Courtesy Contemporary Jewish Museum

San Francisco cultural institutions to the rescue! Local museums, historical societies, and research libraries in the Bay Area are standing by with V-Day specific offerings in their stores, and better yet, online. Here are fourteen gifts (ranging from $6.50 to $650) I’d love to get – ahem – and give to those special someones in my life.

1. If you absolutely must show up with flowers why not purchase five exotic flowers (Or, if you really must, roses) and present them in these vases from the Contemporary Jewish Museum’s store? A set of five will only set you back $45.

Courtesy the Exploratorium

3. For better or for worse, those we love aren’t always geographically near, but no matter where they are, a letterpress, geographically-based card makes the recipient feel a bit closer. For $16.95 plus the cost of postage, you can mail a “Heart in San Francisco” card by Lark Press to eight of your far-flung loves.

4. Forget Shakespeare’s Love Sonnets for your bashert (soul mate)! This Yiddish Magnetic Poetry from the Contemporary Jewish Museum will ensure that you’ll get a lot of (word) play on February 14th! At $14, that’s a pretty good deal.

5. Let’s face it: most of our concepts of love were informed by Disney. The Little Mermaid certainly set the bar high, and the San Francisco Ballet’s rendition, available for $46.50 on DVD, is a beautiful reimagining of the love story.

6. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco – including the de Young and the Legion of Honor – house great collections, and great gifts. This pendant, priced at $125, suggests you want to get serious, with V-Day message meant for two: not only does the necklace feature two beautiful multicolor glass crystal-lined ovals interlocking, but there’s a double chain as well.

7. Why buy perfume when you can make it? This Perfume Science set ($59.99) from the Exploratorium will not only teach your love how the nose and brain work together to perceive smells, but will also allow them to make their own fragrance.

8. The Oakland Museum of California tells the story of California and its people, so it’s only fitting that their store should offer a Folding Commuter Bike for $650. The Strida bike, weighing only 22 pounds, is the perfect gift for commuters, and only takes five-seconds to fold.

9. Whether your Valentine likes dark or light, these park-themed tins contain gourmet chocolate morsels, from the Golden Gate Nation Parks Conservancy, are priced at a reasonable $6.95 for one, and $18.95 for a 3-pack.

10. I don’t mind these red semi-precious stones, designed by local jeweler Masha Zelichenok, at all. The Carnelian Gold Bangle from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco is, at $295, one the priciest items on this list, but it makes my heart go aflutter, which is the whole point, right?

Courtesy Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

11. It doesn’t get any more romatic than Romeo and Juliet, but let’s all stay alive this Valentine’s Day. Instead of offering your life, why not safely watch the tragic tale at the San Francisco Opera House? Tickets for The Capulets and the Montagues start at $62.00.

12. Watching your budget while you save up for the wedding? Here’s a practical present along those lines: for only $12.95, your future wife can gaze upon Makovsky’s The Rusiian Bride’s Attire while drinking her morning coffee.

13. Of course, not all of us are spooning someone this Valentine’s Day. Breakups can be ugly, but Maira Kalman’s illustrations throughout Daniel Handler’s Why We Broke Up are simply beautiful. For $19.99, swing by SFMOMA and pick up the book (and do make an additional stop for a bottle of wine) and spend your night focusing on the demise of someone’s else’s relationship.

14. The gift that keeps on giving – sometimes with unexpected perks – is a membership. No matter what your beloved's interests might be – from film to fungi – there is a great cultural institution in San Francisco catering to it. With tons of events and discounts, what could be better? Oh, right, that it can be purchased online for all you procrastinators.

The best gift of all? You. (Most of the time.)

Courtesy Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco