Expressions of Love for Valentine’s Day

“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.” ― Paulo Coelho

I am, hands down, a hopeless romantic. It takes literally nothing to get my little heart pitter-pattering, so when holidays like Valentine’s Day come around, my sensitive inner-self makes a full blown appearance. Call me sappy…and well, that would be incredibly accurate. I’ve talked about nostalgia before and Valentine’s Day is no different. I can remember way back in grade school decorating pouches to be hung on the side of our desks that would eventually be filled with valentines from our class mates. It was imperative to have adorable, likely Barbie-themed cards, to hand out to everyone. When I lived at home my mom had a tree in the corner of our kitchen (ok, realistically it was a dead branch standing upright that resembled a tree in winter), and during the month of February each year we would write love notes of sorts to each other on colourful construction paper hearts and hang them on the tree. And oh, the candy hearts with things like “Be Mine” written on them that you usually spent more time reading than eating…and that now say things like “Text Me”…sigh…such a simpler time…but I digress.

There is much folklore regarding the origin of Valentine’s Day but the day first became associated with love in 18^th century England, evolving into an occasion when lovers offered gifts to each other, usually flowers, confectionery and greeting cards. And now here we are in 2018 and the holiday is still as celebrated as it was then.

The beauty of Valentine’s Day, as it is with most gift-giving holidays, is that sometimes the simplest gift can mean the most. A keychain engraved with coordinates of where you met, a personalized picture frame holding a captured memory, a bracelet bearing initials or a special date. I’ve seen all sorts of gifts, each with their own way of saying ‘I love you.’ I remember once I engraved the back of a pocket watch with “You’re My Lobster” (pleeeeease tell me you got the Friends reference?). Another one of my favourite requests has to be “You’re My Person,” forever an iconic pop-culture reference to Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang proving that best friends can be soul mates.

I love love. Honestly, this is one of the biggest reasons I love working at Things Engraved. Every day I get to engrave gifts given in love from one person to another. A mother to a daughter, a husband to a wife, a friend to her bestie, a grandson to his grandmother. The list goes on and on. In a world like this, when we often hear and see so much hate, it’s a refreshing reminder that, to quote one of my favourite movies, “Love, actually IS all around.”

Brace yourself, because this is going to take sentimental to the next level. Are you ready?

Don’t wait for a reason. If there’s love in your heart, give it away. Not just on Valentine’s Day, but every day.

Here are a few beautiful gifts purchased by our customers recently. We think they are the perfect inspiration for you to express your love for someone on an engraved keepsake gift.