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Valentine’s Day Definition

February 14, 2012 by · Comments Off on Valentine’s Day Definition 

Valentine’s Day Definition, Valentine Day sales target men shoppers and women recipients. Scott Tegeler has it easy. His girlfriend loves cliché and generic Valentine’s Day gifts. He plans on taking her out to dinner somewhere, giving her flowers and a stuffed animal.

When asked if he views Valentine’s Day as an obligation or something he enjoys doing Tegeler answers: “It’s mostly an obligation. I enjoy seeing her happy, but the process of preparing to make her happy can be a pain.”

The fact is that the commercialization of Valentines is all about what marketers think women want.

On Valentine’s Day the average man will spend about $170 on his significant other while a woman will spend about $70, according to the National Retail Federation. That means men spend over double what women do.

But men also have it easy. Valentine’s Day ads featuring the top gifts of chocolate, jewelry, flowers, and cards are gifts men may not care much about receiving. Women are not given a script on what to give in return.

Flowers and candy don’t mean as much to the average man as it does to a woman. Jewelry commercials on TV are targeted towards men getting their other half the perfect gift. Ever seen a jewelry advertisement targeted towards women buying their man that something special.

Men’s choices are laid out for them. Superstores have a section dedicated to Valentine’s gifts, most of which are clearly for women.

But women’s choices aren’t as defined. Every February, articles pop up online like hercampus.com’s The 20 Cutest Things to Do With Your Boyfriend on Valentine’s Day. These stories feature ideas such as going ice skating, buying tickets to see a favorite sports team, or signing him up for a beer of the month club.

Mandy Grudzieski, a recent SHSU graduate, said her Valentine’s Day request has changed with full time employment.

“We usually don’t have money to do anything,” Grudzieski said. “But now since we have jobs, I kind of made him take me somewhere. We’re just going to a fancier restaurant.”

It’s not that men don’t care about this day of love. They just care in a different way. More often than not they just enjoy making their date happy.

Relationship expert Jenni Trent Hughes said that although men and women’s roles have changed, being in love still rules the day.

“We may no longer be knights in shining amour or damsels in distress, but we still want and need romance – it is part of our emotional DNA,” Hughes said.

Even men who are skeptical of Valentine’s Day will buy their girlfriends or wives some sort of gift. Not just because they will be in the doghouse if they don’t, but because who doesn’t like making their significant other smile?

Samuel Keen, Grudzieski’s fiancé, isn’t a big fan of the day.

“I feel as though it’s a commercial holiday,” Keen said.

“But it makes Mandy happy to do something. I guess I view it as a good excuse to go out and do something nice for [her].”

Tegeler thinks that the little planning he does goes a long way.

“It’s not so bad if we do things right and our lady is tickled pink at the finished product of whatever we were going for,” Tegeler said.

So although as the commercialization gears the day towards making women happy, that doesn’t mean men don’t have their own reasons to get excited around Valentine’s Day.

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