Valentine’s Day gifts on a budget

Buying a present for Valentine’s Day can be a bit of a minefield. There’s so many things to consider – what does she like? What does she hate? How long have you been going out with her? How much do you spend? Absolute nightmare.

So let’s say you’ve been seeing the object of your affections for a few months now. You can call her your girlfriend and she doesn’t recoil in horror or slap a restraining order on you. You want to get her something for Valentine’s Day that shows you care but you also don’t want to break the bank.

Here are a few simple, affordable ideas.

If she loves fashion…
Most people will tell you never to attempt to buy clothes for your other half and most fellas go pale at the thoughts of trying to buy something for their girlfriend. You have to worry about sizes and colours and loads of things. The unfortunate thing is that women love clothes. What do you do? Get her a Valentine’s card, write your sappy message and tell her you’re taking her shopping with a limit of €40. Sit her in front of the computer and let her roam the website of her favourite shop. Then pay for whatever she picks out. She’ll get something she loves and you’ll get the title of ‘best boyfriend ever.’ Sorted. Let her check out some of the following things…

Clockwise from top: Sweater (€31, Topshop), Love T-shirt (€20 Riverisland), Scarf (€15, Riverisland), Shoes (€33, Topshop).

If she collects handbags…
Enlist the help of your sister/another female friend and head to River Island where you can get swish bags that look designer for a fraction of the price. Select something suitable (this is where your female companion will come in handy). Depending on your budget you can blow the lot on an expensive handbag or you can spend half on the bag and half on some small surprises to fill it up with (chocolate is always a winner if you go down this route). Or if you’re budget isn’t as big as you’d like it to be, why not do the same thing only with a purse – women who love handbags always tend to have a thing for purses too...

Top: Handbag (€30) and Coral Purse (€20) both RiverIsland

If she’s into bling…
Why not spoil her with one of Pandora’s unique charm bracelets? A charm bracelet is the perfect present for any woman who loves a bit of sparkle and the best thing about PANDORA? It suits every budget, it is great quality, it won’t tarnish and it’s sort of an investment present. She’ll love it because it’s thoughtful. You’ll love it because if you’re struggling to think of what to get her for her birthday/Christmas/your anniversary, just drop into a PANDORA outlet and pick her out another charm to mark the occasion. Don’t think your woman will be into charm bracelets? No problem. PANDORA also stock a great range of necklaces, earrings and rings. Here’s some of the best for a budget...

Clockwise from top: Heart Necklace (€169), Love Charm (€59), Pink Heart Charm (€29), Love Letter Charm (€39), all PANDORA. For full stockist details go to www.pandora.net.

If she loves chocolate...
Valentine’s Day is basically a holiday built on chocolate so you can’t go wrong. Buy her some of her favourite chocolates and throw in a bottle of champagne or rose wine. If you want a new spin on the classic chocolate and flowers tradition, why not get her a bunch of choco-flowers. Yes they’re a real thing…

Above: Chokoflowers (€19.50, Chokoflowers.com).

There you go, just a few hints to help you survive the horror that is Valentine's Day gift shopping. Good luck!