Valentine's Day

Hundreds of years ago, Christopher Marlowe noted “Money can’t buy love, but it improves your bargaining position.” Money may not be able to buy love, but it certainly tries its hardest on Valentine’s Day. Spending on Valentine’s Day gifts approaches $20 billion dollars annually.   

Sweets for the sweet.

Chocolate is a popular gift on Valentine’s Day. Candies are included in nearly half of all Valentine’s gifts. That amounts to over 35 million packages of chocolate that cost over a billion dollars! In 2008, Thornton’s produced the largest ever box of chocolates, a massive 3,725 pounds. Retail prices of much smaller assortments suggest the record-setting box might sell for $52,150 (if it could go on a store shelf).

A rose by any other name...

Nearly three-quarters of male gift givers choose flowers for their sweethearts. A bouquet of a dozen red roses is the most common arrangement. There is a definite price bump for Valentine’s Day. This classic choice runs about $75 the week of Valentine’s Day, about 20% higher than the rest of the year. The Guinness Book of World Records reports the largest bouquet of roses contained over 150,000 blooms. Priced per dozen, that amounts to $937,500. Ouch!

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.

Estimated spending on jewelry gifts goes over $4 billion dollars. Many women hope for a Valentine’s Day proposal, and on average, 220,000 women will get their wish. In the United States, the average engagement ring costs a bit more than $6,000 and weighs just over a carat. The largest diamond of gem quality was the Cullinan diamond. It weighed 3106 carats; that’s almost a pound and a half of diamond. 

Don’t be just another statistic this Valentine’s Day. Celebrate with a thoughtful gift or a memorable experience, even if it’s for just you. Actually, about 15% of women will send themselves flowers for the big day. Regardless of your relationship status, here’s to a Happy Valentine’s Day.