we’d both like to see.

One way to enjoy V-Day is by watching your favorite movies using a streaming service such as Netflix or heading to our local store with a RedBox kiosk to watch them! We like to each pick a documentary or film we’re interested in seeing and watch them both while having dinner or eating a snack. You can make it even more enjoyable by setting up a popcorn bar with all of the fixings!

(Related Reading – Planning a Movie Night on a Budget)

Make a Craft Together

Grab a couple of art canvases, paint and tarp and have a paint night at your house! If painting is not quite your thing or something that’s feasible, maybe you can make a vision board together or something with less mess. The added benefit is most craft stores aren’t as crowded as some other places will be when you’re looking for something for Valentine’s Day at the last minute.

Game Night

We don’t do this often, but game nights are a great idea for a last-minute Valentine’s Day idea! Grab your favorite games or warm up your game console and play a few games together! Recently we’ve played a Sherlock Holmes-themed card game where you’re given a bunch of riddles to figure out.

Build a Fort

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always liked the idea of building a fort. Maybe it’s because growing up, there were a handful of times where we’d sleep downstairs when it was really hot upstairs so my parents would grab sheets for us and pull out the mattress. For us it was fun and it’s a memory I really appreciate and hope to continue with our future family. Grabbing a few sheets, a few eats and making a pillow fort downstairs while watching our favorite shows. If pillow forts aren’t your thing, maybe grab a blow-up mattress and snuggle as you watch your favorite films there!

Make Your Own Sundae

I feel like I’ve featured this before, but it’s so fun to do and simple to grab ingredients for at the last minute. Grab your favorite ice cream flavors and toppings and enjoy! Once we both grabbed pint-sized flavors to have for ourselves so that way he could enjoy his coffee flavor while I indulged in mine.