7 Romantic, Non-Lame, Can't- Miss Do It Yourself Valentine's Day Gifts for Your Gal

With our archives now 3,500+ articles deep, we’ve decided to republish a classic piece each Friday to help our newer readers discover some of the best, evergreen gems from the past. This article was originally published in February 2019.

Valentine’s Day is coming up; have you thought about what you’re going to get for your lady love?

Chocolates and flowers are pretty boring and cliche. Jewelry is expensive, and equally unoriginal. She might swear she wants “nothing,” but what she usually means is that she doesn’t want anything big. She’s probably still hoping for some small acknowledgment of the holiday, even just a card. And if she thinks she’s okay with your skipping even that, she’d still be thrilled — especially so given the surprise — to receive something from you. Everyone prefers to be thought of and appreciated, rather than not.

So what to do?

How about a DIY gift? Something super low in cost but super high in thoughtfulness.

To peruse the mountain of DIY V-Day gift ideas out there is to get lost in an avalanche of lame-ness — stuff that’s overly cheesy and too foo-fooey for most guys to consider making. A few gems do exist in the rough though, and we’ve collected the best ideas for you below.

Heart & Map Print

By our lights, this is the best idea in the bunch. It’s both romantic and cool, and creates a nice piece of wall art that she’ll actually want to hang up. It’s always an amazing fact that two people who grew up hundreds or thousands of miles away from each other, ultimately meet up, connect, and join their lives together ever after. You can create a print that showcases this wondrous serendipity, where one side shows a map of where you’re from, and one side shows a map of where she’s from. Another option is to create a 3-paneled heart, that also puts a map of where you both live now in the middle. Primer Magazine has a free downloadable Photoshop file for both a 2-panel and 3-panel heart, and walks you through the process of bringing these prints to life.

Full instructions here.

Wire Heart Ring

A simple ring that will still elicit a sincere “Awww,” from your gal. All you basically need is wire, two types of pliers, and a file. It’s not