Why Journals Make the Perfect Valentine’s Day Gift

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. That means stores are now boasting large amounts of chocolates, stuffed animals, cheesy knick knacks and yup, you guessed it, cards. This year, why not resist the material and back to the meaning behind the holiday, by showering those you care about with love and affection? Here’s how I managed did just that.

Last year, my husband and I decided to stop buying cards for each other. After countless birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions, we had accumulated a mountain of paper cards. While we threw some away, many we kept as it was too hard to purge the special words and memories inside. With the best itentions, we stored these for a rainy day when we needed some extra sentimental reading material. But, over the past five years, not once have we opened that box.

One day, hubby and I were looking back at pictures from our wedding. One of the photos showed him reading a letter in the journal I’d given to him as a wedding gift. Since that day, I’ve filled the journal with more personal letters to him—notes he reads whenever he needs a pick me up. This gave us an idea: going forward, we’d ditch the cards and keep journals for each other instead. This way, all of our intimate words and memories would be kept together in one special place.

These journals—two beautiful bound leather books—have become an ongoing account of our life togfether, with each new entry marking an exciting new chapter. Through them, we’ve been able to encapsulate our devotion for each other through the written word. Indeed, they have become a place to tell our love story as it unfolds. And that is so much more meaningful than any Valentine’s Day gift could be. —Heather Reynolds