One of the hallmarks of my relationship with my partner has been our ability to surprise each other with gifts and experiences tailored to each other's careers and interests.
She's a Ph.D. student who loves her words of affirmation in writing. I'm a tech product manager who loves the latest gadgets, especially smart home tech.
During our last 27 months together, we've managed to "shock" each other 68 times (and counting) with delightful surprises. Here are three of our favorite DIY, tech-savvy ideas that you can try on your significant other this Valentine's Day.
Smart Lighting Your Home
Usually, on the wall around the power switch in your room, you find the impact marks of your slippers, made from your desperate attempts to turn off the lights while lying in your bed.
If you're an extremist, the paint will likely start chipping off the wall from throwing a book on your desperate third attempt. While this may work for LeBron James, most of us usually end up getting out of bed, mumbling curse words, to turn off the STUPID lights.
This idea involves surprising your partner by installing smart lighting in your room, or even in your whole house. The first time we saw Tony Stark talking to JARVIS, we were like, "What is this sorcery?"
But nowadays, it's very easy and accessible to have a voice assistant controlling everything at home. You'll need to invest in Google Home, a few smart bulbs, plugs, and switches.
You can use this idea for your partner or for their parents (an important move if, on your first meeting, you broke their 200-year-old inherited vase), or you can do it together as a fun and exciting couple’s activity.
In addition to the voice control, the bulbs allow the brightness and colors to be changed. You can also set timers to save energy. You can even plan surprise songs with lights going crazy for special events (or when your partner finally does the dishes).
There is also the possibility to connect Google Home and Alexa to other devices like Roombas, cameras, and candles. After the installation, you'll be able to repaint your wall for good and replace your late-night basketball sessions with, "Ok Google, turn off the lights."
Creating a Research Paper About Them
If your partner works in research, you may hear them mumbling words while they sleep like, "Need to find references”, “code is not compiling”, “the stupid rat died....", etc. They spend months in the lab striving to have their name featured among the authors of a published paper.
But what if their name was the main focus of a research paper? This next idea really hits that sweet spot.
This unique gift idea is about creating a research paper all aboutthem. It will cover their history, achievements, important dates in their life, their likes, their dislikes, and their plans for the future, etc.
The trick and fun part is to write it in the most scientific way possible, referring to your partner as the subject. You can start by professionally dividing your sections, including an introduction, a timeline of their life, observations, discussions, and a conclusion.
You might also want to reach out to their friends for juicy details from their past (the good, the bad, and the cringe). For some friendly AI assistance, you could use ChatGPT to generate some of the content for you or to modify your own content into suitably scientific language.
We've published a full, step-by-step guide on how you can execute this and it happens to be one of our most-read articles! You can find it here.
The effort you put into this paper is definitely an out-of-the-box way to say, "I love you".
To feel seen, to be loved for who they really are, and to have their achievements appreciated by their loved ones is the perfect recipe for a self-esteem boost and maybe, just maybe, to your happily ever after.
Creating a Personalized Poem About Them
If you think you're not a poet, think again. Writing a poem is surprisingly easy, especially when you have a prompt (no, not a ChatGPT prompt). Before you start trying to rhyme, make a list of special things about your relationship.
Your list might include things your partner likes, places you've been together, inside jokes that always bring a smile to your faces, and what your future plans are together.
Then, you can choose a rhyme scheme and start rewording your ideas and fitting the items on your list into your chosen structure. Your poem doesn't need to be an award-winning piece of art, it just has to be sweet and sincere.
In this case, awkwardness receives extra points, as long as it's from the heart. And if you're looking for a way to propose, the last line of a poem could be something like, "So do you want to be mine forever?"
You may light up candles or get them flowers
Dress like James Bond or have superpowers
Bring them the moon—they might think it's fantastic
But Oh! To write a poem is the pinnacle of romantic
Forget about Shakespeare or Maya Angelou
Today you go crazy, you try something new
Write about the first time they made you smile
Or about their hair and how you dig their style
Write about your stupid fight over the toilet seat
Or about their quirky dance moves—they're too sweet!
You can sing about your dreams or your future plans
How you'll ride around Europe in your Mercedes Benz.
Of course, for those who want a shortcut, you can always use ChatGPT to spin up something that you can edit afterward. If you're going with this option, we definitely recommend layering the poem into a Canva slideshow that you can recite side-by-side with pictures.
From personal experience, I’ve learned that showing effort matters more than the actual words in the poem.
Want More Ideas?
Remember we told you that we've surprised each other 68 times in the last 2 years? Well, we are writing a book with our top 40 ideas (very similar to the ones you've read above).
If you liked the ideas above and would like to receive a free copy of our e-book when we publish, simply sign up for our email list here. While you’re at it, follow us on Instagram to learn similar ideas we’ve experienced together as a couple.