Sustainable Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas
My husband, Sebastian, hates Valentine’s Day. Every year when this holiday rolls around, he grumbles about how wasteful and shallow it is. He says, “I show you how much I love you all throughout the year, so why do we have to take part in Valentine’s Day?!”
But to be honest, I do enjoy Valentine’s Day! I have really happy memories from growing up and celebrating this holiday. Every year, my dad sends me three roses without fail and my mom gives me a small gift too! Growing up, I loved getting to pick out Valentine cards to take to school to share with my friends.
Now I KNOW Valentine’s Day can be a super wasteful holiday. Just after New Year’s, the grocery stores and big box stores already start stocking their shelves with tons of Valentine’s Day garbage. And there is So. Much. Plastic.
But we can still celebrate February 14th! We just need to be more conscious of how we do celebrate. I’ve whipped up a list of Sustainable Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for you, to help you celebrate this holiday whether it be with your significant other, your best gal pals, or at school!
Sustainable Gifts for Significant Other
When you think of Valentine’s Day gifts, I’m sure the first things that come to mind are chocolates, flowers, and jewelry right? We can still buy these fun holiday gifts but in a sustainable way!
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Fair Trade Chocolates
The chocolates and candies sold in the grocery store are usually pretty far from sustainably sourced. Not only are they often wrapped in plastic but many of these chocolates were produced by child laborers. Yikes! Fortunately, there are more conscious chocolate brands out there. The first one that comes to my mind is Alter Eco Chocolates. However, I’ve included some links to lists of other sustainable chocolate brands here:
11 Fair Trade Chocolate Companies For Your Conscious Cravings
The Best Sustainable Chocolate Brands
5 Sustainable Chocolate Brands You Need to Buy
Sustainably Grown Flowers
I LOVE receiving flowers! Seriously, they make me so happy. Before you rush out to buy cut flowers though, read here about the hidden environmental cost of Valentine’s Day roses. Then, consider purchasing flowers from a locally sourced, sustainable farm instead. There is a lovely solar powered and biofueled farm specializing in beautiful, local, seasonal flowers in our town called 3 Porch Farm. See if you an find something similar in your city!
A Potted Plant
While cut flowers are lovely, what about gifting a potted plant instead? A love fern perhaps? I think a live plant is such a wonderful gift, because your significant other can continue to care for it for years to come rather than tossing them in the compost once they’ve wilted like most Valentine’s Day flowers. Believe it or not, you can find live potted plants on Amazon, but of course, please check out your local plant nursery FIRST!
Fair Trade Jewelry
Gifting jewelry is a super idea. However, consider supporting a fair trade jewelry brand rather than purchasing from big box stores. Faire Collection has some gorgeous pieces that are designed in New York and crafted by fair trade artisans in Ecuador and Vietnam. You might even be able to find a local jewelry maker in your own town, and have a customized piece made for your lover!
Valentine’s Card by Local Artist
I love a good Valentine’s card. While a handmade card is my all time favorite, supporting a local artist is also a great option! For example, we have a local Athens artist that makes adorable punny cards. I’ve been eyeing these for Valentine’s Day. Check out Sam I Am Studios to see her work!
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Get 10% off your first zero waste order and all the latest Tiny Yellow Bungalow news!Experience Gifts
During the holiday season, I LOVE to gift experience gifts. Why not do the same for Valentine’s Day? Instead of spending your dollars on a box of chocolates or cut flowers, how about gifting your partner a massage? Or even better go with your partner for a couple’s massage! You could take your date to their favorite restaurant (sitting outside and socially distanced of course). I think even a delicious, thoughtful homemade meal can be really special.
Sustainable Gifts for your Bestie
Have you noticed the recent trend of celebrating Galentine’s Day? You don’t have to be in a romantic relationship to enjoy Valentine’s Day! I love the idea of sharing sustainable gifts with your dearest friends on this holiday.
Organic Wine
How about gifting your favorite gal pal a bottle of organic wine? They’ll be able to enjoy a delicious beverage without all the chemicals like synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Here are some lists of organic and eco friendly wines that you might want to check out:
10 Planet-Friendly Wines to Drink On Earth Day
The 15 Best Organic Bottles Of Red, White, Rosé, And Sparkling Wine
Zero Waste Self Care Supplies
If you’re reading the Tiny Yellow Bungalow blog, you’re probably interested in zero waste and sustainable living, which means you probably have some buddies that ALSO care about the environment. I bet they would be super stoked to receive a gift of zero waste self care supplies! Think a zero waste face mask, dry body brush, or a super luxurious vegan face cream.
Eco Friendly Candle
An organic, vegan candle is a wonderful sustainable Valentine’s Day gift idea to share with your bestie! There are so many sweet, small shops you can support that sell these kinds of candles. See if there are any local sellers in your town that make candles!
Experience Gifts
Gifting experience gifts for your significant other can be fun, but for your best pal as well! Maybe not a couple’s massage and romantic dinner but what about planning a fun night of wine, snacks, and a Meg Ryan movie marathon? Go on a fun hike with your dearest friend or hit up a cool new brewery!
Sustainable Valentine’s at School
I remember loving Valentine’s Day in elementary school. We would create boxes to store our Valentine cards from classmates then we would we trade Valentine’s. It was fun to see all the different Valentine cards my friends had picked out! Here are a few ideas of sustainable valentine ideas to share at school.
Heart Shaped Recycled Crayons
Last year, for Vasco’s classmates, we shared heart shaped recycled crayons attached to a little card stock Valentine card! I bought these crayons from a local sellers but I’m pretty sure you could make these yourself! Head over to Pinterest to find some DIY tutorials on how to make recycled crayons.
Homemade Valentine Cards
Is there anything sweeter than a homemade valentine card? No… no there is not! Vasco isn’t in preschool this year (thanks covid), but maybe next year we will try creating our own cards to share with his classmates! Again, Pinterest has some fun simple ideas for DIY valentine cards.
Seed Packages
We did packages of wildflower seeds as party favors for Vasco’s Zero Waste Birthday Party. Why not share seed packets for Valentine’s Day with classmates? You could print a cute punny message to glue onto the front of the package. For example, a packet of pea seeds with the message “peas be my Valentine.” Cute and simple, right?!
Mandarin Oranges
Another really simple Valentine idea — Mandarin Oranges! I’ve seen people share mandarins at Halloween with little jack-o-lantern faces drawn on them. You could do something similar for Valentine’s Day but instead right a fun message on them like “You’re a Cutie <3”
I hope these sustainable Valentine’s Day gift ideas help you celebrate this fun day without all the waste! Do you have any gift ideas to share?? Please leave them in the comments section for us!
