12 Valentine’s Day Gifts That Go Beyond Chocolate

This post originally appeared in the January 28, 2023 edition of Add to Cart, the weekly newsletter for people who like shopping (almost) as much as they love eating. Subscribe now.

I have written before about my belief that Valentine’s Day is fun and should be celebrated, especially with dessert. (This year, I’m using it as an excuse to finally do the prix-fixe menu at Lysée.) And because of that still firmly held belief I have, here and freshly updated, a list of bonbons you can buy from chocolate shops around the country and have shipped in time for Valentine’s Day gifting.

But I also recognize that not everyone is as into chocolate as I am. And so below, I have put together a list of other excellent Valentine’s Day gifts, with nary a sweet among them.

 Things to buy for Valentine’s Day

• Cookbook Table for Two: Recipes for the One You Love published just before Valentine’s Day last year. At the time, writer Bettina Makalintal wrote that Bre Graham’s cookbook “reminds us how much love lives in the act of everyday cooking.”
• Eater’s collaboration with Takenaka resulted in a bento-style lunchbox in Valentine’s Day-appropriate shades. It’s perfect for the person who committed to bringing lunch to work in 2024.
• For the person who shuns sweets in favor of more savory flavors, a jar of chile crisp, like the one from Bowl Cut, might suit.
• A diner-style mug in a pleasing shade of red is a great gift for anyone.
• You could also opt for a mug in an earthier style in pink.
• Or, this heart-handled ceramic cup, which may be the most Valentine’s Day-appropriate item on this list.
• You should pair any of the aforementioned drinking vessels with a rose tea or tisane, from the Qi or Smith Teamaker or the Republic of Tea.
• This sweet mini cocotte with a heart-shaped knob is surprisingly affordable, given that it’s Le Creuset.
• For a larger, but still very festive, Dutch oven look to Great Jones’s recent collaboration with ceramicist and illustrator Laura Chautin. It’s described as an ode to “the romance of everyday life.”
• I think the same could be said of Gohar World’s biscuit tin candles.
• If dinner candles (the kind that are great for dinner parties) are more your giftee’s speed, these blobby red ones from Maison Balzac are nice.
• Finally, Valentine’s Day may be the ideal (the only?) occasion to give a classic, kitschy “Kiss the Cook” apron. Take the opportunity!