The ultimate goal of this post is to touch the soul of your partner and to increase the bond with your love and refresh your dull love life into something special which should be felt on all the 365 days of the year and not just on valentine’s day. And most importantly to spend valentine’s day sustainably.
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Traditional Valentine’s day:
You know people tend to gift perfumes, roses, wine, huge teddy bears, gift cards, red balloons and much more. Even though they look and sound romantic, most of the gifts are unsustainable and usually comes with plastics. So, let’s do some fun together by twisting a little bit on the traditional ideas without losing the values. Before going to that, let me ask you one question. Do you know how much waste is produced on valentine’s day every year?
Waste from Valentine’s day:
A study says, in the U.S alone, 18.9 billion dollars are spent on valentine’s day. We spend on clothing, chocolates, teddy bears, flowers, gift cards on this special day. Few are really unnecessary when you look at them. Business people are just creating hype to make us buy on this day. Now valentine’s day become commercialized and we’re forgetting the good values of the day over the material gifts. It is good to buy material gifts which are really necessary for life. For example, flowers are great (Soon you’ll find it out. Keep reading!) but the gift cards usually left untouched for years in our house and lead to the landfills at the end.
Hence don’t get all these hypes in your head and spend your money and time wisely with full of love.
Zero waste Valentine’s day gift ideas:
Keep one thing in a mind, it is really not necessary to express your love through the material gifts. One can express love in many different ways even without spending a penny. But if you’re really into buying gifts, there is no such wrong in it. Here I’ve mentioned some of my own ideas.
Roses:
When you hear the word love, you’ll definitely get a picture of beautiful roses in your head. Yes! Valentine’s day reminds us of the red roses. They are in huge demand on valentine’s day and a stat says that we spend 2.1 billion dollars on the flowers itself on this day. Many see this as a waste but I see this in a positive way because in order to sell these many flowers they’ve to cultivate them in the first place. So, more flowers = more plants thus those plants help to absorb the carbon dioxide from our atmosphere (and now you’ve found the reason!).
I know you are also worried about the plastic wrapping around your flowers. But don’t worry you can always find an alternative.
Don’t buy a bouquet instead buy the roses in bulk and just wrap with a cloth or any brown paper and gift it to your loved ones. Or you can buy the rose bouquet which comes with paper or mason jar over here! Many don’t suggest to you the flowers as a sustainable valentine’s gift. But I would say it’s a great gift as you can use the rose petals to make DIY Rose powder for your skincare routine and compost the stems of the roses and the wrapped brown paper later on.
Plants:
Instead of giving cosmetics why don’t you present the plants which help to create her own beauty products. Plants like aloe vera, henna, rose plants are ideal gifts for any zero wasters who loves to take care of his/her skin in a sustainable and healthy way. We’re not only gifting in a sustainable way without the plastic packing but also introducing him/her to the sustainability if she’s not into our lifestyle. This is great for her skin and hair because you all know there are tons of chemicals used in the market beauty products which are really harmful to our body.
Great food:
Take your partner to their favorite restaurant and have a great meal together. It is really not necessary to be an expensive candlelight dinner. If the food is good, everything is good. Even the street food will be great when the love and passion reside between you.
Homemade chocolates:
Everybody loves chocolate. Make some delicious homemade chocolates and gift it to your loved ones for a sweet zero waste valentine’s day.
DIY gift cards:
I said gift cards are not that good idea but it may be a good one if you make your own gift cards from the scratch by reusing the art papers and sketching on it and expressing your love through your own words. Sounds awesome, right? Your partner will appreciate this for sure because instead of just buying any random gift card you’ve put a lot of your efforts to express your love to them.
If you’re not into the DIY stuff but planning to buy gift cards, no worries, there are some sustainable options available in the market like plantable gift cards. FYI, the plantable gift card is embedded with seeds so that you can plant the card later on.
Choose your other gifts wisely:
So, if you’re not into any of the above-mentioned categories and you’re planning to do something special, I’ve something for you too. Sit, relax and think about your partner’s needs. If he/she is planning to buy something for a long time and avoiding that purchase due to monetary or any other issues, that will the ideal gift. When you find something like that just go for it without any thinking. These thoughtful gifts help you to increase the bond between you and it shows how much you think and cares about them. The way they feel your love in this way is a precious feeling which you cannot find in any random gifts.
But make sure whether it is sustainable or not and if it’s not sustainable check whether you can find an alternative. If you cannot find any sustainable version and the thing is really needed by your partner go for the quality ones which come for long life.
How to spend your valentine’s day sustainably?
There are many ways to celebrate valentine’s day sustainably. Let’s look into them one by one.
Invest in experience:
In this busy life, your time is a valuable gift that you can ever give to your soul mate. Why not play a movie at home? Go for a movie or to your favorite events. Watch your favorite game with your loved ones.
Go for trekking or have your favorite meal or join the courses you would both love to learn. So that you’re not only learning a new skill but also spending some good productive time together on a regular basis and not just on valentine’s day.
Go for a vacation. Explore some beautiful places. Interact with nature together. This can be even done around your own city. It is not necessary to explore only the posh areas. The nearby new coffee shop will do the work.
Zero waste valentine’s day at home:
Here are some amazing ideas to open up your heart and soul!
Candlelight dinner:
Try a candlelight dinner at home. Prepare the favorite dishes of your bae and lit some scented candles around your house. Place beautiful flowers and a few more candles on the dining table. Don’t try any new dishes, you don’t wanna ruin your valentine’s day. Just be simple with your dishes and have some desserts and chocolates at the end of the dinner. Dim the lights, switch off all the electronic gadgets and play some melody music to enhance a good mood. Spend your time peacefully with your bae at home on this valentine’s day.
Massages:
Impress your bae by your massages. He/ she may be exhausted after a long day at work.
Hence lit some aroma candles around you and give your bae some oil massage. Relax your body, mind and soul and indulge in the pure form of love. Massages not only treat your body sores but also relieve you from the mental tiredness so that you can able to express your love from the deep down of the heart.
Open up your feelings for them:
Recollect all the things about your love and express how lucky you are to be with them. Express your love by saying how much you love them, show your gratitude for having them in your life and display your affection. Just speak out your love and spend your day on the arms of your loved one.
Movie night:
If you both are movie fans, watch some good old movies with your bae. All your favourite scenes from the movie help you to recall your beautiful and evergreen memories like your first meet, the way he/ she proposed to you, things they did for you to get your love and the list goes on.
Zero waste valentine’s day with your friends and family:
Valentine’s day is not only for couples. This day can be used to express your love and affection towards your friends and family too. Visit your parents and spend time with them before it is too late. Invite over your friends and have a fantastic dinner at your home with some good music.
Show them how much you love them and how much they mean to you on this special day by giving some sustainable gifts. You can go for homemade chocolates, DIY skin, and hair care products, lip balm, reusable water bottles, and containers. Your gifts should introduce them to our community. Hence choose your gifts wisely.
Zero waste valentine’s day with yourself:
Last but not least, zero waste valentine’s day with oneself. For all the singles out there! There is nothing to worry about on this day. One should love themselves before loving someone else. So, what are you waiting for? Treat yourself!
Book lovers:
I’m a huge fan of books. I spend my weekend reading at home rather than partying. If you’re like me you can enjoy to the core by buying your favorite books ahead and start reading them with the great homemade coffee and chocolates.
Cook your own meal:
Cook your favorite meals and have a candlelight dinner all by yourself peacefully at home. If you’re not in the mood to cook, dine yourself at your favorite restaurants.
Indulge in the beauty routine:
Play some of your favorite tracks and treat yourself from head to toe. Have a hair mask and a refreshing face mask. Shape and paint your nails. Detoxify your body and mind.
Go for a spa:
Do yourself a favor by going to a spa. Have a head and body massage and relax your soul. It is crucial to treat the most important person in your life and that’s you! Go and treat yourself.
How are you going to spend your zero waste valentine’s day? Lemme hear from you!
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