Valentine’s Day
12th February 2020
12th February 2020
With the clock ticking down to Valentine’s Day, it’s time to find the right gifts and goodies to sweep that special someone off their feet.
In 2019, we spent over £1.4 billion on flowers, frills and fancies and it seems like this year we’ll be spending the same – if not more. In this week’s blog we investigate the origins of Valentine’s Day and the ways you can celebrate it.
Valentine’s Day gets the name from the famous saint; St Valentine. The most popular belief about St Valentine is that he was a priest from Rome in the third Century. The Emperor Claudius II had made marriage illegal as he believed married men were ineffective soldiers. St Valentine considered this unfair and so ignored the rules in place and arranged marriages for people in secret.
When Emperor Claudius found out, Valentine was sentenced to death and put in jail. While in jail, Valentine fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and, prior to when he was put to death on 14th February, he sent her a love letter signed from “your Valentine.” The very first Valentine card.
Over 32 million (61%) Brits will be spending money on their sweethearts this Valentine’s Day. Of those who will be spending money, each person expects to pay out £35 on average. This means that over £1.45 billion will be spent collectively by people in the UK.
Men plan to spend an average of £44.24 on Valentine’s Day, while women will spend £26.24. Millennials will be the UK’s highest-spending generation, paying out £42 on average. This is followed by generation X (£38), baby boomers (£30) and generation Z (£27). The silent generation (born 1928 to 1945) are the lowest spenders, averaging £12.
20% of people celebrating Valentine’s Day will give their partner flowers. Unimaginatively, red roses are the most popular choice. Lingerie sales double in the run up to Valentine’s Day, and jewellery sales peak a few days prior to 14th February – which isn’t surprising, considering 10% of all marriage proposals happen on Valentine’s Day.
The Pantiles stores and eateries are filled with sweet treats, glittering gems, heart-warming homeware and swoon-worthy events to help you celebrate this week. These include:
Speed Dating Event: Friday 14th February
An event for all green-minded singles! Looking for a partner with similar values but don’t know where to start? The Zero Waste Company’s Speed Dating Night brings people together in a unique setting. On arrival you can choose a signature cocktail (or mocktail) and will be given a personalised card for the evening. It will have your name and allocated number, and the names (first name only) of your potential dates ready to go. On the cards there will be 2 boxes: 1 to tick when you’ve met and another to tick if you’d like to see them again. Each ‘date’ will last 7 minutes.
Nibbles will be available throughout the evening and drinks will be available from the pop-up bar.
For more details contact The Zero Waste Company.
Scented Candles
What’s Valentine’s Day without a scented candle or two?! Head to Trevor Mottram in The Pantiles for their great range of scrumptious smelling illuminators – your Valentine will be waxing lyrical about these great gift ideas long after the season of love.
Bespoke Jewellery
Catherine Hills is an international award-winning designer and maker of jewellery for the Harry Potter films. Her alluring atelier and boutique nestled in the corner of The Pantiles is impeccably styled. Inside the cabinets are diverse collections that exude individuality.
This year, especially for Valentine’s Day, Catherine has designed a two-part heart for an exhibition at The British Heart Foundation in a show curated by CAA, one of her favourite London galleries.
Valentine’s Dinner: Friday 14th February
After the perfect Valentine’s night out? Look not further than Hattons’ gourmet dinner on Friday 14th February. Treat that special someone to a complimentary glass of pink fizz, followed by a four-course meal from co-owner Daniel and Head Chef Harvey. Tickets are £100 per couple. Book your tickets!
For more details of gift ideas and events at The Pantiles, be sure to follow our social media pages.
The Pantiles wishes all their customers a very Happy Valentine’s Day!