Our Valentine’s Day ♥ Gift Giving Guide
Do Valentine's Day right by shopping local.
No cheesy cards, no drug store chocolate, no last-minute grocery store flowers. Instead, find the perfect gift to say you care by looking in your own backyard. Surprise your partner with an intimate dinner—that you made yourself!; support your best friend going through a breakup with decadent chocolate; or show your kids you care with a handmade toy—your loved ones will love you for it.
Love Your Valentine by Loving Local
Our Valentine’s Day Gift Giving Guide is an annual celebration of the love we have for local.
The guide showcases the products and services of locally-owned businesses in the Harrison-Agassiz region. It covers getaways, dining, shopping, and even the perfect present for pet lovers.
Whether you’re buying for yourself or a loved one, the following list promises to give you unique and locally-made gift ideas.
We start by offering options for a lovely-dovey getaway.
Photo by: Tourism Harrison
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Accomodations
Accommodations for a Romantic Retreat
For some, true love means a weekend getaway.
Whether you’re looking for a couple’s retreat, a solo escape, or a trip with friends, Southwestern BC offers idyllic hotel and resort options. The following list includes full-service luxury resorts, rugged cottages, B&Bs, and eco-lodging options.
- Bear Mountain Ranch & Resort
- Bramblebank Cottages
- Fraser River Lodge
- Glencoe Motel
- Harrison Beach Hotel
- Harrison Hot Springs Resort
- Harrison Lake Hotel
- Harrison Lakehouse Vacation Home
- Rockwell Harrison Guest Lodge
- Sandpiper Resort
- Sasquatch Crossing Eco Lodge B&B
- Sasquatch Mountain Resort
- Spa Motel
- Tall Timber Bed & Breakfast
- The Lodge on Harrison Lake
- Woodside Inn
Photo by: Tourism Harrison
Restaurants
Restaurants for an Intimate Meal
Many memorable moments include sharing a meal with the people we love. Use this time of year to inspire you to discover the best restaurants the region has to offer.
From high-end cuisine to casual pub fare, pizza to spaetzle, our guide has an option for every taste and budget.
Here are the options for a flirtation with local fare:
Chocolate & Other Treats
Decadent Food
If you’d rather feed your crush at home rather than go to a restaurant, keep the following small businesses in mind:
Photo by: Tourism Harrison
Agassiz Produce
If you’re planning to make a meal for your flame? Then you’ll want to use the freshest, locally-grown produce and ingredients.
Agassiz Produce is a specialty grocery that sells flowers (a bonus where February 14th gift giving is concerned), bedding plans, hanging plants, dairy, and bakery products.
The Back Porch
You may not have known there’s a coffee roaster in the Harrison River Valley. As their name implied, The Back Porch roasts its popular coffee on their backyard deck.
Farm House Natural Cheeses
The name of this shop has cheese in the name. Need we say more?
Lori's Catering
Not up for making a special meal for your family? Or, do you know someone who will be hosting an event this year? Hire a caterer.
Lori's Catering services the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley and can work with any size of group you’re looking to serve.
The. Most. Decadent. Chocolate.
Chocolate may sound clichéd, but Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory will change your mind about giving it as a V-Day gift.
Curated by a Master Chocolatier, their luxurious chocolate, and especially selections from their Amore Collection, are sure to go straight to your sweetie’s heart.
Photo by: Tourism Harrison
Attractions
Attractions (not including your Valentine)
Valentine’s Day can be the perfect excuse to celebrate the love of family.
With two on-site museums, a gift shop, a café, interpretive programs, a working farm, and a campsite, a season pass to the Kilby Historic Site is ideal for those looking to spend time with family members of all ages.
The Agassiz-Harrison Museum & Visitor Information Centre is located in the former 1893 Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) station. Purchased by the Agassiz-Harrison Historical Society in 1985 for a dollar, the station now houses a collection of cultural objects from the communities of Agassiz, Harrison Mills and Harrison Hot Springs.
Spa, Health & Wellness
Spa, Health & Wellness
Who doesn’t like a spa day? Or a spa hour? Who couldn’t use a wellness tune-up, or the chance to invest in their health?
Show those you care about that their wellbeing matters to you. Our Valentine’s Day Gift Giving Guide includes several businesses whose services will say exactly that:
Eco-Friendly
For The Locally, Eco-Conscious
You can give a gift from a soulless multinational company or you can give one that’s from a shop in your community. The former will get you fast shipping (maybe); the latter will help keep a locally-owned small business in business.
Whether your darlin’ adores art, games, candles, hand-made knitted clothing, pottery, eco-friendly goods, or beautifully-smelling things, you’ll find a present for them in our gift guide.
Here are three locally-owned shops that have wears for people of all ages:
Blue Dandelion Gifts & Collectables
This boutique boasts a huge selection of games, toys, puzzles and books for kids of all ages.
Canwest Art Gallery on the Lake
The Harrison River Valley is known for its thriving artist community. Support the arts and regional artists with an original work of art from Canwest Art Gallery on the Lake.
If artwork isn’t your lover’s style, The gallery gift shop also sells a variety of culinary delicacies.
Don’t know what your beloved would like in art? Buy them a gift card to the gallery instead.
Harrison Lavender
Boasting a small lavender farm located near Harrison Lake in BC, Harrison Lavender grows the ingredients needed to make the non-toxic home, body, and bath products they’re known for.
Pair an item from their farm with a gift certificate for a spa service and you'll have the makings of one heavenly Valentine’s Day gift.
Pet-Lovers
For Pet Lovers
They say food can be the way to a person's heart, but if that person has a pet you may want to think differently. Show a dog, cat, or other animal lover you care by gifting them something for their furry friend.
Doogie Love
For those with canine companions, we have the perfect option. Makers of Healthy K9 Original Beef Dog Chews, AC Pet Chews’ offers organic, 100% all-natural dog treats that are sure to make you the Valentine of any four-legged friend, and even their owner.
Pet Care
If your sweetheart has a pet, you can bet at some point they'll need to take it to a vet. (See? We rhymed!) Why not give them a gift certificate for a veterinarian visit?
With locations in Agassiz and Hope, Kent Veterinary Clinic serves the whole of the Upper Fraser Valley area. Locally owned and operated, you'll be supporting local business when you pay them a visit.
Photography
Show the love with a photoshoot
With smartphones acting as our go-to camera these days, we don’t often think. A selfie between you and your fellow lovebird is a fun candid way to capture a moment, but why not invest in having someone else take the photograph for you?
Gift a session with a professional photographer to the love of your life.
For Nature Lovers
Better still, if your loved one is a nature lover, combine a photoshoot with a hike.
Based out of Harrison Hot Springs, Adele Hinkley Photography specializes in offering outdoor photography sessions perfect for singles, couples, and families.
Give The Gift of Local Love
Valentine's Day is the day of love, but it needn’t be the day of soulless buying.
Thanks to our Valentine’s Day Gift Giving Guide, you'll not only attend to your romantic partner’s “receiving gifts” Love Language, but you can support local.
February 14 is the perfect chance to show the people you love how much they mean to you. Whether friends or family, children or pets, we hope our guide has inspired you to look outside of the mass-produced box and into the (locally-sourced chocolate) box when it comes to gift giving.
