Love on a Budget

Motherboard Moms aren't going to turn up their noses at flowers and chocolates (some of their favorite treats, according to a recent poll), but this time of year (and in this economy) it really is the thought that counts.

"We tend to get swept up in the doing of life and forget the sweetness of just being," says life coach and author Melanie McGhee, who wrote the book An Illumined Life—A Personal Yearly Retreat & Reflection Guide. "Valentine's Day can exacerbate this tendency and leave our hearts feeling a little dry as we rush to buy a box of candy or a dozen roses," she says.

That's why themotherboard.com has come up with these inexpensive, heartfelt alternatives to all that Valentine's Day merchandise and those restaurant Lovers' Specials. Relax, enjoy, be sweet.