Valentine’s Day Gifts for the Whole Family

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Valentine’s Day is just ten days away.  Are you ready?  Have you purchased a really great card for your wife/husband/partner?  What about one for the kid(s)?  Don’t panic.  You still have some time;  however, I’d suggest you get moving, as greeting cards get picked over very quickly.  Left in the lurch is not a good place to be.  Especially for this lovey-dovey holiday.

In addition to the perfect greeting card, think outside the ubiquitous box of chocolates this year and get something they’ll really enjoy.

Gift Ideas for Moms

If mom really loves chocolate, then go ahead and get a nice selection of her favorites.  Other ideas include a gift certificate to a day spa.  If that’s not do-able, then pamper her with a gift basket of goodies for a ’stay-at-home-spa’ experience.  Visit her favorite shop at the mall (or go online) to get things like shower scrub, avocado face masks and other good-smelling lotions and potions.  Bubble & Bee Organic is a great online place to shop.

If you’re really in the spending mood, you might follow the mantra that diamonds are a girl’s best friend.  Make the trek to your local jewelry store (or search the web) and see what they have.  Valentine’s Day is a huge event for them and you might find a real jewel of a bargain.

Is mom a bookworm?  A gift certificate to Borders or Barnes and Noble might be an option.  High-tech moms might enjoy the MP3 version.  Audible.com has a great selection of books that she can load into her favorite player.

What about dinner and a movie?  A bit old fashioned, perhaps; however, today’s hectic lifestyle makes this a nice way to spend some mom-and-dad time away from the kids.

Gift Ideas for Dads

For the high-tech dad, you can find tons of great ideas on Newegg.com.  It’s one of my favorite online shops.  They have great bargains and offer free shipping on many items.

An iTunes gift card is a no-brainer for dads who seem to have earbuds in their head most of the time.  Tuck it in his Valentines’ card or wrap it up in a big box to freak him out.  Put an old pair of shoes in the box to give it some weight and really mess with his mind!

Some dads are clean-car fanatics.  Perhaps a book of car wash coupons would be good.  Or a gift certificate to have his car or truck detailed.

Gift Ideas for the Kids

Candy may not be the best gift for kids.  If you want to get them an edible treat, you might think more along the lines of a bag of Goldfish crackers (my kids loved them) or a bag of snack mix from the grocery store.  Looking for a really healthy snack?  Visit your local health food store and ask for their recommendations.

Visit Etsy.com and you will find tons of handmade items for your kids.  There are really cute onesies for the little tikes, toys made from beautiful hardwood, and all sorts of other kid-friendly stuff.  Be sure to check it out – -but hurry, time’s running out!

The Disney Store (online only) is offering two special deals right now.  If you buy a plush toy, you’ll get one free.  The other offer is a  free phone call from a Disney character when you purchase $49 or more from their site.  You’ll need to add the option to your shopping cart and Disney will email you the details on how to set up the call.  What little guy or gal wouldn’t get a kick out a phone call from his/her favorite Disney character?.  Here’s the link.

Older kids might like an MP3 gift card or a gift card from their favorite big box store (like Target or Best Buy).  My boys love books, so lunch at our favorite pizza joint followed up with a trip to Barnes and Noble would be something they’d really enjoy.  Another idea?  How about a date night with your son or daughter?  They choose the restaurant and movie (or putt-putt golf, or a trip to the museum, or mall) and you get to spend some quality time with them.

Wishing you the best of luck in finding the perfect gift to make this Valentine’s Day a special one!