All of us understand that gifts for Valentine’s Day is a kind of marketing trick, but it embodies our desire to give special signs of love to the people we love. Today, the most popular and most safe-bet gifts for Valentine’s Day are the following five: flowers, chocolate, wine (alcohol), sweet memorabilia and cute little things.

Flowers – one of 5 safe-bet gifts for your Valentine

No doubts, flowers are your best and safest bet for your Valentine. After all, what can better tell about a romantic feeling than delicate, weightless, almost transparent petals of fresh flowers? However, you have to know the symbolic language of flowers for romantic messages to avoid an unintentional bitter surprise

8 Tips on how to choose the right flowers for your Valentine

1. Make your bouquet personal and try to buy it in person

Yes, you are busy. And it could be very tempting to just whip out your credit card and order a bouquet online. But remember, an anonymous florist has no idea who you are, who your Valentine is, what your relationship is and what kind of a message you want to give to your loved one. So, if you can, choose your flowers in person and handpick a bouquet that you know will reflect her unique style and personality.

2. If in doubt choose classic red roses

It’s your safest bet. They express sincere love, boundless passion, and respect.

3. Avoid yellow flowers

To be on the safe side, a useful rule of thumb is avoiding yellow flowers, because most often they have negative meaning or no romantic meaning at all.

• Yellow roses are one of the only roses that have no romantic meaning behind them.
• Yellow hyacinths mean that you do not trust the person who is nearby, that you are a creepy owner, inclined to be constantly jealous of your soul mate for everyone. If you are not really experiencing all these emotions at the moment, you better refuse to buy such a gift!

• Yellow chrysanthemums symbolize neglected love or sorrow.

• Yellow carnation – rejection, disdain, disappointment

4. Make sure the flowers are fresh

Buy super-fresh flowers. But how to be sure that the flowers are fresh? Here are some practical tips:

• Check the petals for any discolouration, brown-black spots, wilting, or transparency because all of these are signs that the blooms are past their peak freshness. Gently check the part of the petal that meets the stem: the firmer this part, the fresher the flower.
• Check the leaves. Like the petals, the leaves of the flowers should look healthy, green, and not wilting.
• Check the stems. The stems have to be sturdy, firm, and not broken or bending. Gently squeeze the bottom part of the stems – it has to be firm and taut. If this part is easily squashed, the flower is definitely not fresh.
• For the bulbs, look for the flowers that didn’t bloom completely yet.

5. Be careful with carnations

Generally, carnations mean fascination and love, but these flowers can symbolize quite different things. Striped and yellow carnations given on February 14 will indicate that you are disappointed and that you want to end the relationship. So, if you are in a hurry to confess a deep feeling, carnations are not your companions on this day!

6. Be aware of “male” flowers

Amaryllis and anthurium are “male” flowers that symbolize true masculinity. With these flowers, a woman can express her admiration for a man telling him that he is the most daring, brave, and passionate.

7. Make her smile, not sneeze

Make sure that your Valentine is not allergic to some flowers. If the object of your affections is an allergy sufferer, steer clear of heady blooms, such as hyacinths, chrysanthemums and sunflowers that could have her sneezing. Instead opt for flowers such as tulips, irises or orchids.

8. Never give cyclamens to your Valentine

… Unless you want to end your relationship. Cyclamens do not symbolize happiness. Since ancient times, this flower has been a symbol of loneliness. Actually, the cyclamen has a meaning that relates to death and the fact that all good things will eventually end. The cyclamen symbolizes a desire to forget, to leave and to end the relationship.

Chocolate – the sweetest romantic gift for your Valentine

As Valentine’s Day approaches, almost everyone is looking for a treasured box of heart-shaped chocolates on the shelves of supermarkets and pastry shops. For many years now, this holiday has been seeing a huge surge in chocolate sales.

It looks like men instinctively know that the surest seduction tool is a box of chocolates. Today, chocolates have become almost an obligatory attribute of Valentine’s Day.

You probably don’t know that the first heart-shaped box of chocolates was released by the English confectionery company Cadbury in 1861. It almost instantly found a huge success. The package was decorated with cupids and roses to make it sure to catch the eye of Valentine’s Day gift buyers. And when the candy ran out, it could be used to store love letters and photos of loved ones.

Chocolates on Valentine’s Day are a common practice around the world, but in some countries they are tied to interesting traditions. Thus, on Valentine’s Day Japanese women give “mandatory” small chocolates to all the men they know.

Large chocolate sets made of small chocolates, or chocolates in the shape of hearts, award medals, flowers or any figurine that matches the hobbies of your loved one, are ideal as a main or additional gift for your Valentine.

Alcohol

Many historians believe that people began to grow crops in order to make alcohol – even then they knew about its miraculous ability to relieve stress and fatigue. However, alcohol is also a wonderful gift for all occasions, including Valentine’s Day. The main advantage of such a gift is that it will suit almost everyone.

Traditionally, men are presented with elite strong alcohol, but it will be quite normal to give a man a bottle of good wine or expensive beer – it all depends on the man’s preferences. Women are mainly given wines and liqueurs.

Cognac / Brandy

What’s the difference between cognac and brandy? Not everyone knows that the name “cognac” only applies to drinks made in Southwest France, in the Charente region, which is known for its superior grape-growing conditions. Everything else is brandy, which can come from anywhere in the world.

Victor Hugo called cognac the “liquor of the gods.” It’s become known as a symbol of French luxury, the best brandy money can buy. Here’s a primer on the liquors. The easiest way is to turn to the famous brands such as Hennessy, Martell, Remy Martin, Courvoisier, etc.

Whiskey

The second most common alcohol given to men is whiskey. Whiskey comes in malt, grain, blended and corn whiskey (bourbon).

It is better to give preference to blended whiskey, but if you choose a gift for a person who is experienced in this drink, then you can try your luck with single malt, the taste of which is not clear to everyone. Blended whiskey is the most common, so there will be a wide range of it in any store. It is worth paying attention to famous brands such as Jameson, Jim Beam, Ballantine`s, White Horse, Jack Daniels, or Chivas Regal.

Vodka

A great surprise will also be a bottle of good vodka. As a rule, vodka of superior quality costs cheaper than brandy or whiskey. By the way, vodka can be very different – in addition to the well-known wheat vodka, there is also rice (sake), grape (grappa), rye (starka) vodka and even the famous “black vodka” from The Original Black Vodka Company.

Beer

Everyone knows this alcohol, but it is used very, very rarely as a gift. If you want to give someone a beer as a gift, it must be a very special beer. There is a special type of beer for which barley was grown in zero gravity – Space Barley.

Some European breweries produce beer with a strength of 40, 60 and even 70 degrees. These drinks will knock you down not only by their strength, but also by their costs.

Wine

Wine as a gift will suit both men and women. According to popular belief, men prefer red, dry wines, while women prefer sweet, sparkling wines. However, the actual preferences of a particular person can be very different. If you are not very well versed in wines, ask the sommelier for help.

Liqueurs

This type of alcoholic drink is usually given as a gift to women, but there are liqueurs that can also be presented to men such as Becherovka, Riga Balsam, Cointreau, and others. Women are mainly given sweet liqueurs – Baileys, Amaretto, and Sambuca.

Sweet memorabilia

Joyful moments and lovely trifles that filled our life in the past are sometimes forgotten. And sometimes it seems to us that there was nothing special back then. Collect wonderful moments – they are life itself!

Create your own calendar! Mark in it all the dates that are important to you: the day you met, the first kiss, the first declaration of love.

Create your album “Remember how …” from photos, emails and messages. Probably, it would be the best present that your Valentine has ever had.

Or it could be just a seashell from the beach vacations where you were so happy together.

Pretty trifles, cute little things

There will be not too many IPhones and laptops, expensive perfume and diamonds as Valentine’s gifts. However, there will be lots of sweet to the heart pretty trifles, cute little things, something sincere and pleasant.

Choose a nice postcard, write a few kind words, and imagine how much joy it will bring to the person you give it to. Maybe, that card will be stored for years, decades, and then that person’s grandchildren will take it into their hands.

Remember, your gift to your Valentine is not about money, it’s about love.