Valentine’s Day is a week away, and while you may be thinking, “Why would I actually want to celebrate this day it is just another excuse to spend money?” this year you can get a little more out of your presents than just making your sweetheart swoon over your gift.

Why not choose a Valentine’s gift that gives back instead of just gives for a couple days. Whether it is fair-trade chocolate, flowers that fight causes, or a teddy bear for charity you are sure to make an impression with these gifts!

1. Flowers are always a good choice when it comes to your Valentine. How about choosing flowers that not only look gorgeous on her work desk or dinner table, but also give back to her favorite charity. Companies such as organicbouquet.com do just that! You have the choice of choosing from a bouquet of flowers in their Flowers for Good program. You can choose flowers that will give back to organizations such as the American Lung Association, Women For Women, Amnesty International, or PETA. Your sweetheart is sure to be impressed with this gift from the heart!
2. Looking to put your honey’s feet in style, why not try TOMS shoes? For every pair of shoes that you purchase, another pair is given to a child in need. This is great way to not only bring a smile to your significant other’s face, but also give a smile to a child in need!
3. Does your lover have a sweet tooth? Fair-trade chocolate is the perfect gift to satisfy a sweet tooth! Companies such as TCHO Chocolates and Divine Chocolate donate a portion of their proceeds to support fair-trade or practice fair-trade.
4. Is your Valentine not much of a chocolate fanatic? Cookies are always a great gift for any holiday! Cookies for Kid’s Cancer not only taste great they also donate 100 percent of profits to fund pediatric cancer research!
5. Looking for date ideas? Volunteer together for your favorite cause. It is a great way to spend time together on something that you are both passionate about.
6. Give cookies or valentines cards to those in need. You can make cookies for your local retirement home, make valentines cards for a homeless shelter, or visit a hospital and make someone’s day a little brighter.
7. Perform a small act of kindness for someone in your neighborhood, work, or a complete stranger. Whether you are shoveling someone’s driveway or mowing his or her lawn. You can truly show someone the power of love just through a simple act of kindness.

This Valentine’s Day do more to spread the love. You are sure to impress that special someone, while you also spread the love to someone who may need it more with these simple Valentines tips.

We hope these suggestions get you out of the Valentines Day rut and help you celebrate the power of love. Have a happy Valentines Day and please share with us how you are celebrating, we would love to hear about it!