Valentine’s Day may be one of the more romantic of “days” in the year, but you don’t need to wait for February 14 to do something nice, though these ideas could help you stand out on V-Day.
With one day to go until Valentine’s Day, if you’re looking for something to surprise that special someone with, the choices can all be a little same-samey. Chocolates and roses are typical, but there’s more you can do, and technology can help.
But it doesn’t have to be just basic products, such as a colourful keyboard or a splash of paint applied to a pair of headphones. If you use a bit of imagination and be a little romantic, you can make tech more than just a gift, but something thought out, such as with these five last-minute Valentine’s Day ideas.
A surprise wallpaper on their phone, and a bunch of cute selfies
Price: Free
If you have access to your partner’s phone, consider grabbing it for some cute selfies for them to discover all of a sudden throughout the day. It costs nothing to do, and is the sort of random romantic gesture that might make them smile in the middle of the day.
For bonus points, consider setting up a nice photo as their wallpaper. It might just remind them to change the wallpaper on their phone, particularly since so many people don’t change the stock supplied wallpapers their phones come with.
A modern mixtape and a smart speaker
Price: from $99
Back in the day, if you liked someone a lot, you’d make them a mixtape. We don’t usually do that anymore, thanks in part to a lack of cassette tapes, tape players, and the fact that music streaming makes a wealth of music available to anyone and everyone.
But you can still make a sort of mixtape with a playlist made just for your love, and you can share it with a smart speaker. Or you can just send it to your love and suggest they listen when they’re feeling like they want to think of you.
Kindle Paperwhite, a bath, and bubbles
Price: from $199
A quiet night in with a good read soaking in the tub sounds like a nice night for some, and if that sounds like the person in your life, consider this option.
Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite is a water resistant eReader made for those times when you want to carry every book you could ever want to read in something only as skerrick the size of an actual book. Pair it with a bath tub, bubble bath or a bath bomb, and some bubbly, and you have a night in for someone you love.
A smart display with a lovely photo library
Price: $199
The digital photo frame is long gone, but its replacement is alive and well, and it has something in common with the photo frame: it can show pictures, though these ones can be streamed from a common source.
For the Google Nest smart displays, that source will be a Google Photos library, while an Amazon Echo smart display will use an Amazon Photos source. Whichever you choose, setting up a big photo library to use on a smart display is the sort of cute romantic addition that is sure to make someone smile, particularly once they realise they can ask the display to play music, too.
An impromptu video call
Price: Free
It doesn’t cost much to say you love someone, and it shouldn’t really cost anything at all.
Send an endearing message with an impromptu call or video chat to let someone know you care, and that you’re thinking about them, possibly that you can’t stop thinking about them.
While not a true holiday, the Hallmark day that is Valentine’s Day is still a time when it’s expected that you’re romantic, but really, you could send a surprising and thoughtful chat to your partner any time you want.
For bonus points, if you have one of the aforementioned smart displays, you might want to use a service such as Google Duo to make a phone call to that special someone, breaking up their evening with a call when they’re home. For everyone else, consider FaceTime, Skype, or one of the many other video chat services available.
