Budget Helper: Sweets for your Sweet - how to do Valentine’s Day on a budget
If you want to keep things simple on Valentine’s Day here is a budget-friendly way to say “I love you”.
Baking something sweet for your beloved is a great way to let them know how you feel about them, with items mostly from your pantry. Package it up professionally and you’ll have a handmade gift that will help Cupid’s arrow find its mark. Here’s how.
Choose a recipe that will make 6-12 individual items that can be packaged into a small box.
If your Valentine’s has a favourite like Chocolate Chip Cookies or Shortbread, go ahead and make these. Otherwise, you could try your hand at some Valentine’s Marbled Cookies, or make these Strawberry Pop Tarts. Choc-dipped strawberries are a classic Valentine’s Day treat: look at this recipe for creating these very pretty Strawberry Bites.
Make a batch of whatever you’ve chosen and let them cool or set, as the case may be. Buy or upcycle a small box – attractive, small craft cardboard boxes suitable for packing biscuits and the like, can be purchased from $2 shops or Spotlight. Boxes with clear windows, or noodle boxes, all make a great gift box.
Line it with some pretty red or pink tissue and arrange your baked goods inside. Tie up with a matching ribbon and head off to declare your love!
If you decide to take it up a notch and present your loved one with a more lavish homemade dessert, try these individual Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes or these Chocolate Meringue Tarts topped with cherries for the ultimate in decadent Valentine’s Day desserts. Or go all out with this Valentine’s Berry and Macaron Cake.
A pretty bunch of flowers or a bottle of Tasmanian Sparkling* to accompany your culinary efforts won’t go astray either. Have a look at our selection of flowers at Hill Street Flowers, starting at $60, and our range of Tasmanian Sparkling, starting at $39.
*Alcohol is sold at Hill Street West Hobart, South Hobart and Lauderdale only.
