Valentine's Gifts That Mean Something: Where You Met, and the Night It Started

Valentine's Day 2027 falls on Sunday 14 February. Flowers and chocolates are fine, but they're gone in a week. If you want something that stays, the best material is already yours: the places you've been together and the moments you both remember.

Start with your places

Most couples have three or four places that tell their story without any words: the pub where you met, the bench where one of you asked, the first flat with the dodgy boiler. A story map puts two or three of them on one poster, each in its own shape (a circle, a heart or a house) with a line of your own words underneath.

Keep the words short. A place and a year works well: "Where we met · Reading · 2018". Put one place in that only the two of you will understand. They'll get it.

Or the sky over the night it started

A star map shows the real night sky over a place at a date and time you choose: your first date, the engagement or the night you met. It's worked out from real star positions, so it's the sky that was actually there. If it was daytime, the stars were still there, just hidden by daylight.

Your first home together

If you've just moved in together, a street map of your road with a heart or a little house on the door is a gift for both of you. Zoom until the street sits with something you both know: the park, the station, the river.

A few practical things

• Check the spelling. You see the whole poster as you make it and approve it before you pay. We print the words you approve.
• Pick a size for the wall it's going on. A3 suits a shelf or a small wall; A2 suits the space above a bed. Our size guide compares them.
• Order in good time. Posters usually arrive in 3–6 working days and framed prints in 4–7, with free UK delivery. We'll put the last order date on our Valentine's gifts page nearer the time.

See all our ideas on the Valentine's gifts page. If it's an anniversary rather than Valentine's, our paper anniversary guide has more.