Valentine’s Day—the best major minor holiday named after a 3rd-century Roman saint EVER!
At this writing, Valentine’s Day is Friday. That’s TOMORROW! If this realization is news to you, and if you fit any or all of the following categories:
- You have a significant other (or others—we don’t judge).
- You’re romantically challenged.
- You have the imagination of a cement mixer.
- You don’t have a single unique gift idea yet.
Then no worries. We’ve got you covered, even at this late stage of the game. Read on for suggestions. Complete with our enlightening commentary!
What Not to Do
Look, thing is, if you just grab a box of chocolates and a slightly damaged card from the drug store while you’re picking up ibuprofen and antacids on your way home, it’s gonna look like you forgot. (They’ll know. Trust us. They’ll know.) So do yourself a favor, do anything but this.
What to Do
The key to a memorable Valentine’s Day gift is originality. Just because you forgot to plan ahead doesn’t mean you can’t still do something thoughtful.
Our stores are chock full of unique ideas for this lovey-dovey time of year. Here are some of our favorites:
Health and Beauty Aids. Everyone loves to be pampered, or to have gifts they can pamper themselves with later whenever the mood strikes. Lotions and essential oils are standards, or if you’re a Co-op member-owner, you can earn 5% Rewards now through February 19 on select brands of bath soaps and salts. For local options, we recommend Wild Hill, Farmer’s Body, Baudelaire, Elmore Mountain Farm, and South of France. For non-local, try Aura Cacia, Dr. Bronner’s, Dr. Squatch, Pacha Soap Co., a la Maison de Provence, and Provence Santé.
Sweet Treats. Ethel and Fred. Leia and Han. Esmeralda and Quasimodo. All the great ones built their relationships on copious amounts of fine confections. If you’re looking for something different from the usual mass-produced chocolate fare, try our chocolate-dipped strawberries (made in-house), Bisousweet Chocolate Raspberry Whoopie Pies, Heart-shaped Petit Fours, Le Chic Patissier Heart-Shaped Macarons, and local Valentine’s Day chocolates from our friends at Lake Champlain Chocolates and Burke Mountain Confectionary.
Floral. You can’t go wrong with flowers, but make them stunningly beautiful. Our Floral Departments recommend roses (of course), orchids, mixed bouquets, and tulips.
Sushi. We carry sushi in heart-shaped containers this time of year. That’s right, sushi in heart-shaped containers! And if raw dead sea life in a unique box won’t woo your sweetie’s soul, we don’t know what will.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Ken Davis is the Co-op’s senior writer. Marketing Manager Erika Gavin contributed to this post.
