15 Mail-In Experiences That Will Make Your Valentine's Day So Much Fun

You don’t need to go out to have a good time.

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January 21, 2021

Photo by: Topsail Steamer/Goldbelly

Topsail Steamer/Goldbelly

Romantic dinners in restaurants may not be in the cards this Valentine’s Day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do something special. Restaurants and purveyors across the country have racked their brains to come up with fun, interactive ways to celebrate – and you may even learn a new skill while you are at it.

Here are 15 worth checking out.

Make a Decadent Brunch with Colorado’s Finest

$149

Celebrate with a romantic brunch with help from some of Colorado’s best small purveyors. With this kit, you’ll be able to whip up a challah French toast with bread and a recipe from Rebel Bread, along with a cinnamon kit from Savory Spice in Colorado Springs; create an epic topping bar with vanilla bean sugar, candied lemons and strawberry limoncello preserves; and wash it down with a coffee flight from Copper Door coffee. Plus, the kit comes with a cozy set of matching robes.

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Whip Up Cookie Dough with New York’s DO

Photo By: Evan Sung

Cozy up with your partner and get ready to have a Valentine’s Day with all things cookie dough (and cookies)! In this virtual class, join DO CEO Kristen Tomlan to make some edible and bakeable cookie dough and decorate a few cookies together. They’ll provide you with the dry ingredients and walk you through creating deliciously romantic treats together.

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Make Your Own Sushi from Honolulu

Make sushi night extra special with this DIY kit filled with two pounds of hand-selected, ultra fresh Hawaiian fish from Honolulu Fish Co. The kit comes with all the fixings and tools you need to make Ahi and King Salmon nigiri or maki.

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Charbroil Oysters Like They Do in Louisiana

Oysters are said to have aphrodisiac properties, making them the perfect Valentine’s Day delicacy. Try what they do down in Louisiana at Drago’s, and grill them. The kit from the restaurant includes three dozen fresh raw Louisiana oysters, the sauce and cheese you need to charbroil them, plus fresh bread straight from New Orleans. A video on their website will help you recreate a little taste of the South no matter where you are in the country.

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Make Your Own Macarons with an Indianapolis Pastry Chef

French macarons are beautiful and delicate but tricky to make. Indianapolis’ Gallery Café is here for the save with their macaron kit and virtual class. They’ll send you a ganache kit and macaron mix plus a link to a video where their chef will walk you through how to craft a few dozen perfect macarons for Valentine’s Day.

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Pull Your Own Fresh Mozzarella with Big Mozz

There are few things more delicious than fresh Mozzarella, and you can’t get fresher than pulling it yourself! Big Mozz is giving you everything you need to make fresh Mozzarella in the comfort of your own home. Grab your partner and load up the video (or schedule a live virtual event) and get ready for the fun and satisfying craft of Mozzarella making. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and eat as is or use one of the recipes they provide you for a fun and cheesy meal.

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Keep It Low-Key and Whip Up Detroit’s Famous Coney Dogs

This year we’ve given into sweatpants and comfort food so why should Valentine’s Day be any different? If you are looking for something no frills to do with your date, these Coney Dogs topped with housemade chili, onion and mustard hail from American Coney Island, the Detroit locale made famous by this dish. Grill up the hot dogs, warm up the chili and top them off for a low-key but delicious date night.

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Explore Cheese and Chocolate Pairings with Fromagination in Madison, WI

Learn how to make amazing pairings with decadent chocolate and cheese in this class hosted by Fromagination, an iconic cheese shop in Madison, Wisconsin along with Gail Ambrosius, a well-known chocolatier. They’ll send along a kit with four cheeses and six chocolate truffles and walk you through incredible flavor combinations with a few leftovers to experiment on your own.

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Make Everything Bagels and Cream Cheese with Farmsteady

$29.95

A freshly baked Everything bagel is pure joy and now you don’t have to trek to your local bagel shop to get it. Brooklyn-based Farmsteady is offering kits to make your own fresh bagels and cream cheese You’ll rope, loop and boil your own bagels with their step-by-step instructions and then make your own schmear.

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Create a 4-Course Plant-Based Mystery Meal with Plantstrong and the Chef’s Garden

You don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy this four-course mystery dinner with a box full of produce from the Chef's Garden and The Culinary Vegetable Institute in Huron, Ohio, a farm that provides produce to some of the best restaurants around the country. Your mystery box is filled with ingredients to make a soup, salad, main and dessert along with recipes and a link to instructional step-by-step videos, plus a tour of the farm and a live Q and A with Plantstrong chefs Jamie and Rip. A portion goes to the Esselstyn Foundation, an organization committed to whole food, plant-based education.

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Make a Steamer Pot for Two with Topsail in Surf City, North Carolina

Don’t be afraid to get a little messy with this dinner. North Carolina’s seafood boil is coming to you. They’ll provide a steamer pot to fill with all the good stuff scallops, crab, shrimp, lobster, corn, potato and seasonings. A brown paper tablecloth is provided to cover your table before you dig in. To make it festive they’ll throw in some cornbread and a heart-shaped cheesecake to enjoy.

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Cook a Peruvian Feast with La Mar in San Francisco

$109

Make a Peruvian feast this Valentine’s Day with a pre-recorded or live class where you’ll get to make your own cebiche and empanadas. They’ll provide the ingredients like fresh pastry dough and amazing fish from the Monterey Fish Company and you can put your skills to work.

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Shuck Oysters from Island Creek in Massachusetts

Why not try your hand at shucking oysters before indulging in them? Island Creek Oysters out of Duxbury, Massachusetts has the perfect starter kit. They’ll send along the gloves, tools and two dozen oysters along with step-by-step instructions. Before you know it, you’ll be shucking and showing off for friends.

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Sample Your Way Through A-5 Wagyu

If you are going to have steak for Valentine’s Day, you might as well make it Wagyu. Sample some of the best out there with four two-ounce portions from locations across Japan. The meat sampler, curated by Chef Marc Zimmerman from GOZU in San Francisco, comes with a QR code card that gives you details on each spot, the best way to set up a tasting and suggested wine pairing.

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Make Your Own Lobster Rolls from McLoons in Maine

A trip to the coast of Maine may not be realistic right now, but you can create the state’s signature lobster rolls at home. This kit includes all you need the lobster meat, New England split top rolls, butter, mayo and all the details you need to bring the famous sandwiches to the comfort of your own home.

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