The most thoughtful last minute Valentine's Day gift

Sometimes people will say that Valentine’s Day was created by greeting card companies just to make money. But the first mention of Valentine’s Day was actually in one of Geoffrey Chaucer’s poems from the 1380’s—over 500 years before Hallmark existed!

In fact, way before manufactured cards and boxes of chocolate, people exchanged poems, love letters, and handmade cards for virtually no money at all. Let's take it back centuries and write our loved ones a heartfelt love letter.

The most romantic (and least expensive) last minute gift

One of the very first love letters written in old English is dated back to 1477. It was from Margery Brews to her fiancé John Paston. She was promising him her undying love as he considered the unsatisfactory dowry from her father...

"Myne herte me bydds ever more to love yowe truly" (My heart me bids ever more to love you truly).

Luckily, her words made a difference because they did in fact get married and their descendants were later found and able to cherish the letter.

548 years later and I can't think of a more romantic gift than a love letter. It's such a beautiful and memorable way of capturing loving thoughts and transferring them onto paper so they can live on (maybe even another 548 years?!).

The cost for a sheet of notebook paper, an envelope, and a stamp (if you’re mailing it) is less than $1.00! I can guarantee the feelings generated from receiving a love letter will far outlast any bouquet of flowers or chocolate.

Your love letter can be long and heartfelt or short and sweet. Just look at this one that my Dad made for my Mom last year. :-)

Read more about how to write a love letter in one of my other blog posts, and if you want to have your letter printed on beautiful handmade paper, you can check out the custom love letter listing in my shop.

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovebirds

If you’re single, this first reference of Valentine's Day might make you smile. Chaucer’s poem, The Parliament of Fowls, is a very long poem, but at the center, he deemed Valentine’s Day as a time for every species of bird to gather and choose their mate.

A bunch of male birds tried to woo one noble and kind female eagle with poetic words of how much they loved and adored her, kind of like The Bachelorette TV Show. But this female eagle wasn’t feeling any of her suitors. Goddess [Mother] Nature was like, “You go girl! You don’t need a man.” Ok, she didn’t exactly say that, but she said the eagle didn’t have to choose and they could try again next year.

So, even the first reference of the holiday wasn’t just for lovebirds and made plenty of room for birds to fly solo!

Sit down and write yourself a love letter or speak to yourself in the mirror as you would speak to a loved one who needs to hear some loving words and encouragement. I promise, this is the best gift you can give yourself.

Send love to your friends and family

Over the years, I wanted a way to lift my spirits and keep the winter blues at bay, so I wrote one love note a day for the entire month of February, calling it my “28 days of love.” The recipients were friends, family, old coworkers, and social media pals. I wrote each note on cards from my shop, but of course you could also just use a sheet of paper.

If you’re not sure what to write to your favorite people, just think about how they make you feel, maybe something they did for you over the years, or just write compliment after compliment… it’s meant to be a love note after all.

This year I've been doing 28 Days of Love & Kindness, so you can read that blog if you're interested in following along with my calendar for the rest of February.

I hope this gave you inspiration for a thoughtful last minute Valentine's Day gift for significant others, friends, family, and yourself. As Jane Austen wrote, “Let us never underestimate the power of a well-written letter.”

With love,

Alison Rose

Social media: @alisonrosevintage

Shop: alisonrosevintage.com