Romantic Valentine Gifts for an Outlander Fan

You have found the lady of your dreams, but she appears to be madly in love already - albeit with a fictional Highlander from the 18th century.  That gives you the perfect opening to align yourself with what you know she likes.

Present herself as her real world Jamie Fraser beginning with the card.

These Outlander Valentine's Day cards both name-check Jamie Fraser, the romantic hero of Diana Gabaldon's swash-buckling, time-travel novels.  They are festooned in his tartan too.

Both slogans are well-known to Outlander fans, while the verse quoted within the cards is that recited by Jamie to his Claire, then etched upon her wedding ring.

Like the references made in these two St Valentine cards for Outlander fans below. Though beware, both of them relate to the wedding day scene from the books. You might be implying a deeper promise than you bargained for here!

Though each of these cards do have templates embedded, which mean that you can easily alter the words for a personal message of your own.

As for what's already being said, then a run through the Outlander Valentine chocolate boxes on offer might be illuminating there.

Many of the Outlander chocolate boxes below make great use of the Fraser tartan. It's a big thing in the novels (continuing into the Starz television adaptation), insofar as Jamie Fraser is a huge man and he's wearing it.

With all due disclaimers about the use of tartan - my historian sensibilities demand that I add that - this weave is authentic. It dates back to the 18th century and it was worn by Clan Fraser of Lovat, circa Culloden.

Therefore if Jamie Fraser existed in reality, then he could be expected to don himself in tokens of this tartan at least. If not the whole plaid.

Also accurate is the crest of Clan Fraser of Lovat, aka the Lovat Badge. It depicts a 'buck's head erased Proper', elsewhere merely described as 'a stag's head'.

There appears to be no definitive colors for Clan Fraser of Lovat's crest. The current chieftain displays it plainly on his website. While all over the web, Frasers and Outlander fans alike have afforded it a vast array of hues.

On the Outlander boxes of chocolates above, you're viewing two plain versions and one etched in the 18th century Fraser tartan. More may be added in due course.

Embedded into the crest of Fraser of Lovat is the clan motto - Je Suis Prest. It translates as 'I am ready'. More about that in the article linked below.

In Outlander, it's certainly used by Jamie Fraser. Including one rather tense scene, where he utters it just before stepping into a potentially fatal situation thwart with politics and diplomacy. This is one of the most well known phrases linked with Outlander.

Of course, 'I am ready' can take on a whole new meaning when linked with Valentine's Day.  In readiness for what are you, as you approach your beau for a date?  Or will it be a surprise for a long time love, who anticipates that you have forgotten this day of romance looming on the calendar?

If the latter, then whipping out a box of chocolate with Je Suis Prest emblazoned upon it will answer those disparaging thoughts, while delighting your loved one too.

As popular phrases from Outlander go, 'dinna fash yourself, Sassenach' is right up there with Je Suis Prest.  It's another of Jamie's best known comments, generally spoken to calm Claire.

'Dinna fash' means 'don't fuss', while 'Sassenach' here is used as a term of endearment.  In reality, it's the Gaelic word that translates as the eponymous 'Outlander'.

Far more about the etymology of these words, plus their application in the books, television show and real world, may be uncovered in the article linked below.

The three Outlander chocolate boxes for Valentine's Day displayed above all have the full wedding vow upon them, surrounded by flowers and a heart.

Their lids read:

'Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone.
I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One.
I give ye my Spirit, 'til our Life shall be Done.'

Any Outlander fan will know it. Probably off by heart. If you're wooing an unmarried fan, then you might as well learn it by rote too. You'll eventually be reciting it on your own wedding day.

If you love this sentiment - or perhaps you're planning on asking your sweetheart to marry you on Valentine's Day - then there are further St Valentine's Day Outlander cards which might suit you better. They match the chocolate boxes above.

In this instance, when I write 'Valentine cards', what I actually mean is 'cards'. You'll have to add your own loving message to make your choice fit the occasion.

There are quite a few other items with those designs too, hence you could find another Valentine's Day gift amongst them. They include cushions, stickers, mugs and the like.

Talking about mugs, there's another potential Valentine gift for an Outlander fan here, which draws inspiration from that famous wedding scene. The oath isn't only given in English, but in the original Scottish Gaelic too - just as Jamie and Claire uttered it at the aisle.

I've been debating which is the more romantic poem for Outlander fans - Blood of my Blood or Da Mi Basia Mille. I can't decide, so I'll open it up to the multitude forthwith.

The latter translates as 'one thousand kisses' and it quotes from a 1st century Latin poet named Catullus. Lines of his verse are recited by Jamie to Claire in a very loving moment. Then he has the words 'da mi basia mille' engraved onto the inside of her wedding ring.

For that reason alone, it probably beats Blood of my Blood, but not by much.  What do the rest of you think?