Do you want to have a bit of fun this Valentines? These homemade Valentines gifts (and cards) are easy to make, look great and taste yummy! All you need is some chocolate, some piping bags, some toilet roll, pens, glue (or blue tack) and red card.

Note: this post has been updated in Feb 2021. It also contains affiliate links. won’t cost you anything extra to click through and buy, but it will help to support the blog. All opinions are my own.

White and milk chocolate heart, homemade Valentines gifts

Ingredients:

100g milk or dark chocolate
100g white chocolate

Note if you want it to be vegan, look for vegan chocolate. Check that it will melt well first.

Method:

1. You need to get out a non-stick tray or sheet to put the hearts on. When I made this I lined a tray with baking paper, but now I would use baking paper alternatives.
2. Melt the milk and white chocolate in individual bowls in the microwave for 2 mins on high power. If you don’t have a microwave, melt the chocolate in a bowl in a saucepan of hot water. Make sure that the water from the saucepan doesn’t get into the bowl. I use a pyrex bowl in a steamer above the saucepan. I leave the lid off and stir the chocolate to help it melt quicker.
3. Pour each type of chocolate into separate piping bags using narrow nozzles. Tip: if you don’t have any piping bags you can make your own using baking paper. But if you are going to use them regularly and are quitting baking paper, then it may be worth investing in some reusable piping bags.
4. Pipe heart shapes of each colour on to the baking paper or a sillicone baking sheet (put whichever you use on a tray). Leave enough space to fill the shape with the other colour chocolate.
5. Put the tray of heart shaped chocolates in the fridge for a couple of hours
6. Scrape up all the dried chocolate out of the piping bags and put it in a jar to be used again. It makes great chocolate sprinkles! 

Packaging the heart chocolates

Once my hearts were ready, I put them in little paper bags, which I then popped inside toilet roll tubes.  If you don’t have any paper bags and want to be even thriftier, you can use the baking paper to wrap the chocolates up! Or if you would prefer to avoid waste altogether use a reusable wrap, or mini container inside the toilet roll tube

In my house we have toilet roll tubes in abundance because we save them for recycling. They are actually perfect for packaging little gifts.  

How to make the pillow box toilet roll package;

To make the toilet roll package simply push the sides into the middle at each end, so that they overlap.

I then added some red hearts on the sides cut out from red card. Stick them on with glue or use blue tack. If you use blue tack, you can rescue it and reuse it afterwards.

Make a matching card!

You can make a matching card using some red card and another toilet roll. This time I cut the hearts out of the toilet roll and stuck them on to the red card.  It was so quick to make and looks lovely!

I really enjoyed making these chocolate heart filled toilet roll packages. They are great homemade Valentines day gifts. They would be fun to make with kids and aren’t just for Valentines day – they would make lovely party favours too. Have you been getting crafty for Valentines?

The post Looking for a fun Valentines gift to make? appeared first on Eco Thrifty Living.

Although it is nice to receive flowers, the reality is that they are often not very eco-friendly, they look nice for a week, then die. Flowers don’t do the dishes, put the kids to bed or change the bed sheets. 

So, to make the woman in your life feel extra special, without spending any money try some of these ideas!

5 ideas for free Valentines gifts for her:

1.  A homecooked meal  

OK, this isn’t entirely free, but a homemade meal is far cheaper than going out to eat. If you are not a great cook keep it simple. Make sure you have the place to yourselves and spend a little time setting the scene. Clean and tidy the room you are dining in. Light a few candles, dim the lights and add some romantic music.  The effort you put in to this will really show her how much you care. Make eco-friendly by cooking a plant based meal.

2.  Breakfast in bed  

If you have to be up early for work the next day breakfast in bed, can be a very thoughtful gesture on Valentines Day. 

3. Give her the Valentines gift of a massage  

It’s not all about food – a massage is a lovely gift.  Learn a few techniques and dedicate half an hour to massaging your wife, girlfriend, partner with no other distractions.  Again don’t forget to set the scene with candles, relaxing music and dimmed lights.  Take the time to listen during the massage and you will have one grateful woman on your hands. Make your own massage oil with some olive oil mixed with a few drops of her favourite essential oil.

4. Hide some love notes around the house  – a very sweet free Valentines gift

Write her love notes and hide them around her bedroom/ home for her to discover over a period of time.  They will put a smile on her face for weeks to come (remember to hide them well).  

5.  Listen to her and take positive action!  A free Valentines gift, that will be very much appreciated.

Spend some time listening to her this Valentines. Find out what you could do to make her life easier.  For example, if she needs more help around the house, you could commit to taking on more tasks.  She will appreciate that a lot.

Although, in theory you could do all of the above, that would be way too much all at once. 

Just one of these things would be wonderful and a great way to show your love.  You don’t have to spend zero money, as there are affordable options. For example these homemade chocolate hearts are fun and affordable! Also, don’t feel under pressure to be romantic on Valentines day if it isn’t personal to your relationship.  Pick a date that suits you both to do something nice because you want to.

The post 5 free Valentines gifts for her appeared first on Eco Thrifty Living.