On Valentine's Day, love-struck Britons spend millions on chocolates, flowers, dinners, weekends away and other romantic gestures. Don't get sucked in. Here's how to avoid the great Valentine's Day rip off
To you and me, the 14th of February is St Valentine's Day. To the florists, gift shops, restaurants and hotels it's the final piece of the 'Golden Triangle' - the name retailers have given to the three peaks of consumer spending in the year: Christmas, New Year (sales) and St Valentine's Day.
In the last few decades this obscure saint, whose life and times no one seems quite clear about, has gladdened the heart of many a retailer and lightened the wallets of many more consumers. Find out how to cut back on the following:
Flowers
Interflora has a Valentine's 'shop' with gifts from around £20 although you can get better value from Marks and Spencer flowers which has bunches of roses for a lot cheaper. The home page of the John Lewis website is covered in Valentine's gifts, but do you seriously want to spend £80 on a bunch of roses in a box? How about buying the M&S roses, tying them in a bunch and popping them in a box from Clinton Cards for about £10? Even better, add a bit of matching ribbon for a few pounds and you're still £50 richer than if you splashed out at John Lewis.
Chocolates
Head down to your local farmers market to get your hands on some delicious hand-made chocolates for around the same price as those cellophane wrapped ones you can pick up at your local Tesco. The difference is the farmers market ones will be twice as tasty and may even contain a bit of a kick, like chilli or ginger, to liven up your evening. Local markets are also a good place to get cheap flowers from all over the world.
Romantic getaways
If your 'better half' fancies the idea of a night in a plush hotel, jump online to look for a bargain. Big hotel groups that need extra bodies contact websites like LastMinute.com to offload spare rooms for up to 80 per cent less in the weeks leading up to the big day.
For recommendations, have a nosey around the websites of big newspapers like The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. Their travel sections regularly feature great value hotels in major cities. But get in quick before the hotels click onto the fact that they're under-selling themselves.
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What couples really want, though, is an interesting and romantic gift that their partner has thought about and planned - time away together, breakfast in bed, dinner for two or a personalised gift.
Relationship Psychologist, Corinne Sweet, says: 'Many people, especially men, spend money to please or appease, when their partners would simply like to have more time, thought and appreciation from them. The personal touch, the little thoughtful gesture, is often more a sign of true love and commitment than extravagant, 'OTT' romantic gestures.'
So here are a few ways you can say 'I love you' without paying a fortune for it:
- Find the way to your lover's tummy
Write 'I love you' or other simple messages with jam or spaghetti on toast. Or for the adventurous, whip up a batch of heart-shaped pancakes using a heart-shaped mould (try www.lakeland.co.uk). Whipped cream and strawberries make this a very sexy treat. - Notables
Put little notes in their lunch boxes, on the bathroom mirror, in his briefcase, stuck on the car windshields, in his underwear drawer... - Poetry In Motion
Write him or her a poem. Can't write? Try out the poem generator at www.whimsies_online.com for fun! Print out your creation and place it on your loved-one's night table for when they awake! - A winter picnic
This is a great idea if you have a fireplace (or a few candles to replicate the effect). Place a blanket on the floor and enjoy your favourite finger food - the sexier the better. Try olives, artichokes, asparagus, stuffed mushrooms and oysters wrapped in bacon, plus mousse and cherries for desert. - Sweet treat
Make him a strawberry and cream sponge cake in a heart-shaped mould (available from www.lakeland.co.uk), dust with icing sugar sifted through a heart-shaped hole or his name cut in a piece of paper. - If music be the food of love
Burn a CD of their favourite songs - preferably the romantic lovey-dovey ones. Put it on after supper and then... - Be hands-on
While it might be tempting to spend money on buying them a massage, it's more intimate and cost-effective to do it yourself. - Pick your own Valentine's date
Who said Valentine's Day had to be on 14th February? Why not decide between you that yours is going to be on 14th March, or 20th February or 25th May or any date that you can both make and when all the restaurant and hotel prices will be back down to normal! - Leave a voice mail
Ring his answer machine at work and leave a sweet message so it's waiting for him when he gets in. - Pamper them at home
Run them a nice hot bubble bath when he gets home from work. Don't forget the scented candles. If you've got kids, try and offload them for the night. If it's not possible, then get them to bed early with the promise of some treats over the weekend.
If you are single and fed up with it all, why not take over a bar, invite all your other single friends and host a 'Down with Valentine's Day' party? Get everyone to pay for their own drinks and not only can you have a cheap night out but you could end up with a date of your own!