Valentine’s Day is approaching, and with that comes the necessity to spend even more money — sorry I’m greedy and shallow, but Christmas was seriously a month and a half ago. Anyway, it’s a day of love and that’s awesome, so celebrate with your boo boo.

Gifts can range from homemade to store-bought to an activity to just dinner and a movie. If you feel it, go for it, but please, for the love of God, do not get “I’m his/I’m her’s” sweatshirts. Bad things happen to couples that are too territorial/over-the-top.

In my opinion, homemade gifts are the tops. Spending your time, money and energy to produce something meaningful for your special someone is great.

Here are a couple ideas:

For the alcoholic in your life

I made a picture frame for my boyfriend, and, no, it wasn’t made out of cardboard and uncooked noodles. Okay, so I really didn’t “make” it, but I hot-glued beer bottle caps on top of an existing picture frame. It can be hard to find bottle caps if you don’t directly associate with a bar or restaurant, but it’s possible.

Time to get crafty

It’s always an option to go the traditional, elementary school route and make a Valentine card by yourself. Get out the construction paper, glitter, heart stickers and gel pens. It’s time to get back to your roots and participate in craft time.

A typical move

I’ve never encountered a person who hates a tie blanket. Though they can be costly, time-consuming little things, tie blankets are a hit. Sorry to bring him up again, but I made one of these for my boyfriend. I started by hand-sewing “I love you” in the fabric — I’m a cheeseball and a hopeless romantic — then I tied the actual blanket together. He’s in the military and was gone for annual training, so it was a surprise present. Just Google the instructions. Easy.

Make a big ‘ole basket

Another traditional-ish gift idea is to make a basket featuring a hodge-podge of your babe’s favorite stuff. Mini alcohol bottles, favorite candy and snacks, bottles of smelly stuff, a love letter and so much else can be artfully stuffed into a box/basket/bag for a fun gift.