Small tokens of appreciation can make anyone happier on Valentine’s Day. With February 14 inching increasingly nearer,  here are some last-minute endearing gift ideas everyone should try their hand at for this Valentine’s Day.

Valentine DIY Balloon Card

First up on the list is a classic Valentine’s Day card. This isn’t exclusive to lovebirds — friends, family, and anyone deserving of some appreciation can receive this gift to add some love to their Valentine’s Day. Grab a piece of paper to make the card — it can be construction paper, cardstock, or plain copy paper. After this, all that’s needed is a toilet paper roll (without the tissues), red and/or pink paint, a black pen, and artistic creativity! 

1. First, shape the toilet-paper roll into a heart by pressing on a point in the circle to make a dip, and then lightly press together on the opposite side of the dip to make the point of the heart. 
2. Pour some red paint onto a palette or surface, and on the top half of the card, stamp on some red hearts using the toilet paper stamp.. 
3. After that is done, some strings can be drawn on with the sharpie marker to fashion the hearts into balloons. For some extra creativity, you can draw on their rendition of the card’s recipient holding the balloons. 
4. Inside the card, you can write Happy Valentine’s Day with a cheesy quote. This makes for a cute and simplistic card that can be gifted to one or multiple friends to send them some adoration on this day of love.

Heart Bookmark

Sometimes, the only way to someone’s heart is through a good book and many readers can certainly relate. The perfect Valentine’s Day gift for a bookworm is a cute bookmark that reminds a person of the love around them as they read a captivating story. You can find appealing designs on Etsy, Amazon, Walmart, and more, but if all else fails, the power of manual artistry will never disappoint. Rather than going out and buying a bookmark, if there’s time to add some personal flair, you can instead use the scissors, cardstock, a hole puncher, markers/crayons, and a ribbon to make your own. 

1. Cut a long rectangle for the bookmark itself out of the cardstock and then write or draw a personalized message to the person receiving the card. Some examples could include “You hold a place in my heart!,” or a simple “Happy Valentine’s Day!” Another lovely idea would be drawing illustrations of candy hearts with little books. 
2. Finalize the gift by hole-punching a small circle at the top center of the bookmark. 
3. Tie a ribbon through it, and the perfect Valentine’s day present for book lovers is complete.

Custom Candy Assortment

A customized assortment of candy is a new trendy Valentine’s Day gift. This is a simple but considerate way to show appreciation for someone you care about, especially if they have a sweet tooth. For this present, there isn’t really a DIY alternative unless you have the ability to manually make a craft box with small compartments, but the box can be bought at any local craft store. 

1. Begin by cutting a small square of red/pink construction paper (2 in. x 2 in.) and write “Happy Valentine’s Day, (insert name)” on it or any cheesy pickup line that relates to sweets
2. Next, take a ribbon, glue the square onto the ribbon, and tie it around the box for a fancy look. 
3. The last part is the most enjoyable of all: fill each compartment with chocolates and candy that would appeal to the recipient. Suggestions include Kisses, Hersheys, Mini KitKats, Jolly Ranchers, M&Ms, and Sweethearts.

This is a gift that is both fun to make and gratifying to receive, so Harrisites should really consider the candy assortment when coming up with Valentine’s Day presents for loved ones.

Heart Hand Warmers

For anyone resourceful looking for a Valentine’s Day gift that doubles as a shield against February’s freezing temperatures, heart hand warmers are ideal and lovely to use during the winter season. All that’s needed is white rice, wood felt, embroidery floss, a needle, and dried lavender (or any other aromatic). It should be noted that a little knowledge of sewing is needed to make this gift alone, but you can seek assistance from an online article, YouTube video, or friend on how to do a simple whipstitch. 

1. To start, cut out two equally sized hearts out of the felt paper that would fit in the recipient’s hand. 
2. Next, knot the embroidery thread and hold it with the needle. 
3. Then, sew the outline of the heart with a whipstitch. Stop sewing when the heart is about 75% of the way stitched together, and then scoop in the amount of rice that would fill the heart enough (while still being able to stitch it closed) along with some of the lavender, essential oil, or other aromatic. This will ensure that the heart warmer is not only functional, but also pleasant to the senses. 
4. Finish the stitch and place the hand warmer in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, and then the perfect present for someone struggling with cold hands in the winter is finally finished. Show a friend some love by gifting them some warmth.

Paper Roses

Roses are the signature symbol of love, so on Valentine’s Day expect to see them everywhere. There’s no harm in joining in on the fun, but adding a DIY twist can ensure that unlike the other withering flowers, one’s rose can last a lifetime. The paper rose is one of the most accessible gifts to make for friends. The only materials needed are a 10 cm x 10 cm square piece of red construction paper, scissors, and liquid glue. 

1. First off, fold the square diagonally by taking the top left corner and folding it over to the bottom right corner. 
2. Now that it looks like a triangle, slightly rotate the whole paper to the left so that the longest side of the triangle is on top. 
3. Then fold the left corner to the right corner to make the triangle smaller. Repeat that last step one more time and the folding process is almost done. 
4. Hold the triangle by the bottom point and cut off only the top in an arch/semi circle shape. 
5. Without reopening the entire paper fully, only unfold it once and cut off a very tiny portion of the center point, and then finally open the entire flower. There should be eight visible marks of folds, meaning there are eight “petals.” 
6. Now, make three more of these flowers from another three pieces of red construction paper. 
7. Using the scissors, cut off one petal from the first flower, two from the second flower, three from the third, and four petals from the fourth flower. 
8. Now that there are two petals on each flower that have a gap between them, glue them together. Take the edges off all the petals and use a pencil to roll them outwards so it looks like each flower is blooming. 
9. Finally, glue the bottom tip of the smallest flower to the inside of the second smallest flower, glue that inside the second largest flower, and glue the entire thing inside the biggest one. 
10. The rose is finished and can be glued onto a card or present, but one can roll a strip of construction paper and attach it as a stem to gift to someone as a cute display of love.

Art by: Karen Lin