Survey Finds Men and Women Differed in Valentines Gift Opinions

A national gift industry survey released recently found that women and men didn't always agree when it came to Valentine's Day gifts and their pricetags this year. Fifty percent of men thought they needed to spend more than $50 on Valentine's Day, while seventy-five percent of women planned to spend less than that amount on gifts. Most women believed the thought behind the Valentine's Day gift, not its cost, is what mattered. Seventy-five percent of females stated they expected their significant other to spend less than $50, and only 5% expected a gift valued at more than $100.

"This year, it's the smaller, more personalized Valentine's Day gifts that were hot, and you didn't have to spend a lot of money to say 'I love you,'" celebrity shopper and founder of the Los Angeles boutique Intuition Jaye Hersh stated. Romantic gift ideas like personalized his and hers robes, pajamas, pomegranate candles and monogrammed clothing were among the less expensive Valentine's gifts she purchased for her major Hollywood clients.

Romantic italian food and a home-cooked meal were heavily favored for both men and women when planning a romantic dining experience. 32% of those surveyed considered Italian food to be the most romantic meal for Valentine's Day, and 20% thought cooking dinner at home was the ideal date. 11% preferred a steakhouse, 8% chose French food and 7% considered seafood as the most romantic selection.

Men were much more likely to send flowers, with 30% sending flowers as compared to 4% of women that did so. Over 50% of women preferred to receive flowers at home on Valentine's Day, 24% wanted them delivered to their office or workplace, and 20% would receive them in either location equally.