17 Wholesome Stories From People Whose Valentine's Day Was One Huge Surprise

Valentine's Day brings about a mixed bag of feelings, depending on whether you are in a loving relationship, single but happy to be so, or recovering from a heart break. Either way, the following stories and pictures shared by Redditors may reignite your belief in the power of love, because they are simply the sweetest gestures.

“Just drove to Alabama from Florida to pick this little guy up! Best Valentine's Day gift a family could ever receive!”

• For our first Valentine's Day together, I gave my then-boyfriend a little hippo, a stuffed animal. It had funny eyebrows that reminded me of his. Fast-forward 10 years later, and my husband says if our house was on fire, he would run back in to save that hippo.
  Moral of the story: it doesn't have to be a big gift, just something you put thought into. Even if that thought was a silly one. thatsbloodybrilliant / Reddit
• As a woman, my SO (guy) gave me a crow bar. I was working with rehabbed houses, so that was the coolest thing ever.
  I love that tool. It was covered in flowers and beautiful ribbons. First time I felt like anyone was listening. almostironic / Reddit

“My dad accidentally bought a same-sex Valentine’s Day card and instead of getting another card, he drew a little beard on one of the women.”

• My guy and I are broke most of the time (grad school, long distance, etc.) and our first couple V-days we didn't have any money, so I just planned a fort night as a goofy thing. Now it is our tradition because he loved it so much and gets SUPER into it.
  Pretty much what we do is build a blanket fort together and plan dinner (we don't do anything expensive). We then eat dinner in the fort and watch movies before heading to bed. It's cheap, creative, and fun. Plus it's an activity you can do together so it's quality time, too. NotACatLadyISwear / Reddit
• A new video game I really wanted at the time. I chose not to buy it so I could spend the money on her, and she surprised me with it after we had a Valentine's Day dinner. CptnNayNay / Reddit

“For Valentine's Day, I commissioned an artist to paint my girlfriend and her cat as a traditional Disney Princess and companion. She nailed it!”

• My SO is very wealthy, so I don't think anything I can buy him will matter much. I've been secretly saving all sorts of memorabilia from our dates. Ticket stubs, red nose from a Santa Claus parade, a sheet of paper with some horrible drawings from us playing Pictionary, etc.
  I'm going to get a nice box and put them in there. Then we can continue to add to it moving forward without me having to somehow sneak weird things into my purse without him noticing. immaslapu / Reddit

“My son didn’t approve of the class Valentine's cards I picked, so he fixed them.”

• Last year I was sick/injured and couldn't really do too much, but the girl I was with suggested we go to White Castle, and I was like “You're awesome! Yeah, I'll go.” And I was just going to go through drive through, but she said she called and made reservations like 2 weeks before, and I was like “for white castle?”
  And I kid you not, there were balloons and numbers on the table and stuff, and it was actually really cool. Plus, who doesn't love those little, delectable burgers? daydrinkingwithbob / Reddit

“My GF got me this card on Valentine’s Day this year before we were officially dating. It still makes me smile.”

• My wife and I choose a department store like Target (though we're thinking of using a mall this year). We go there together, and then spend a set amount of time (about 30 min) sneaking around trying not to see/be seen by the other as we buy gifts for them within our agreed-upon budget. Then we check out (again, don't get seen!) and meet up near the entrance to exchange gifts.
  This works best when there is a coffee shop or food court in the location you decide to make the exchange more comfortable.
  It's fun because the limited supply of the store you are in makes it both harder and easier to select what to get. The gifts are definitely secondary to the fun of playing around like a couple kids, and anyone at the store who asks what the heck we are doing is always really positive about it. This has been our tradition for about ten years now, and we look forward to it all year. It's like a hide and seek/Die Hard Valentine event. withgreatpower / Reddit

“My girlfriend commissioned a friend of ours to illustrate us (and our cat) for Valentine’s Day!”

• One year, I got my now-wife a little book that was basically a romantic mad lib. It had things like “I love when we _________ together.” It was about 40–50 pages, so it took some time to think of different things about our relationship. I made some funny, some romantic and some naughty ones.
  That, plus her favorite flowers and her favorite movie at the time, and she was as happy as I’ve seen her. She still has the book in her nightstand. Rbkelley1 / Reddit

“My boyfriend gifted me a gold necklace with an emerald that he mined, when he was 8.”

When my boyfriend was 8 he went “mining” (probably sifting through a provided bucket of gravel). He found a black opal, which his parents cut and put in a ring, and this emerald, which they cut and saved.
20 years later, and 3 months after meeting me, he got it from his mom and set it in a gold necklace. A lover of crystals, gemstones, and the color green, he knew it would be the perfect gift for me for our first Valentine’s Day. Best gift I’ve ever received. It’s been nearly 3 years since. Glittering-Rate-7502 / Reddit

The cake may be savory, but the gesture was sweet enough for a Redditor to comment, “This is the sweetest, most wonderfully disgusting thing I've seen today. Happy Valentine's Day!”

She loves chorizo, but hates the stuff from the plastic tube in the grocery store. Getting it from the butcher is too expensive. So, I got some Ancho chillies, a pork shoulder, fat back, and some spices and cider vinegar and made a few pounds of chorizo.
Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I shaped it into a heart. She hasn’t seen it yet. I hope she isn’t disgusted by getting 3lbs of meat shaped into a heart. ilikemrrogers / Reddit

My husband made me cry on Valentine’s Day!

• Last Valentine’s Day was my husband’s 27th birthday. We did some low-key things because we’re broke. I made him a delicious breakfast, and we went to the market. We just messed around and spent the little birthday money he got.
  We got a snack and some slushies from a local gas station. Then he left for work, but when he got back home, I had baked a cake and sang Happy Birthday to him. It turned out pretty good too.
  Later, I asked him if he had a good Valentine's Day and birthday. He looked at me with a huge smile that I haven’t got to see in a while. “This is the best day I’ve had in a LONG time.” I honestly teared up. I had to go in the bathroom a little while later and stop myself.
  The more I thought about it, the happier it made me. I often worry if I’m doing enough as a wife, because he takes such good care of me. And it really cemented it. He’s had such a rough life, and we together have had such a rough time in the last year. It made me so happy to see him like that. Janey_Do / Reddit

Clearly, not all loving gestures need to cost an arm and a leg. Just like these people who made the most beautiful jewelry, minus the usual astronomical prices.