If your valentine prefers experiences — dinners at new restaurants, trips to far-flung places — you’re probably worried about coming up short for the second year in a row. But there are more virtual experiences than ever, many of which may be even better than sitting through a five-hour tasting menu at a stuffy dining establishment. So we scoured the offerings and found 20 actually fun virtual options, from pasta-making to wine tasting to couples painting, for every kind of valentine. Some of these gifts come with open-ended dates to take advantage of the experience while others you’ll have to book sometime around the 14th, which is now just five days away, so get your plans in place ASAP.
For the couple with a sweet tooth
Williams Sonoma partnered with Bake From Scratch magazine on a virtual baking school. Each week, Bake From Scratch editor-in-chief Brian Hart Hoffman and a guest baker will walk you through a different recipe. You can purchase the entire series or just an individual class, and on Valentine’s Day they’re making a sunken chocolate soufflé, a decadent way to end a romantic holiday.
For your galentine who’s been manifesting love
In this self-care workshop, you’ll learn how to make DIY love potions from mother-daughter holistic wellness duo Ehris Urban and Velya Jancz-Urban. One is a ginger love liqueur, and the other, a vanilla rose face mask, is a perfect pre-date self-care moment (for when your love manifestations start to materialize). They’ve provided the ingredient list, so you could technically make this on your own, but we highly recommended attending this free class as they’ll go over some ceremony ideas not listed in the description.
For the long-distance couple
These long-distance bracelets are a great gift for the couple whose relationship is mainly virtual. They connect to an app, and when you touch yours, your partner’s will light up and vibrate. They’re rechargeable and waterproof so they can be worn constantly, to remind you of the times you’re actually together. If the bracelets need to go to two different addresses Uncommon Goods recommends purchasing individual bands, not the pair, to have them shipped separately.
For the girlfriend who wishes you were a better Instagram boyfriend
If your photography skills aren’t up to par, leave it to the professionals and book your valentine a boudoir shoot. The virtual photoshoots born in quarantine are still going strong, and not only are they safer but they also increase your access to people all over the world. Now you’ll be able to shoot with popular U.K.-based photographer Tigz Rice from the comfort of your own home — wherever that may be. With this package, you’ll get a 90-minute session and unlimited outfit changes, and you’ll walk away with ten curated photos.
[Editor’s Note: This price has been converted from British pounds.]
For the person spending Valentine’s Day alone
Whether you’re in a long distance relationship or just single, Valentine’s Day can be rough for those spending it alone, but you can make it a little less lonely by taking this self-pleasure workshop taught by sex educator Lola Jean. This 90-minute audio recording will take you through a sexual meditation and help you get to know yourself a bit better. This one is designed for people with vulvas, but there’s another workshop for those with penises.
For the valentine who likes cosplay
Instead of imitating someone else’s fantasy world, together you can create a fantastical realm based on your real-life romance. In this class, you’ll chart out your relationship milestones, which you’ll turn into locations on a map, leaving you with a piece of art that also tells your love story. Prior to class, you’ll be shipped a fantasy mapmaking kit, so make sure you order it in advance of the virtual experience. Slots fill up quickly, and the only Valentine’s Dayish date available is February 19.
For the valentine you gave a Lush gift card to last year
This kit and class allows you to make 16 mini bath bombs. You can take the class yourself and gift them the completed homemade bombs with the included furoshiki-cloth gift wrap, or you can make them together while you draw a bath in the background. There are still spots available in the February 19 class.
For the bookish valentine with a penchant for reading romance novels
They’ll love getting to read their own love story written by their partner themselves. With the help of LoveBook, you can pen up to a 100-page book about how much you love your person. It’s illustrated with emojis you create, and there’s plenty of prompts to follow for the text, but if you’re feeling inspired, you can also write from the heart.
For the valentine you’re still getting to know
If you only recently started dating someone, the Paired app, which prompts you with questions for both you and your partner to answer, relationship quizzes, and advice, might be the perfect gift to get communication going. Only one of you needs to pay for the app and your partner will get it for free. It’s $15 a month, but if you have a good feeling about this person, it’s a better deal to pay the discounted $60 for the entire year.
For the valentine who would rather cook than go out
Instead of watching them make dinner all by themselves, why not take this class together? Your help in the kitchen — and interest in their hobbies — will be much appreciated. You can take classes for cuisine from all around the globe, from Brazilian to Japanese to Hungarian, and if you’re not sure which class they would like best, you can always get a gift card.
For the valentine who is already a master chef
Depending on your budget — some of these are in the thousands — Delicious Experiences has all sorts of very specific culinary classes that you and your partner can take together, like how to cook a full brunch and how to bake a Portuguese custard tart.
For the valentine who dreams of a trip to Rome
A virtual pasta-making class with an actual Italian grandmother will be a nice placeholder until travel becomes acceptable again. There are different themed classes for different days of the week, and with Valentine’s Day on a Monday, Sunday’s class is the best option — and pici carbonara is on the menu.
For the pop-culture-obsessed valentine
If you binged Schitt’s Creek together during lockdown, this will be the perfect cooking class for you. This show-inspired menu includes a mocktail from Café Tropical, Moira’s fresh watercress salad, and Lover’s Curry from David’s honeymoon date with Stevie. The best available date to make this a Valentine’s Day celebration would be the February 16 class.
For the valentine who already has a wine fridge
Priority Wine sources bottles from vineyards all across the country to send you a curated box for your virtual tasting. They recommend you give them a lead time of ten to 20 days to make sure the wine gets to you on time, so keep that in mind as the big day is just a month away.
For the valentine who’s really more of a morning person
While Valentine’s dates typically occur at night, nothing is normal this year — so if you’re more of a morning person, how about a coffee-tasting virtual event instead of, say, wine? Driftaway doesn’t host tastings on Sundays or Mondays, so this year you can’t take this class on actual Valentine’s Day, but there are still time slots available for the morning of the 19th.
For the artistic valentine
Instead of painting two of the same picture, Painting to Gogh gives couples the option of painting a diptych that can hang together in your apartment. Even better, they’ll send you all the necessary supplies ahead of time. Since we are only just a few days away from Valentine’s Day, Painting to Gogh recommends selecting expedited shipping at checkout to ensure delivery by February 14.
For the valentine who loves to try new things
In addition to IRL getaways, Airbnb offers tons of romantic experiences, from dance lessons to pasta-making — and with some costing as little as $1, you could do an entire day of virtual events, if you so choose.
For the valentine who loves to learn new skills
MasterClass has lots of experiences that couples can take together, like bread baking and mixology. They’re on demand, so if you can’t be together on Valentine’s Day, the two of you can take it when you’re reunited at a later date.
For the valentine who has always wanted to be serenaded
Similar to Cameo, HiNote delivers personalized videos from musicians to your loved ones. But instead of just a quick message, they’ll sing part of your favorite song and make it personal. Prices vary. It’s only $100 for 3Oh!3 , but if you want to hear from Ghostface Killah, that will cost you $1,400. Other artists start at just $25.
For the valentine who loves flowers
A twofer gift: Give them flowers and a class to learn how to arrange them. All you have to do is buy a floral kit from their site, then sign up for their class held over Zoom. You can pick whatever size box you want, too, so this will fit within most budgets. There are three days of Valentine’s workshops: February 11, 12, and 14.
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