Making It Unique
Buy something they can use. The traditional "unique" valentine's gift that bucks the trend of chocolate and flowers is something tailored to their hobbies. There's a tremendous amount of flexibility in this genre of gifts as well: anything from a bar set for the would-be mixologist to hiking boots for the amateur outdoorsman. Disabuse yourself that the valentine's gift is a certain sort of gift: in recent decades, it's become as versatile as the Christmas or birthday present. For the well-kempt man in your life, consider an upscale grooming set. Try prodding for brand preferences from your valentine. Make sure it's something he's interested in, or else grooming materials might send the wrong message. A cologne is always a nice gift, though. If your valentine is a serious audiophile, try going in for some quality headphones. Something so regularly used is a gift that will be cherished often. For your lady valentine, find out what purse or wallet she's pined after and make that your gift. Know this may not come cheap, however. Alcohol is a solid choice for the valentine who's also a connoisseur. Find out their particular poison and order them a tasting set. This has an added benefit of something you could do together. Playful coupons are always a unique mainstay. Traditionally, these will be bawdy and intimate coupons offering time set aside for x, y, and z. It can be anything from breakfast in bed to whatever bedroom activity your valentine favors the most.
Find something they can wear. No longer restricted to female valentines, anyone and everyone likes to look good these days. The easiest to shop for will be accessories, but if you know your valentine well, you can go in on the bigger items like tops and coats. More than something they can use, it's something they can show off. Your name will come up whenever they're asked about it. Try a watch. For either sex a watch is a tasteful gift which is always in style. Hopefully you'll have some sense of your valentine's style; there's a lot of good quality, reasonably-priced choices on the market. Go for a scarf. Most likely a gift for a woman, though men have begun to wear scarves more and more in recent years. If you live somewhere plagued by cold weather, go for a high-quality scarf to impress your valentine. Make sure it's somewhat flashy or catches the eye, as a simple scarf tends to fall flat as a gift. Consider shoes or slippers. Slippers especially make for a cute thought if you know your valentine suffers from cold floors. On the more expensive side, shoes are a long-lasting and welcome addition to any valentine's wardrobe. If you've no clue, buy a gift certificate. Follow it up with an offer to go shopping with them to make it an activity you do together, instead of gifting them the errand of visiting a store.
Consider the active over the material. Stuff is great, but especially as people age they tend to take care of the stuff they'd like themselves. Valentine's day especially possesses a serious tradition of specific stuff-giving: flowers, chocolates, teddy bear, and card. Think about giving them something to do and not just something to have. Gifts which encourage you and your valentine to spend time together are ideal. Naturally this will depend on the message you're trying to convey, but nothing accentuates the romance of a valentine's gift like the ability to share it with one another. If you and your valentine are big foodies, one classic choice is to seek out cooking classes that you can take together. Think about a weekend away if you can spare the time and the money. Make a gift of the weekend and devote whatever you do to your valentine's desires and interests. Concert tickets are another simple (though potentially costly) option for something to do together. Try and find out if there's a show coming soon that they're hoping to see.
Personalizing Your Gift
Know what your valentine likes. Whether it's interests broad or specific, try to begin to get a sense of your valentine's interests, hobbies, hopes and desires. This is simple enough if they're already a significant other of yours--a wife, or a long-term boyfriend. If it's someone a little less known to you, there's a little more difficulty in this step. Remember to be subtle. It's pretty obvious when you're being prodded for gift ideas under the guise of playful conversation. If your valentine is established in your life, this might actually be a coy way of prefacing your gift. But if it's a good looking co-worker or a fellow student, subtlety is key. Don't be afraid to ask around. Try to inquire with friends or family of your valentine--hopefully people you trust to keep your gift-giving a secret. Ease it into conversation. Avoid just asking your crush "what are your favorite things?" Attempt to have it arise organically in conversation, coming at the question sideways: Try asking what they did this weekend, to get a sense of their preferred activities. Have curious follow-up questions: "That mountain bike trail sounds really great; do you do a lot of outdoors stuff?
Get creative with their interests. If they like cooking, don't just get them a cookbook. If they're big into video games, don't just buy the latest title. Think outside the box when crafting gift ideas to suit their interests. If they like cooking, try buying a dinner at the chef's table of an upscale restaurant. If it's video games, try making faux-coupons for time set aside to game together. A good rule of thumb is to not to try and buy them what they would buy themselves, but buy them what they never even thought they wanted.
Browse and browse again. As a general rule for gift-giving, you should look to exhaust your options. Don't kick yourself a week after February 14th when you've found the perfect gift too late. Try and find out where you valentine shops when they've got money to spare, or what they buy when it's just purely for fun. If you're looking for the active gift, browse local educational and hobby catalogs for classes and events that your valentine might find enjoyable. In this case, however, be sure it's something you know they'll enjoy. An undesirable gift is pretty bad, but when it takes up a whole day it might be pretty frustrating. If you decide to take the arts-and-crafts route and avoid the shopping, be sure to really make it good. Serious thought and work ought to go into these sorts of gifts to make sure they don't appear last minute or thrown-together.
Saying What You Mean
Have your message. What is it you're trying to say? If it's a significant other, it might be that you want them to know how much you love spending time together. If it's a crush from afar, maybe you'd like them to know that you'd love to get to know them better. In any case, if you're looking to "say what you mean" as a part of your Valentine's Day present, it's necessary to know what you'd like to say.
Pair your gift with your message. A set of sexy lingerie doesn't really reflect how much you enjoy spending time with another person. A box of chocolate and a stuffed teddy hardly say "I'd like to get to know you better," or really anything at all. Beyond merely selecting the gift, ensuring that it matches whatever message you'd like to get across is the greatest obstacle to giving gifts that say what you mean. Avoid under- or over-giving. Match the gift to the current level of commitment you've made with your valentine. Don't rent a cabin for the weekend as a gift to the cute girl at work. Don't just buy a season of their favorite television show if you're hoping to say "thanks for all the decades together." This is really a more important step for those approaching valentines who are more unknown--the crushes and the loves-from-afar. Never trap someone like this in a gift like an outing (unless it's very brief) or a scheduled event. For desirable acquaintances, it's usually a stronger choice to impress them with the most unique possible thing that matches their interests.
Convey your message--carefully. While the gift itself should say quite a bit, "saying what you mean" will most likely take place in the details, such as in an attached card. In most instances, there's no reason why it can't be made plain in the card (especially with your significant other). However, if your valentine is less known to you, be sure to be a little artful in your presentation. Consider omitting the card if it's only an acquaintance. In this case, try to make the gift-giving a little more personal. If it's a crush of yours it might even be a surprise, so try sticking around and explaining in your own words why you thought they deserved a gift. This doesn't have to be anymore complicated than just saying "I'd love to get to know you better." Prepare to be misunderstood. Don't expect the worst, but know how to explain yourself, especially if your gift is a little out-there.
See it through. The final and most obvious step is to simply give the gift. In classic style, try not to make a big deal out of it. Demure and deny when it comes to questions like "how did you think of this?" or "how did you know I wanted this?" This is the greatest pleasure in a gift well-gifted; take time to assure them it was "no trouble," or that "it just came to you."
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