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By Megan Palumbo – Sports Editor

Valentine’s Day has spent many years convincing its consumers that the meaning of love is based on how much you’re willing to spend on your significant other. College students are notorious for ballin’ on a budget, so why should this day be any different? As Valentine’s Day approaches it may be challenging to come up with gifts or date ideas that don’t break the bank. Proving your love for someone should be thoughtful and not celebrated just once a year. Whether you’re in a relationship or riding solo, here are some sweet tips that will go the extra mile with your boo thing.

Gifts

1. An Act of Kindness: Surprise your special someone with a coffee before their class, or complete a chore before your roomie gets to do it. These small gestures will be highly appreciated, and they don’t take a lot of effort to do.
2. Make a Mix Tape: Back in the day, burning a CD with your crush’s favorite songs on it was the cute thing to do. This was so whenever they’d listen to the tracks they’d think of you. Now, you can make playlists on Spotify, Apple Music, and Youtube. Put together a montage of head bangers or slow jams to share with your valentine.
3. Edible Bouquets: All you need is a pack of strawberries, chocolate chips, and some skewers. Stick the strawberry on a stick and dip it in melted chocolate. When all of them harden, you can put them all together in a cup to look like a beautiful bouquet…that you can eat after!
4. Old School Photo Album: Go to CVS or Walgreens and print out your favorite pictures with your besties or bae, then put them into an album book. Printing pictures only costs cents, and your love will have their album for years to come.

Dates 

1. Dine-In: Going out to a fancy restaurant is great, but it’s always so crowded and getting reservations is meant to be done way in advance for just this one night. Buy ingredients at your local grocery store and stay in that night, making a meal from scratch. Cooking together can be relaxing, and dinner will be more intimate than sitting around tons of strangers at a restaurant.
2. Movie Night: Rent a movie from the Brennan Library or get one from Redbox, which only costs $1.50 a day. Make a bag of popcorn, turn your room into a theater, and get cozy while you watch.
3. Skate the Frog Pond: During the winter, The Boston Common Frog Pond is available for residents to go ice skating outdoors. The pond is open 10AM- 9PM for skaters, while admissions is only $6. Don’t forget to bring your gloves and thermos full of hot cocoa.
4. Spa Night: Even guys can’t deny they like being pampered. Get $1 face masks from Masksheets.com to give your face the rejuvenation it deserves. You can take funny pictures while the masks dry, or light some candles and give each other a massage. It’s bound to be a romantic night.