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Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so you best be making your plans now! Whether you’re looking for a quick greeting card to send to a friend, a unique handmade gift for a lover, or a special idea for a first date, we’ve assembled some top online sites and mobile apps that will help you narrow down your choices.
Valentine’s Day eCards
If you’re the type who tends to forget Valentine’s Day, the Kiss My Valentine app for Android is for you! Serving as a calendar and notepad, this app helps you keep track of your Valentine’s Day shopping list and program your phone to send scheduled SMS kisses, hugs, and notes of affection to your loved ones. Download it before Feb. 14, 2012, and it’s free!
American Greetings already offers a mobile eCard app and has recently launched JustWink. This free greeting card app for iPhone and Android allows users to send personalized eCards to friends via their social networks. If your beau isn’t a huge fan of Valentine’s Day or greeting cards, try the Cerebral Itch app, which offers quirky, untraditional eCards reserved only for those with a sense of humor.
Unique Gift Ideas
Stumped for a gift idea for your Valentine’s Day date? Maybe you want to go beyond the traditional box of chocolates and a rose. Thoughtful is a nifty site that plugs in to your social networks to understand the important people in your life and make gift recommendations. We’re especially fond of this site because many of its products come from Uncommon Goods, an online marketplace carrying creative items at affordable prices. If you check both sites and still can’t find your golden egg, you’ll surely find it at Etsy, an e-commerce site selling mostly handmade or vintage items, so whatever you choose will likely be one-of-a-kind!
Dinner Dates
Hopefully you’ve already made dinner reservations on this popular date, but if not, here are a few resources to help you out. Yelp and Urban Spoon offer great dining and cocktail recommendations based on user reviews. Open Table allows you to make your reservations online, which is helpful for weeding out the places that are already booked without having to make too many calls. Most big name restaurants from large cities are listed on the site, but you’ll have to go the traditional route of making reservations if your choice joint isn’t listed. Best of all, Open Table, Yelp, and Urban Spoon all have mobile apps, so if your top choice falls through, you can find a runner up on the spot.
If you’re opting to stay in and do some home cooking for your date, first off, props on the creativity! Next, here are some apps to help you figure out what to cook. All Recipes is already a great database of delicious meal ideas, but now they’ve got special Valentine’s Day recommendations and a handy, free iPhone app called the Dinner Spinner. This app spits out recipes based on what ingredients you have and a time frame. Whole Foods Market has a similar recipe recommendation iPhone app (also free), but it also sorts results based on dietary restrictions such as gluten-free, low fat, vegetarian, etc.
Date Ideas
The classic dinner and a movie date will never die, but there are many other creative ideas out there for your night of romance. Nifty Date Ideas is an iPhone app that suggests dozens of date ideas and conversation starters (hopefully you won’t need the latter!), along with a fun video scavenger hunt you can play if all else fails. Hot Date Ideas is a website that suggests just that. Indoor stargazing, anyone?
