Valentine’s Day is drawing close.
Cards, heart shaped balloons and chocolate candies line the shelves of many stores. It’s a holiday all about showering the most important person in your life with love, right? Not so much.
According to the National Retail Federation, American’s are expected to spend almost $20 billion dollars on valentines related gifts and excursions this year. Is that necessary? Is a holiday devoted to love becoming a holiday devoted to business?
Do not get me wrong. I love Valentine’s Day. It is the perfect excuse to spend extra time with the love of my life. I will probably take her to dinner somewhere and maybe we will go see a movie, but I do not go all out breaking the bank trying to impress her. That is not what love is. That is not how love works.
Unfortunately, I do believe that the business world has created an expectation for purchasing gifts on Valentine’s Day. Valentines Day is fourth on the list when it comes to spending on holidays, behind Christmas, Mother’s Day and Easter, according to Time magazine. That’s a lot considering only 55 percent of American’s actually celebrate Valentine’s Day, according to US News. The business world has created catchy signs like “love is all you need.” These businesses are creating a world of expectations when it comes to love instead of true, real, lasting love that is a little more rational than “love is all you need.”
See, my beautiful girlfriend feels just as much love from me if I cook her dinner versus taking her out to an expensive restaurant. She feels more love from me if I make her a photo album versus buying her a $50 teddy bear from Walmart. It is easy to go out and buy an expensive gift. The most ironic thing about valentine’s day and how my girlfriend appreciates gifts, is that the more time and effort I put into a gift, the more she appreciates it; regardless of the amount of money I spent on it.
If you really want to show your significant other some love this valentine’s day, spend some extra time with them. Call them randomly just to tell them how much you love and appreciate them. Those little things mean so much more than hard money spent.
