Gifts for Valentine's Day without Clutter

Post date: May 19, 2019 9:35:56 PM

If you spent considerable time downsizing to move into your beautiful new Villa, you cherish your possessions and try not to increase clutter. However, be aware that Valentine’s day presents temptations to buy gifts you may regret later. Here’s a look at five gifts to avoid, and then some gifts to consider.

Roses for Valentine's day? Oh, yes!

First, Walmart features a truly oversized six-foot stuffed bear for $89. At first sight, you might say, “AH – she would love this big bear!” However, it would take up your recliner, love seat, or guest bed and quickly lose its charm.

Second, that same store also has an enormous Valentine’s card for $3. While this may appeal to the bargain hunter, what does one do with a poster sized greeting card and envelope after the big day? It’s too big to recycle without cutting down.

Third, you can find a pizza sized giant chocolate chip cookie at Hy-Vee: they come in plain and frosted, with no disclosure of calorie count, of course. Along the same line, fourth and fifth, Hershey’s makes a three-pound chocolate bar and a giant Hershey’s kiss that weighs 12 ounces for Valentine’s day.

By now, you’ve realized what all of these gifts have in common: they’re oversized. How long would it take to eat that giant cookie, Hershey’s bar or kiss? How many hours would you need to spend in the Wellness room, exercising, to burn off those calories? And, how long would you want to deal with the huge teddy bear before you were trying to give it to a grandchild, and would his or her room be big enough?

So, what might be better choices for your sweetie? Remember why flowers and candy became the classic gift: you enjoy them for a short period of time and then throw away the wilted flowers and empty candy box. Another great option is dinner out with tickets for a movie, concert or play. Others might enjoy an overnight stay at a Bed and Breakfast.

If you want a techie gift, here are three ideas:

A Roku Express streaming stick – Plug these into the HDMI port on an older TV and enjoy watching movies and more on Amazon Prime or Netflix, or other services like Hulu, Sling, or HBO Now. You need to sign up for an account with the individual services, but it’s easy, and many offer programming as well as. You can buy them at Amazon for around $25 if you have a Prime membership.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire – if you didn’t take advantage of the holiday sales, you can still score a Fire 7, 8 Gb, for just $49 or the larger Fire 8, with 16 Gb, for $79. What can you do with a Kindle Fire? Read a book, check social media, read email, play a game, catch up on the news, and surf the internet. You can also watch a show on Netflix or Amazon Prime as you work out at the Jorgenson Plaza’s Wellness center.

A Google Play Card (for Android devices) or an I-Tunes card (for Apple devices). Your beloved can enjoy buying apps, movies, books, and games for his or her phones and tablets. Whether he or she is craving a good mystery novel, a new game, the Jack Ryan series, or Grace and Frankie’s fifth season, a Google Play card opens the door to fun.

Whatever you do, let someone else buy the giant Teddy Bear and then struggle to get it into their car, much less their Villa or Townhome. Your sweetie will thank you, as he or she enjoys their new tech toy!

This column appeared in the Western Home Journal, February 2019 edition

Last updated May 19, 2019