We all know that trying to be frugal when you have to buy last minute Valentines gifts for your wife or girlfriend is a challenge at best, but we can all try, right? Valentine’s Day really is more of a holiday meant for the ladies and while it’s largely promoted by the greeting card industry, why not show your special lady you love her with a nice Valentines gift?
If you have put off buying a Valentine’s Day gift, don’t fret; you still have time! The beauty is that a lot of these last minute Valentines gifts are not exclusive to Valentine’s Day, but can be used as last minute gift ideas at any point in the year.
Table of Contents
Last Minute Valentines Gifts For Her
Any gift you give should come down to the thought you’ve put towards it, and making it personal, as opposed to spending a certain amount of money.
If you need some ideas, below are some popular Valentine gift ideas for that special woman in your life.
1. Get Her a Massage
Massages are a popular Valentine’s Day gift for women, and who can blame them – they are awesome. Massages vary significantly in price and you want to make sure that you get your wife a nice massage package.
Many businesses know this and offer specials for those looking for last minute Valentines gifts at an affordable price.
These are also popular through Groupon. If you do buy one through a Daily Deal site make sure and read the fine print before purchasing so you know when they expire or if other services are required to get the discount.
*Related: If you’re looking for jewelry at a great price, check out some of the deals on jewelry at Amazon!
2. Let Her Take a Bath
Many women love taking a hot bath after a long day – at least I know my wife does.
One of the best gift ideas I came up with in the past was buying her the Bamboo Bath Caddy on Amazon.
If your wife is like mine then she’s going to love the Bath Caddy as it lets her to keep many of the things she wants on it without risk of damaging it.
The Caddy fits perfectly across our tub and has space to put things like books, a TV remote, or a glass of wine.
This allows my wife to relax and enjoy her bath even more. If you’re looking for a great last minute Valentines gift idea for your wife, you can have it within two days if you’re an Amazon Prime member.
3. Make Her Dinner
While making your wife or girlfriend dinner may not classify as one of those last minute Valentines gifts you can purchase, for many it will be just as popular.
Speaking from experience, my wife works hard and having one less dinner to prepare means a lot to her. Step up to the plate and make a nice meal with wine and a little candlelight to create a romantic atmosphere.
*Related: If you’re looking for last minute Valentines gifts for that special man in your life, you can check out those possibilities here.*
If you have children, consider including them in the festivities as an opportunity for the whole family to make Mom feel special and loved.
What I like about this option is that it’s more personal than many of the other last minute Valentines gifts.
4. Accessorize That Dinner
If you want one of the more unique valentine gifts for her then consider the Candelabra Wine Bottle Topper from Amazon.
I bought the Wine Bottle Topper for my wife several years ago and it was an instant hit. It’s a perfect complement to a romantic dinner.
The Wine Bottle Topper is relatively simple to put together and all you need is a few tea lights to make it a nice little decorative piece.
Pair this with a nice bottle of wine and it makes for a great last minute Valentines gift.
5. Give Her a Basket Filled With Candy
What if your loved one does not like chocolate? I know, it sort of goes hand in hand with Valentine’s Day, but it is possible.
We can tend to buy a box of chocolates or buy a bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s Day without thinking and thus possibly put no real time into it.
If your wife or girlfriend likes candy other than chocolate you may find yourself looking for other last minute Valentines gifts, and you can still deliver.
If you know what her favorite candies are then you can buy some smaller portions of the selected candies and arrange it into a nice basket for her.
This gives variety but also shows that you took the time to think of something a little more creative to give her. If you’d rather not go to the store and fight the crowds, you can also buy candy on Amazon and get it shipped right to you.
Bottom Line
You don’t need to spend a lot of cash to make the day special. Like the saying goes, it’s the thought that counts.
Personalize the gift and it’s likely something the woman in your life will enjoy and appreciate.
What are your favorite last minute Valentine gift ideas?
I’m John Schmoll, a former stockbroker, MBA-grad, published finance writer, and founder of Frugal Rules.
As a veteran of the financial services industry, I’ve worked as a mutual fund administrator, banker, and stockbroker and was Series 7 and 63-licensed, but I left all that behind in 2012 to help people learn how to manage their money.
My goal is to help you gain the knowledge you need to become financially independent with personally-tested financial tools and money-saving solutions.
John, not sure if you have them where you are, but Trader Joe’s always has great flowers at cheap prices too. And LOVE both the making dinner idea and the “day to yourself idea”, both are a huge blessing to most moms.
Having the kids make cards is a biggie for me. It costs next to nothing and will be cherished forever. Great post!
We got a Trader Joe’s about two years ago and you’re right that they have good flowers at a reasonable price as well. I like to do the kids making a card for mom as well, actually for any holiday is priceless and well loved.
I make my wife dinner every second day, she must feel special all the time 😉
My fave last minute gift ideas is probably flowers with a box of chocolates. You can’t really go wrong with that combo.
I bet she does. 🙂 I don’t cook that often, but I like to help when I can. That combo can be a good one!
I like the “make her dinner” idea. I personally need to learn to cook more so that when I “cook” it’s more than frozen pizza or heating up frozen food : P My wife has started to learn to cook quite a few dishes and I feel bad that she’s the one that’s always cooking. If we weren’t on vacation for Valentine’s Day I would use that idea for sure.
I hear you there DC! I can cook, but prefer to grill. I can grill pretty much anything, so it’s always nice to grill a nice steak or chicken. Throw some veggies on from the garden and you’ve got a great meal. 🙂
“Give her a day off” is an excellent idea, John! I like the way you think!~ I would love it if Greg did that =)
Thanks! Hint, hint Greg. 🙂
Using a daily deal site is great idea. I didn’t think about that one. I buy flowers at the local grocery store. The prices are much lower than any florist or online and they last just as long or longer.
Thanks Jon! It can be tricky at times, but often you can find a good deal with them and they know men are looking for something to buy, so there can be some good deals to snag.
Valentines day is just another hallmark holiday for the retailers. Why show your love on one day? There are 364 more days in the year to do so. But I do like your ideas, especially “an off day” to your loved one.
Amen Eddie! We view everyday as being special and really take a low key approach to the day. We’d much rather spend money on each other for our anniversary which is not far behind.
Roses are so freaking expensive!! I was quoted £85 ($140) for 2 dozen. How mad is that?
I agree, that is nuts! When I do buy flowers for the holiday it’s not usually roses but something like tulips or a nice arrangement that is much more reasonable in price.
What do you mean Costco doesn’t scream romance? You could do a whole date there; watch something on a big screen TV, eat the free samples, buy socks in bulk. What more could you want? No, I actually love the day off idea. That would be better than any flowers.
I know…nothing says romance like a free sample and some bulk socks. 😉 I think Mrs. Frugal Rules agrees that a day off is generally much preferred to some flowers that’ll die in a week.
I have heard of people even buying their wedding flowers from Costco. It’s not a bad idea. If they are just as nice but less expensive, why not? I think making her dinner and giving her the day off are great ideas (though admittedly should happen far more often than just Valentines day)
I’ve not heard of that, but it does make sense. I agree Tushar, that it should be more regular than once a year, I like to do it much more frequently than that. Thanks for stopping by!
I cook every evening, so not sure how novel that’s going to be for my wife. I’ve booked her on a cup cake decorating course which I know she’s wanted to do for a while. Any thing you’ve but together yourself (like a bouquet of candy) will go down well.
That sounds like a great idea Jaime! Anything that your wife has been wanting to do and mentions in passing is always a good way to go.
“Let’s face it, most of the women in our lives work hard. They work a lot harder than many of us men” And all your female readers just said “ahh I love John!”
Lol! What can I say, I speak the truth. 🙂
Flower is the way to go. Our kid’s birthday is around Valentine so I get a free pass for now. 🙂
Flowers are always nice, as long as you don’t bust the budget getting them.
I don’t do roses on Valentine’s day because they’re so expensive…..during the rest of the year I’ll do roses, but on Valentine’s Day I’ll get Carnations because a.) cheaper b.) different from what I do the rest of the year AND the wife appreciates them just as much!
I generally don’t either Travis. Last year was special as we just had our youngest a few days prior. I like to be more creative in the flower giving and she love it when I just surprise her with flowers from time to time.
I have stopped giving my wife flowers on Valentine’s day. It doesn’t mean much and she doesn’t care for roses. I have started making her dinner and giving her the day off. She really loves that and it doesn’t cost me anything but my time.
I probably buy them half of the time, but don’t buy roses as their just so freaking expensive. I’ve done the same thing for my wife and she always love it.
A day off? What’s that? LOL 🙂
Great ideas John!
I know, it happens all too infrequently for us.
Costco isn’t a very frugal option for me since the nearest one is 50 miles away!
What, you don’t want to waste that much on gas to buy something there?! 😉
Behind every good man is a strong woman and my wife works mighty hard. We have a two boys (2&3 years old) and the schedule is relentless! She’s had a few days off recently but I don’t think she’d say no to another, great post John.
Oh, I can relate to that schedule…it can be a beast. Throw running a business on top of it and we go just a bit silly at times.
Great suggestions! Love the idea of the candy basket filled with goodies, and they really don’t have to be expensive goodies either.
Thanks Sicorra! It was actually my wife’s idea…maybe she was giving me a hint. 😉
I’m not a big fan of V-Day. To me it’s just another Hallmark Holiday to get you to spend money. Instead rather surprise my wife with something unexpectedly. I find this to be more memorable than just doing the same old same old on V-Day.
That’s just it Chris, it really is a greeting card holiday. We do something simple, but not over the top. I like the spontaneous things as well and generally makes it much more enjoyable/memorable.
As common as getting flowers is I agree that women still love’m. It’ll never go out of style. You know I’ll be picking some out on the 14th.
I generally buy them, though not every year. Especially with how florists jack up the rates. I like to get something not as typical as roses and have them be more colorful in nature.
That’s a big part of the reason why I don’t like buying roses on V-day. Florists jack up the rates and then they’re gone in a few short days. We like to go the doing something together route as we get so little time together and is fun to do something a little different.
You’re a smart husband, John. Any wife would be thrilled with those gifts. I agree that florists seem to increase the prices of roses during Valentine’s Day. Depending on where you live, a lot of farmer’s markets have beautiful flowers at great prices too. To me, the best gift is having a nice leisurely dinner with my husband where neither of us have to race off but can enjoy our time together.
Thanks Shannon! 🙂 That’s a great call on the Farmer’s Market, though not an option in my area. We like to be the same way in terms of having a nice casual dinner without having to worry about what needs to be done next.
One of the best gifts I ever gave my wife (according to her) was a morning out for a massage and other treatments at a Spa Sydell here in Atlanta. It was just what she needed at the time to relieve the stress and tension of work.
When the wife says it’s a good gift, then I usually go with that! 🙂 Massages are pretty popular for many wives.
I’m a big fan of cooking dinner. You can splurge on top shelf ingredients and wine and still have a lower bill than a restaurant. As for flowers, I just buy them. It’s one of those situations where you’re better off spending the money. Find the cheapest thing that looks nice to her.
I have also made truffles for valentines day before. They don’t look as nice as the store bought ones, but they do taste just as good.
I like to cook dinner as well. I love to grill so when I cook it’s usually something nice on the grill. You can get 4 good sized file mignon’s at Costco for $20-25 total. At a restaurant you’ll pay at least $30 for one.
Making your own truffles sounds like a great idea! Though, I fear mine would look terrible. 🙂
Me and the BF rarely spend any money for each other on Valentine’s besides maybe going out for dinner, though he does usually get me a nice and reasonably priced bouquet of flowers from Whole Foods 🙂
We don’t spend a whole lot either, other than a small gift or something. If we do go out it’ll be on the weekend so we can avoid the crowds and the higher prices due to the holiday.
Depending on where you live, taking a walk in a park can be a frugal romantic way to spend Valentines day. There’s one near me that has a stream running through it. The snow and stream make for a beautiful scene.
That’s a great point Justin! We do that from time to time ourselves, though the weather might be prohibitive for some.
As a father with a newborn, giving my wife the day off would be the best Valentine’s gift ever for her. Peace and quiet is what she misses the most.
As a father of three little ones, that is one of the best things to give to your wife. We get so little peace & quiet these days that it’s always appreciated.
Massages are my wife’s favorite. I try to get her one every six months!
I think they’re a favorite for many wives. It’s been a while since I got one for Mrs. Frugal Rules, I’ll have to change that. 🙂
Oooh. The bath caddy looks great! 🙂 But anything that’s given with love will surely be appreciated by all types of women out there 🙂