Valentine’s Day 2017: Ultimate Couples Gift GuideBy Angelica Malin
Wondering what to get your other half this Valentine’s Day? Forget flowers, chocolates and heart-shaped pillows and do something different this year. Here’s our favourite gifts for any stage of a relationship this year:
Valentine’s Day 2017: Gifts for Her
For a Beautiful Keepsake: Prometheus Bound Books
What: Prometheus Bound Books provides the UK’s ultimate chic, luxury gift, designed to make gift-giving this Valentines as special and personalised as possible. Prometheus can bind any book obtainable in a wide range of bindings including leather, patent leather, traditional bookbinding materials and even wood. Bindings can be embossed with initials and the message of your choice in gold, silver or indeed any colour you would like.
The Lowdown: All products are bespoke and are hand made in England by traditional craftsmen. To help you, they will emboss up to three initials free of charge on the front cover and also provide you with a complimentary high quality card bookmark and even write your message on it for you. If you want to go further, we can emboss a message or dedication on the front and/or the back covers in either gold or silver foil.
Price: Stationery items start at £70 and for bespoke binding at £95
Where: Order here
What: Ted Baker‘s Sugar Sweet Butterfly Mini Beauty Bag – the perfect thing for a night in. Lots of lovely bits and pieces for pampering, including a lovely scented body lotion and lip balm.
The Lowdown: The Mini Beauty Bag, featuring Ted’s romantic sugar sweet floral print is packed full of your pamper night essentials – perfect for pre-date night pampering. Within this beautiful case, you’ll find a 50ml body lotion, body spray and lip balm.
Price: £12
Where: Order here
For Personalised Pampering: Grace Cole
What: UK brand Grace Cole’s delightful Wild Fig & Pink Cedar Indulgent Body Care Duo will make a gorgeous Valentine’s Day gift for your special someone.
The Lowdown: This indulgent duo includes a soothing Body Wash and a nourishing Body Lotion that will leave your skin with a rich fruity fragrance opening with fig, sweetened by plum notes, rock rose, apricot and peach. Both are perfect for everyday use, and benefit from their extracts of chamomile, honey & pink peony.
Price: £12
Where: Order here
For Personalised Chocolate: Greek and Black’s
What: Make it personal by embossing that special someone’s name on their favourite bar of Green & Black’s. Personalised covers can be bought to wrap Almond, Burnt Toffee, Butterscotch, Dark 70%, Ginger, Milk, Sea Salt and White.
The Lowdown: You can now create a unique gift box featuring your own names and messages to go with your chosen bar which is perfect for Valentine’s Day as it’s all about sharing love and romance with that special someone.
Price: RRP £5.00 (+ delivery)
Where: Order here
For Health Nuts: Breville Blend Active Pro Blender
What: The Breville Blend Active Pro Blender is the super simple, all-in-one, smoothie and protein shake maker. Complete with two 500ml bottles, high-power blender, grinding attachment and neoprene sleeve, this bundle contains everything you need to support a healthy lifestyle with high-protein, energising and delicious drinks.
The Lowdown: Designed to support the busy lifestyle, the Breville Blend Active Pro Blender partners efficiency with high levels of performance. Simply fill your Blend Active bottle with your favourite smoothie or protein shake ingredients, blitz it on the high-power motor, and your energising drink is ready for your gym workout or busy day in the office. Perfect for those juggling a busy personal life with a high-energy workout regime, the Breville Blend Active Pro Blender takes all the hard work out of powering through gym sessions and exercise classes.
Price: £34.98
Where: Online here
Valentine’s Day 2017: Gifts for Date Night
For Dressing Down: Coco de Mer
What: Fifty Shades Darker Lingerie Collection by Coco de Mer. Beautiful, affordable lingerie based on the new film “Fifty Shades Darker” which is coming out on the 10th February ahead of Valentine’s Day.
The Lowdown: The new Fifty Shades Darker lingerie collection has been created by the world’s most exclusive erotic brand – the first official products to be released ahead of the movie’s launch this year. Coco de Mer has worked in conjunction with author E L James to develop the new range which aims to capture the ‘inner goddess’ of the books’ heroine Anatasia Steele.
Price: Starting at £15 for a G-string and £35 for a bra.
Where: Available here and the boutique.
What: MysteryVibe is the British luxury pleasure brand behind the world’s first body-adapting vibrator. Revolutionising the bedroom, the Crescendo is the only vibrator that can be bent in multiple ways. Best of all, the toy comes with an app which offers countless vibration patterns for a truly personalised pleasure experience.
The Lowdown: Designed for both solo use and with partners, the Crescendo comes with 20 suggested uses, making it suitable for couples at any stage of their romance. The option for solo use also makes it a great gift for those in a long-distance relationship.
Price: £139.00 (With free worldwide delivery)
Where: Order here
What: With a velvet touch and a powerful rumbling vibration, the O–WAND is set to take the personal massage market by storm. An ideal gift for Valentine’s Day, the O–WAND is guaranteed to spice things up on the most romantic night of the year and thereafter.
The Lowdown: In terms of style and luxury, the O-WAND is designed with a sleek black and gold finish – made with the highest-grade silicone available. The waterproof O-WAND is also one of the safest devices available, with full CE certification and additional safety features including a ‘body safe’ exterior, and an automatic ‘power off’ – so users never run the risk of their favourite device overheating. The device comes with one attachment as standard, offering additional texture. Three other attachments are also available to purchase, including one specifically designed for men.
Price: £199.99 (with 10% off for Valentine’s Day purchases – use code: Eros10).
Where: The O-WAND is available to purchase here
Valentine’s Day 2017: Gifts for Him
For Whisky Lovers: Suntory Whisky
What: As the pioneer of Japanese Whisky, Suntory makes the perfect luxury gift for any man. Hibiki Japanese Harmony in its particularly stunning bottle makes for something extra-special – the 24-facets represent the 24 seasons of the traditional Japanese calendar.
The Lowdown: Hibiki is not only Japan’s most highly awarded blended whisky, but also among the most prestigious and honoured whiskies in the world. Seductive, blossoming and enigmatic, Hibiki celebrates an unrivaled harmony of blending, fine craftsmanship and a sense of luxury from the House of Suntory. Hibiki Japanese Harmony is extremely versatile. Whether enjoyed neat, on the rocks, blended with water or mixed as a cocktail, the harmony of this blend remains complete.
Price: £53.99, 70cl
Where: Order here
For the Marmite Lover: Personalised Marmite
What: Marmite, the nation’s favourite breakfast spread, has created the perfect way to say ‘I love you’ this Valentine’s Day with a personalised jar of the yeasty elixir.
The Lowdown: The popular savoury spread can be custom made to make breakfast in bed more special than ever before. From embarrassing pet names to popping the question, the jar is the perfect gift to spread affection far and wide this year to Marmite lovers across the nation.
Price: £4.99
Where: Order here
What: Kobo Inc. is one of the world’s fastest-growing eReading services, offering more than 5 million eBooks and magazines to millions of users across the world. It is our mission to empower booklovers to read more – because we believe reading makes the world a better place.
The Lowdown: Designed with the help of our most passionate customers, Kobo Aura ONE was crafted to deliver the absolute best reading experience, period. The Kobo Aura ONE is waterproof from the inside out with HZO Protection™ IPX8 – up to 60 mins in 2 metres of water. Featuring ComfortLight PRO, this eReader reduces blue-light exposure and protects your eyes for the best nighttime reading experience of any eReader.
Price: £189.99
Where: Order here
For Home Design: Iconic Lights
What: Iconic Lights is a leading online lighting retailer that takes inspiration from top interior designers around the world to bring you stunning lighting that is stylish and on-trend, yet affordable, meaning you can finally own that classic lamp you’ve had your eye on for years without breaking the bank.
The Lowdown: The industrial style ‘Talisman’ table lamp takes inspiration from Scandinavian designs with its minimalistic look and geometric lines. With a marble base and your choice of a copper, steel or black stem and shade, this lamp will give your living space an industrial warehouse feel reminiscent of New York loft spaces and your favourite coffee shop.
Price: £28
Where: Order here
Valentine’s Day 2017: Gifts for Both of You
For a Night In: Date Delivered
What: Millions of couples across the country cannot remember the last time they had a date together and almost one in five people in relationships only manage to do so twice a year. Date Delivered takes the hassle out of it for you with an amazing box for the perfect night in.
The Lowdown: Date Delivered understands every couple is unique and invites the customer to complete a short, confidential online questionnaire – the ‘Couples Profile’ – which enables the company to create customised date nights, working with a series of high-end third party partners; for example a wine tasting evening, a cocktail making class or a cooking session. Each date is packaged in a stylish box and is catered to the couple, including fun trivia and conversation starters, to steer the chat away from children, work or housework. The boxes then arrive as a regular treat, costing £33.95 per box, to be delivered every month or once every quarter.
Price: £33.95 per box
Where: Buy online here
What: Valentine’s Day and Ragdale Hall – the perfect match. Escape from everyday life and relax at the UK’s Best Spa, where you’re encouraged to switch off your mobile phone, put the world on hold and let the magic begin.
The Lowdown: Ragdale Hall’s Cupid’s Couples Day for nine hours of chilled-out relaxation; enjoy the Thermal Spa’s series of heat and water experiences including the magical underground Candle Pool. Indulge in a three-course buffet lunch, be pampered with a manicure for her and a Soothe and Splash facial for him, and round off your day with a glass of pink bubbly each and a plate of tapas – made to share, of course. Or if you’d like to keep the outside world at bay for longer, the two-night Romantic Getaway Break is the answer. From Champagne in your room on arrival to your 50-minute Full Body Massage or Blissful Face and Back Therapy, and from breakfast in bed to three-course lunch and dinner in the Hall’s sumptuous dining room let the team at Ragdale take care of it all.
Price: Cupid’s Couple Day – £239 per couple Monday to Thursday £279 per couple Friday to Sunday. Romantic Getaway – From £371 pp. Both are available only during February and March 2017.
Where: Book here
For Breakfast in Bed: Smarter’s iKettle
What: Smarter’s iKettle 3rd Gen in limited edition White & Gold is a smart, Wifi-connected kettle which lets you boil your perfect brew without even having to leave the bedroom.
The Lowdown: Perfect for a lazy lie-in and breakfast in bed with your other half, Smarter’s iKettle connects to an app to let you remotely boil the kettle, letting you choose a degree-precise temperature of your choice. It also has a Wake Up and Welcome Home mode which automatically starts your brew for you, fitting in with your daily routine. And for new parents, Formula Mode boils then cools the water to the correct temperature needed to feed your baby and sends a notification when ready, so no more standing by the kettle in the middle of the night.
Price: £99.99
Where: Pre-order here
For a Sweet Tooth: The Naked Marshmallow Co.
What: The Naked Marshmallow Co. has created the perfect gift, a truly unique and delicious treat for sharing – The Naked Marshmallow Toasting Kit. An ideal gift for those with a sweet tooth and for any hardcore marshmallow fans out there.
The Lowdown: The kit includes all you need to kick start your romantic evening, two flavours of gourmet marshmallow, a gel burner, set of eight bamboo skewers and an elegant craft gift box which features a ‘how to toast the perfect marshmallow’ guide. To add that personal touch, you can choose any two delicious flavours of gourmet marshmallow, handmade in the UK by The Naked Marshmallow Co., such as vanilla bean, salted caramel and candy floss.
Price: £15
Where: Order here
For Special Doughnuts: Krispy Kreme
What: Krispy Kreme’s limited edition Valentine’s Gift Box. Beautifully packaged in an exclusive red box, you’ll find three delicious limited edition doughnuts that’ll be sure to score you extra brownie points with your loved one. Available for just four days (11th -14th February).
The Lowdown: This love-filled bundle includes: salted caramel doughnut, so tantalisingly sweet you won’t be able to resist, strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake heart, which is the heart of the show. There’s also a dark chocolate brownie batter doughnut, because Valentine’s Day just wouldn’t be complete without a dose of chocolate.
Price: £6.00 per box, or £10 for two. The three doughnuts are only available to buy together.
Where: To find your nearest store visit here
For Aphrodisiac Treats: Paxton Chocolate
What: Paxton Chocolate creates beautiful, design-led chocolates in the form of small discs and giant thins, decorated with intricate images. A favourite with fashion designers such as Jimmy Choo, Calvin Klein and Givenchy, these hand-crafted treats also make the perfect gift for any chocolate lover.
The Lowdown: For lover’s this Valentine’s Day, Paxton has created a beautiful selection of handmade, flower-adorned chocolates using traditional aphrodisiacs such as toasted pine nut, saffron, nutmeg and chilli to add a bit of extra va va voom in every bite. Choose from boxes of its beautiful signature thins and giant thins for the most passionate and romantic Valentine’s gift.
Price: From £3.95 for a giant thin, to £25 for a large box of signature thins.
Where: Order here
For New Chocolates: Paul A Young
What: Master Chocolatier and London foodie favourite, Paul A Young has launched his latest collection just in time for Valentine’s day. So spoil your loved one this year with Paul A Young’s indulgent 2017 Collection.
The Lowdown: Brimming with taste bud tingling truffles, sweet salted caramels and gorgeous ganaches, a look through the menu of Paul’s collection takes you on a journey of taste explosions that evoke the feeling of true love. From the headiness of Pisco Sours from Peru to the sweetness of California Prunes, Paul has taken inspiration from across the globe to bring you a collection of exquisite and unique chocolates that will have you falling head over heels in love. Valentine’s Day is a day for two – so why shouldn’t dessert be as well?
Price: From £2
Where: Check locations here
