Inexpensive Valentine's Day Gift Ideas For Teens & College Students

Last updated on January 13th, 2022 at 03:01 pm

Valentine’s Day is a perfect excuse to shower a bit of love on your teens and college-age kids with an inexpensive gift. The gifts on this Valentine’s Day gift list are tight-budget friendly and many can be given to either a daughter or a son.

Inexpensive Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas For Teens & College Students

I know I said that there are gift ideas on this list for both teen and college-age boys and girls, but I will let you know now that there are more ideas on this list for girls than boys. I don’t know about other moms out there, but I find that it is easier to get an inexpensive gift for my daughter than my two boys. However, moms of boys read on because I do have a few great Valentine’s gift ideas on this list for your son(s).

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1. Chocolate And Candy With A Cute Saying On The Tag

Both guys and gals tend to like at least a half dozen or more different types of sweets, which is why giving chocolate and candy as a gift is so popular. To make this gift just a little more special, consider putting a note with a list of reasons why you love your child so much in with the treat or search the internet for corny but cute labels to attach to the items.

2. Flowers Or Plants

My teenage daughter loves it when I treat her to a half dozen roses for Valentine’s Day–and they don’t cost as much as you might think. I can purchase a half dozen roses at Aldi for a steal of a deal; you can also try Walmart or Trader Joe’s for inexpensive fresh flowers.

Teens and college students these days are all about succulents, and if you enter ” Valentine’s Day succulent sayings” into your preferred search engine, you will get lots of cute sayings to attach to them. You can even order succulents through Amazon Prime and have them delivered to your college student’s home.

3. Clothing Items In Pink, Red Or Covered With Hearts

This idea can work for both boys and girls for the most part. I know my two college-age boys wouldn’t mind a new red Carhartt beanie for Valentine’s Day and they would love it even more if it were stuffed with a few dollar store packs of their favorite candy. Their sister would probably like one too, although I could see her liking these warm fuzzy heart print socks even more.

Here are a few more ideas of Valentine’s Day themed clothing items this age group might like

T-shirts —like this cute heart one for gals or this retro heart tee for guys.
Socks — I already shared the heart socks for girls, but your son could rock a pair of valentine’s day socks like these too!
Winter Hat–I mentioned Carhartt beanies for your boys (or girls) above, but If you have a daughter who always rocks a ponytail, she might like this hat better.
Pajama Pants—Here is a pair of plain red PJ pants for guys and a pair of pink heart patterned ones for gals.

4. Valentine’s Day Themed Stationery

Journal—Go with a classic red journal that either a girl or guy will like.
Post-It Notes—a big stack of pink post-it notes with a written note about why you love them would make a great gift when paired with a few candies or a pen.
Pens—this set of three colored pens softly says Valentine’s day.

5. Zero Waste Supplies In Valentine’s Day Inspired Colors And Prints

Has your teen or college student joined the zero waste movement? Here are a few Valentine’s day gift ideas that could help them in their quest to live a more environmentally friendly life.

Lunch Bags–Here is a gender-neutral inexpensive washable fabric lunch bag that you could fill with your child’s favorite homemade cookies as a Valentine’s Day gift.
Shopping Bags–These mesh string bags are super trendy right now.
Beeswax Wraps–Bake up a batch of your child’s favorite treats and wrap them in these reusable pink beeswax sheets that they can then use on the food they make.

6. Cell Phone Accessories With A Valentine’s Touch

This heart-shaped AirPods case can be used well past Valentine’s Day.
Need a gift for a runner? How about this smartphone armband that you could fill with Valentine’s day treats–it comes is pink!

7. Cosmetics In Various Valentine’s Day Shades

Nail Polish–Grab a small cosmetic bag (if you have a few girls to buy for, here is an inexpensive set of 3) and fill it with shades of pink and red nail polish.
Eye Shadow–This pink pallet of 18 different shades of pink eyeshadow would make a great Valentine’s gift for a makeup loving teen or college gal.
Tinted Lip Gloss– Toss a tube of pink lip gloss in the middle of a jar full of candy for a surprise gift they will find as they munch on their Valentine’s treat.

8. Room Accessories In Pink Red And Hearts

Throw Pillows–This plush red pillow could be the perfect addition to your daughter’s dorm room.
Hammock–Okay, so they might not be able to use this in their room, but both teens and college students, whether they be male or female, will love decorating the outdoors with one. Hammocks come in both red and pink and they make a great Valentine’s Day themed gift.
Scented Candles–You might think of this as strictly a girl only gift, but you would be wrong. One of my sons loves burning scented candles; they just have to have a more manly smell to them than the ones I buy for his sister.

9. Bath & Body Products

Heart-Shaped Bath Melts—These come in a purple boxed set.
Bath Bombs–These do come in masculine scents for man baths! Or you could get a set of two pink ones so your daughter can enjoy a pink Valentine’s Day bath.

10. Fun Novelty Items

Heart-Shaped Temporary Tattoos–This set of 20 temporary heart tattoos in various designs would make a fun Valentine’s gift.
Chapstick holder keychains–Do you want to give a little gift to numerous teen or college-age girls for Valentines? Consider purchasing this set of 24 chapstick holder keychains and a few sets of these Lip Smackers in various soda flavors.

11. Experience & Quality Time Gifts

If your child’s love language is quality time, then consider forgoing a physical gift and instead presenting them with a card where you write inside a ticket for a fun outing that the two of you could do together. A great place to check for discount prices on various attractions is Living Social. Of course, there are plenty of free activities in most communities that make great outings--here are my favorite ways for discovering free attractions where ever we travel to.

12. Gift Cards Or Cash Given With A Bit Of Thought And Flair

Sometimes the best gift I can give my teen daughter or college-aged boys is a gift card to their favorite restaurant or clothing store or cash towards something they are saving up for. I know some people think giving a gift card is such a boring gift, but here are a few ways to give them with some creative flair.

For a list of 52 different websites, apps, and stores our thrifty family uses to help us keep our expenses low, click here to visit our Thrifty Tools Resource Page.

More Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas And Activities

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