Five Popular Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

Valentine’s Day: the holiday of love! In the 1700’s, Valentine’s Day was celebrated by exchanging small, hand-written notes with expressions of love. For some, a note wasn’t quite enough, so the tradition of sending tokens with those love notes started to become popular: a single rose to indicate romance and passion, an exotic piece of chocolate, an invitation to the theater, or a piece of jewelry to cherish forever.

Over three hundred years later, modern versions of these items are still some of the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts, and guess what? We have them all!

Hands making a candle along with a flower wrap near by with flower snips

1. Flowers, duh!

Gifting flowers has been a symbol of care and love for centuries, but giving flowers became a popular Valentine’s Day gift through the Victorian-era origins of giving specific coded meaning to flowers, called Floriography. Flowers, specifically roses, and most specifically red roses, became a symbol of love and passion which has transcended into the modern symbol for this mostly romantic holiday. While we believe roses are a beautiful choice for a Valentine’s Day gift, gifting other styles of floral designs still carries the power of saying, “I love you.”

A couple posing in front of a pink backdrop with a wild heart rose wrap and 3 hands holding Valentine’s Day bouquets

2. Chocolate

Turn up the AC, it’s about to get a little toasty in here... and scientific! Chocolate became a popular Valentine’s Day gift for its aphrodisiacal qualities. Chocolate is loosely considered a “love drug” because it contains tryptophan, priming your brain for pleasure with serotonin, and boosting the joy in your brain with dopamine! Basically, chocolate makes you feel happy and relaxed, and when people are both those things, they tend to feel more in love! We are no apothecaries, but we can definitely say that adding a nostalgic heart shaped box of truffles or a unique bar of chocolate will certainly sweeten the deal.

A woman in a pink and red striped shirt holding a heart shaped box of Knipschildt Chocolatier chocolates
A hand taking a Deux Cranes chocolate bar out of its packaging on a pink flower table

3. Jewelry

Bestowing a piece of jewelry to a loved one has become a popular Valentine’s Day gift because it’s a long-lasting token of love – it certainly lasts longer than chocolate or flowers (chocolate tends to disappear quickly in our experience)! Jewelry has been a long time symbol of love and commitment – hello wedding rings – and evolved into a popular gift for Valentine’s Day for the same reasons. Selecting and giving a piece of jewelry to your Valentine says: “Wear this and think of me when you do, now and for years to come.” For some, Valentine’s Day is a special occasion to pick a rare piece of fine jewelry! But it doesn’t have to be super fancy to be enjoyed. Pick a playful piece for your love if they opt for color and bold style, or pick something classic they can wear every day.

Jewelry from Natalie Clare, Taylor Custom Rings, and Luna Norte

4. Experiences

For those whose love language calls for quality time, an experience is one of the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts. “Date night” hasn’t always been a thing: a romantic evening out for the sake of fun and connection emerged only about one hundred years ago, and Valentine’s Day quickly became the time to do so. How fun and unique is the idea of a flower arranging class for a date night with your love?! From collaborative classes like Candle Making + Hand-Tied Flower Arranging or Floral Sourdough Scoring, to a local flower farm tour paired with a flower arranging class , the array of classes we offer cater to all skill levels, take place at different locations in San Diego, and are frankly really freaking fun! Plus, we 100% guarantee this unique experiential gift will surprise and delight your date.

Florists arranging flowers in a vase and a locally grown flower arrangement with sheers at a flower farm

5. Cards

Last, but certainly not least, one of (if not the most) popular Valentine’s Day gifts is a card. Remember: this is where the origins of gifting for Valentine’s Day started. To this day, the tradition holds strong, and not only for romantic partners, but for Galentines, family members, and even kids in school. A card is a simple, yet powerful way to say I love you, to all the Valentine’s in your life, and we have SO many cute ones! We have sentimental Valentine’s Day cards to send to your partner, flirty cards to send to a crush, Spanish-language Valentine’s Day cards, sweet Galentine’s Day cards to send to your bestie, and funny cards to put a smile on your sweetheart’s face. We even have a list of tips for what to write in a Valentine’s Day card, if you need some inspiration.

Hands holding out Valentine’s Day greeting card next to a variety of greeting cards on a shelf

However you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’re here for you, Wild Flower. Ready to plan the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your sweetheart? Pre-order from our Valentine’s Day menu so you can take it easy on 2/14!

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