Hey, it's Rosie from The Wirecutter Show.

Valentine's Day is coming up, and today we've got a special mini episode for you ahead of the big day.

That's in heavy air quotes if you didn't quite catch it.

In a minute, Christine's going to chat with Samantha Shea, a gift writer here at Wirecutter.

We love Sam because she's brilliant, but also because she has impeccable taste and great gift

recommendations. For Valentine's Day, you might think you're limited to a Russell Stover's

sampler box or a bouquet of red roses, but Valentine's Day gifts needn't be perfunctory nor

uninspired. They also don't have to be intended for a significant other. Therefore, we'd like to

present to you the Valentine's Day for All gift guide. Unusual gift ideas, subversive ones,

gifts for your Valentine, your Galentine, or my favorite, gifts for yourself, because you know what, Rosie, you're worth it, and I love you.

Stick around. We'll be right back. I'm here with GIFs writer Samantha Shea, who was on the show last December to talk about gifts for the hard to please people in your life. This time we're going to chat all about Valentine's Day.

Sam, what's your take on Valentine's Day? Do you get into it,

or do you see it kind of as just like another cynical consumerist holiday? I would say a little of both.

I fully realized that it is a consumerist holiday and that it was, you know, made up kind of to get us to

buy things. That said, I also kind of really

like it. So my mantra for gift giving is no junk. So I'm opposed to like Valentine-themed

stuff, things you might buy last minute because you feel like you have to get something like,

oh, no. So like teddy bears holding hearts. But I like to acknowledge the day for sure. Yeah, I think that's nice. You don't have to get something like, oh, no. So like teddy bears holding hearts. But I like to acknowledge

the day for sure. Yeah, I think that's nice. You don't have to go overboard. What's your favorite

type of gift to give or to receive on or around Valentine's Day? I like to keep it pretty

simple. I like traditional. My family goes pretty low-key in terms of gift-giving. I am kind of an artsy, crafty kind of person, so I'm a big handmade card person, and I always have been since I was a kid. So I will make handmade cars. I might give my kids like candy or lip gloss, or if I'm really feeling generous, like a jellycat

stuffy when they were younger. My husband gets a card and that's it. As a family one year, we made

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