A Sensual Valentine

Guys are really hard to shop for when it comes to Valentine’s Day gifts. A lot of girls don’t know this, but most guys don’t seem to like flowers or balloons or stuffed animals holding fuzzy hearts that say, “I Love You.” On the flip side, you can’t really get a guy beef jerky or boots for Valentine’s Day, either. Well… you could, but somehow it just doesn’t seem very romantic.


What’s a girl to do? Well, this year I was inspired to explore the five senses: see, hear, touch, taste and smell. I decided to buy a gift that goes with each, but that my hubby would love (or at least laugh at). Here’s what I came up with.


For the gifts: I bought cologne (Drakkar Noir, my favorite scent), Jelly Bellies (his favorite flavor – juicy pear), a massage bug, an i-tunes gift card and yes, some slinky lingerie. Hey, I’m married, so it’s okay.

You could adjust these to your particular man… maybe he likes Dairy Queen Blizzards (gift certificate) or seeing a movie (instead of undies). Or maybe he likes listening to a mix CD or the feel of a certain massage oil. Get creative.

Get A Massager Here

MORE SENSUAL GIFT IDEAS

Hear: headphones, CD, audio book/Audible account, toy instrument (kazoo, harmonica), drumsticks, a recorded message from you

See: lingerie, book, video game, photograph, movie tickets, blindfold

Smell: cologne, flowers, scented candle, car freshener, plug-in freshener, beard oil

Touch: massage oil, lotion, gloves, massage feather

Taste: candy, chocolates, cookies, coffee, brownies, favorite drink, tea, gift certificate for restaurant

Next, I found some empty tea boxes. This was easy for me because 1. I drink WAY too much tea. We’re talking Mad Hatter craziness and 2. I hoard boxes, among other things. If you don’t have tea boxes, again, get creative. You could buy gift bags or ready-made boxes or use some other food box, like cereal bars (which I also hoard).

Or you could buy pre-made boxes such as these:

Next step was to spray paint them. Otherwise, hubby might think I just stocked up on a tea for his V-day gift. The spray paint didn’t completely cover the caution-yellow, so I went ahead and sponge-brushed a coat of matte acrylic black paint over it. I also decided to open the boxes and paint the yellow parts that weren’t showing. Good thing, too, because apparently the boxes are not all the same, and I also already recycled these as Christmas gift boxes at some point, and there was Santa paper still inside.

Finally, I printed out each “sense” and pasted it to the back of each box. Then I stacked them up and tied them with hemp rope and a sweet handmade card. See? I get to be all creative and cutesy, and he gets some stuff he can actually use. Mostly. I hope he loves it as much as I love him!

UPDATE: People have asked if I could include a printable version of the heart-shaped labels. So, here goes!

Just click the picture you want (red or white). And then right click on it and choose "save picture as" or "print".

Also, here are a few versions of the card for you to choose from.

 *Another Update: The font is Showcard Gothic for anyone who wants to use it.

Looking for more perfect gifts for your Valentine? Check out my Etsy shop!

More Valentine Gift Ideas Here: