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Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and the sea of red that hits you as soon as you enter a store seems inescapable. Even if you don’t particularly want to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and are irritated by the overt commercialism of the whole thing, there is still a sense of pressure that you should be doing something.
Some of our reaction to Valentine’s Day depends on where things are at in our personal lives. If you are in a relatively new relationship then Valentine’s Day can actually be quite fun and exciting: even if it is all rather cheesy. If you are newly single it can either be poignant or something of a relief, depending what happened; and if you are a happily established single you can take the opportunity to treat yourself and escape from it all.
But if you are in a longer term relationship it can be really tricky to think of some fresh way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Something that isn’t too cheesy and is not a total rip off, but that you will both enjoy.
For starters, forget going out for a meal! Prices are horribly inflated on Valentine’s Day, and sadly the quality doesn’t always match the price. A good alternative is a lovely meal at home instead. Or why not consider doing a Valentine’s celebration on a different date? You could have a meal out, a day out, or even a mini break some other date in February, avoid all the hype and still have a lovely time.
As well as celebrating Valentine’s Day by doing something together, many couples like to exchange gifts. But again, it can be difficult to find the perfect gift for your loved one. There are the obvious gifts that come to mind, most of which are aimed at women. For example, flowers, chocolates, jewellery, lingerie or cuddly toys. And, whilst any of these will probably be appreciated, it’s always nice to find something a bit different.
At Print Your Memory, we have a great idea for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. Why not create some wall art especially for your loved one? A personalised item that they will be delighted to display at home, and will be able to enjoy every day for years to come. This makes it a gift that will last, rather than be eaten, worn out or thrown out in no time at all. A gift that keeps on giving.
If you like the idea of wall art, here are five suggestions for what you could include in it:
So many of us have lovely photos on our phones and computers but very few are displayed in the home. So this Valentine’s Day why not unearth a really good photo of the two of you and get it made into wall art? It doesn’t have to be anything too formal, just a great shot that you really like and deserves to be displayed rather than lost amongst dozens of others.
As an extension of the above, you could collate together a collection of photos that are meaningful to you. For example, some of you both, or individually, family, friends, places, events. Use a phone app such as Picsart, Moldiv, PicCollage or Diptic – or some simple computer software such as PowerPoint – to create a collage from these photos, then get that made into wall art.
If you and your partner like travelling, you could get creative and put together a map of some of the places you have travelled to. For example, you could take photographs of maps, and overlay these with mini photos of the two of you in some of the places, and/ or a text note that is meaningful to you. Again, this can be done quite easily with a phone app or computer software. And once you have your finished map, it will make a fantastic unique piece of wall art.
Whether or not you are well-travelled, there may be one obvious place that is the most meaningful to you. It may be where you met, where he/she proposed, where you got married, or just a special place for any other reason. So find your best photo of that place and transform it into wall art for your home. You can then see it every day and be instantly transported back to your happy place.
Remember that wall art is not just about images. It can include text too. So if you have a song that is special to you, a great idea is to display the lyrics of that song as wall art in your home. And this is where you can get really creative! Using software such as Google’s Word Art or Apple’s Wordificator, you can easily create a shape – such as a heart – and fill it with words of your choice. Once you are happy with the result, that can then be made into word art as a permanent reminder of the lyrics that you love.
We hope that the above ideas have given you some inspiration for creating a unique Valentine’s Day gift this year. And remember that, for all the above examples, Print Your Memory can help you transform your precious photos quickly and easily into stunning wall art : you can find out more here.
Check back here soon for more photographic and home decor tips from Print Your Memory.
