7 Valentine's Day Gift Ideas (that aren't flowers or chocolates!)

So many things have been canceled the past year but holidays like Valentine's Day are still marked on our calendars. We still think it's worth celebrating during the pandemic because we need more reasons to spread love. And what better way than by giving thoughtful gifts! We love how a lot of our homegrown local brands have come up with gorgeous boxed sets for the occasion. We list down, you guessed it, 7, of our favorites below!

1. Chef Jade's Ube Cheese Pandesal

For this year's Valentines' , Chef Jade has teamed with Chong Hua Hospital Heart Institute with proceeds of her sales going to funds to help charity patients. Order her famous Ube Cheese Pandesals in these Valentine themed boxes, along with her other best-selling Ube Ensaymada and her new assorted Pandesal sets in 5 other mouth-watering flavors! What better way to show love than by helping fix (literal) broken hearts! Click here for the order form!

2. The Good Cup Coffee Florals and Chocolates Coffee Set

If coffee (making for, giving, or receiving from) is your favorite love language like ours, then these floral and chocolate flavored coffee beans would make the perfect gift. This box set contains beans with flavor profiles of chocolates from Brazill for espresso and florals from Ethiophia for filter coffee. Three 200gm whole beans (Brazil Cerrado, Brazil Minasul, and Ethiopia Killenso Washed) in this packaged set is for 1000 pesos and can be ordered on The Good Cup Coffee's site.

3. Thingamabobs Collective "Wonderful Tonight" Valentines box set

Thingamabobs Collective has put together lovely Valentines box sets for different budgets and tastes! Our favorite has got to be the "Wonderful Tonight" box set which contains a bottle of Fervor Cocoa artisan chocolate drops, a Dried Flowers PH mini bouquet, Frank & Jojo handmade artisan shampoo bar & scented pure soy candle, and a bar of our favorite artisan handmade soap, Barefoot & Bubbly! All these for only 460 pesos! Check out all the other curated sets on www.thingamabobscollective.com

4. Marget's Deli Valentine Gift Packs

Have your own Italian restaurant dinner date at home with wine, cheese and cold cuts from Marget's Deli! Gift packs start at 1,500 pesos which includes 2 bottles of Italian wine (because why pick from white or red when you can have both!) and cheese and cold cuts already curated for pairing. Order from margetdeli.myshopify.com where they also have a wide selection of pasta, olive oil, dairy, and a variety of Italian deli products.

5. Baked Cravings "The Perfect Match" Cupcakes x ByEllePH dried flowers

We are fans of the minimalist Korean cakes from Baked Cravings (check out their fun designs on their IG!). Their petite bundle of minimalist cakes + dried flowers pre-order is already close but you can still order their "The Perfect Match" set. For only 648 pesos, gift your Valentine/s with half dozen Valentine-themed chocolate & vanilla cupcakes, a small bouquet of aesthetic dried flowers from By Elle PH and a square polaroid for that personalized touch. Slide into their IG DM to order!

6. Art Works by Hana Special Edition Floral Prints

Flowers are always a classic Valentine's Day gift but flowers that last forever are even better! Gift your mom, wife, sister, grandma or anyone who is lucky to be your Valentine with these special edition flower prints by Hana Ghassemi. Each design is produced in limited numbers and only available for a limited time. And as a bonus, all proceeds will go the Sacred Heart School - Ateneo de Cebu Batch 2000 cares, an organization centered on causes for health, livelihood, education and sports. Check out @artworksbyhana on Instagram to see all the lovely floral designs!

7. Tati's Cookies "The Black Box"

For your (or you!) single gals or your favorite Valentine cynic, why not give them the ultimate Anti-Valentine's gift box - Tati's Cookies "The Black Box." Each box contains 2 pcs double dark chocolate, 4 pcs Nutella brownies, and 8 pcs mini double chocolate walnut cookies, all for 600 pesos only! For the love season, they also have Ruby Dark Chocolate Cookies, Quadruple Chocolate Cookies, and Ruby Pink and White Chocolate Chip cookies. Order these delicious cookies at @tatiscookiescebu .

You still got a few days left to order any of these heartfelt goodies for Valentines! We hope you have a good long weekend whether you are half of a couple, single, or it's complicated haha! We think friends and family are the best Valentines to share the love with ;) And yourself! We're ordering some of these for ourselves as well :) Happy Valentine's Weekend!