Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day today, enabling the lovelorn to pay triple the price for flowers or restaurant meals than they would normally have to any other day of the year.
And if you’re a Valentine’s Day pooh-pooher, you may enjoy the opinions of British sex and dating expert Annabelle Knight who used a TV interview to describe giving Valentine’s Day cards as a form of “harassment”.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain yesterday, Knight compared receiving a Valentine’s Day card to “cold calling” before adding: “If you can’t say the words any other time of year you probably shouldn’t say them on Valentine’s Day.”
However, fellow panelist and relationship expert Charlotte Rose disagreed, adding: “I think this is where PC has gone way too far.”
And it appears social media wasn’t siding with Knight either. Twitter followers describing Knight’s comments as “nonsense”, “Valentine’s Day is supposed to be fun”, “harassment! My backside” and “It’s getting so we cant speak or interact with anyone for fear of ‘offending’ or ‘harassing’ them. Common sense has left the building.”
Check it out below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cssxmAwSs0
Meanwhile, a new study appears to show that we’re no longer as enthusiastic about Valentine’s Day as we once were.
The study, by US gift site Xperience Days, found that 20 per cent of respondents “dreaded” February the 14th.
Naturally, singles were more excited about Valentine’s Day, with 45 per cent of unmarried respondents agreeing they’d celebrate the day in some manner.
A further 48 per cent of married respondents said they didn’t mind the day, while just shy of a quarter (24 per cent) planned to ignore it altogether.
When it came to gender, 64 per cent of men said that a restaurant meal was the ideal Valentine’s Day gift. For women, 17.6 per cent said they’d give a gift card, seven per cent would send a romantic card or seven per cent would opt for a meal at home.
Some 28 per cent of men said they did not want to receive a Valentine’s Day gift. While seven per cent of respondents said they’d break-up with a partner over a dodgy Valentine’s Day gift.
And not that Valentine’s Day isn’t good for business. A new study by the National Retail Federation (NRF) in the US claimed Americans would fork out a staggering $US20.7 billion ($A29.16 billion) on Valentine’s Day gifts, flowers and meals this year.
The NRF survey found that consumers will spend, on average, roughly $US162 per person. Those ages 35-44 will be the biggest spenders, at $US279, followed by 25-34 year olds, who will spend $US239.
