Valentine's Day gifts: What people really want
Ah, Valentine鈥檚 Day, the holiday where everyone longs for a box of聽chocolates and聽a dozen roses. Or聽do they?
Money Talks News recently聽conducted a 聽asking, 鈥淲hich gift would you be most excited to see on Valentine鈥檚 Day?鈥� Both men and women聽in all age groups 鈥� 1,503 survey participants in total 鈥� were asked to select among five options: candy, jewelry, flowers, a gift certificate, or a romantic date.
While you might聽expect the most traditional gifts 鈥� flowers and candy 鈥� to top wish lists, the reality was practically the opposite. Here鈥檚 how each of the five聽fared鈥�
5. Candy
Russell Stover might not want to hear this, but of the five options,聽candy was聽the least popular.
In a聽2010 聽from the聽National Retail Federation,聽47.2 percent of respondents said they planned to buy candy for their Valentine.聽Maybe they did 鈥� but the recipient might not have been as thrilled as they acted.
Only 11.7 percent of participants in our survey were聽hoping for candy this year, with men (13.2 percent) preferring sweets more than women (10.4 percent). Not surprisingly, candy is more appealing to the younger crowd:聽17.9 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds put it at the top of their list,聽compared to just聽9.2 percent of those over age 65.
4. Jewelry
Judging by聽the volume of聽radio and TV commercials for heart-shaped necklaces and diamonds, you鈥檇 think we should聽all be expecting a small, gift-wrapped box soon. According to a聽2012 study聽by BIGinsight for the National Retail Federation, consumers planned to spend $4.1 billion on jewelry out of a total $17 billion in Valentine鈥檚 Day spending.
Some of that spending聽may have been misguided. According to our survey, jewelry was the second least popular聽gift.
Overall, only 15.4 percent of respondents chose a watch or jewelry. Women were more likely to want jewelry than men,聽16.9 percent to聽13.8.聽More surprising was the influence age seems to have on this choice: 23 percent of women 35-44 put jewelry first, while only 8.6 percent of those over 65 did.
3. Flowers
If there鈥檚 a gift that says 鈥淰alentine鈥檚 Day,鈥� it鈥檚 roses. But while flowers may be聽traditional, they鈥檙e not all that wished-for. Flowers聽fell in the middle of our respondents鈥� wish list, with 16.4 percent overall saying they鈥檙e hoping for a flower delivery this year.
If you do plan on flowers,聽KGO-TV聽in San Francisco says roses (particularly red ones) will be the most popular, making up about half of all the flowers we buy. A dozen long-stemmed roses will cost about $80 on Valentine鈥檚 Day, compared to $62 the rest of the year, according to the聽Society of American Florists.
In聽15 Sexy Tips to Save on Valentine鈥檚 Day聽we give you a bunch of tips to save on flowers, such as聽buying refrigerated聽flowers from a store, not online. And never on the side of the road.
2. Gift certificate
The second most popular gift in our survey聽was the most聽practical: a聽gift certificate. Twenty-four聽percent of respondents said that was what they wanted most.聽Guys prefer them more than women do, with聽28.7 percent of men saying this was No. 1, compared to聽19.8 percent of females.聽Gift cards also appeal to survey takers in rural areas more than urban ones, with 29.8 percent of respondents in rural areas giving them a thumbs up聽compared to聽only 21.4 percent of urban dwellers.聽And when it comes to ages, those 45 and up prefer them more than the younger crowd.
But just because gift cards did well in our survey doesn鈥檛 mean you can鈥檛 go wrong. From holiday stories "The Five Dumbest Gifts for Your Girl"聽and "6 Dumb Gifts for Guys 鈥� and 6 Smart Ones":
- Stay out of the kitchen聽鈥� Don鈥檛 buy gift cards from kitchen stores or gourmet food shops. Sure, your significant other may love to cook, but be careful you鈥檙e not implying聽she should be spending more time cooking for you.
- Valentine鈥檚 Day isn鈥檛 about self-improvement聽鈥� A free pass to a gym, a month long indoor tanning membership, or a six month supply of diet meals aren鈥檛 going to fly on Valentine鈥檚 Day.
- Clothes shopping trips for guys聽鈥� Most guys aren鈥檛 that interested in clothes and they won鈥檛 be excited to get a gift card for them.
Once you know what gift cards to get, don鈥檛 buy them directly from the store. In "Best Sites for Buying Discounted Gift Cards," we give you a whole list of sites that sell them on the cheap 鈥� up to 35 percent off.
1. Romantic date
The most popular gift on our聽2013 Valentine鈥檚 Day gift study, picked by nearly a third of respondents:聽a romantic date. Here鈥檚 the breakdown:
- The was the most popular with both men (30.2 percent) and women (34.3 percent).
- Respondents in the 35 to 44 age range picked this gift the most (39.5 percent) while many over聽65 would just as soon stay home:聽Only 22.3 percent of seniors聽opted for a romantic date.
Conclusion? Give time, not stuff
While this survey flies in the face of what we think of as traditional Valentine鈥檚 Day gifts, the results shouldn鈥檛 be surprising. After all,聽when you鈥檙e on your death bed, you won鈥檛 be remembering the stuff you had, you鈥檒l be remembering the times you had. Time聽with one another is where memories are made, not florist shops.
So rather than using your wallet this year, use your imagination. It doesn鈥檛 have to cost much to create a lasting memory.聽While a 2012聽Zagat survey聽found the average couple planned to spend $147 on a Valentine鈥檚 Day meal, romance is free.聽A walk in the park, a picnic 鈥� there are plenty of ways to show that special someone how special they are without spending a dime.
But if a restaurant is part of your plan, at least save where you can. Check out聽.
Angela Colley is a writer for聽Money Talks News, where this column first appeared.
