Family Ties: Surviving Valentine’s Day On A Budget – Gainesville Times

Valentine's Day can be a costly holiday. To reduce the cost but retain the sentiment of the day, move beyond traditions. There are a variety of ways to show loved ones how much they mean to you without emptying your wallet. You can give a creative gift made by hand: A homemade present such as a recipe box of handwritten recipes or create a digital family recipe book and send by e-mail or burn to a disk. A scrapbook of memories and photos. Find one-of-a-kind photos and make copies. You can really get creative and make collages or go online and create free virtual albums. Bake something special. It could be sweets such as brownies or cupcakes or it could be healthy such as sugar-free cookies or a granola mix. Make a bouquet of flowers from gift tissue paper. Check out a book from your local library for even more fun ideas. Get your children involved. They enjoy making crafts and even more they love spending the time with you. Write a love letter to your spouse, the person you are dating or your children. Children love getting “personal” mail so stamp it and drop it off at the post office. Decorate the table for all meals on Valentine's Day. You can simply cut out hearts or buy one rose and spread out the petals over the table. Make heart-shaped pancakes or French toast (do it the night before to save time early in…

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