Time’s running out, fellas, so here are shopping tips
Relax, guys, Valentine’s Day is still five days away.
What? This is the first you’re hearing of it?
They really should hold the annual day that celebrates sweethearts later in the year so men have more time to prepare.
There still would be 365 days between them, you say? Valentine’s Day always sneaks up on us, taking place as it does during the hibernation period of winter. We made it through the holidays upright and some have even taken down the Christmas decorations. Now it’s time to slumber until spring and start squirreling away some money.
Buying Valentine’s Day gifts is nearly as painful as having to get off the couch in the 68-degree living room to mow the lawn on the hottest day of summer. I was resting. Watching “Forged in Fire” is the closest I want to get to that kind of heat, sheesh.
I have to admit that I’m a lousy gift-giver, always have been. I can often be found scrambling for a gift sometime before 5 p.m. Feb. 14, jostling with my competitors to get the last 99-cent card.
Fortunately for me and others like me (I’m looking at you), merchants out there are ready and willing to help out, focusing our attention on a few traditional gift ideas — candy, flowers, jewelry, cards and stuffed things with hearts on them. Other ideas, such as dining out or romantic excursions, require more time and money so are not advised unless you’re young and have something to prove. Otherwise, buy the gift, grab a card and be done with it, making sure to spend the least amount possible to keep things going for another year.
Candy
A box of assorted chocolates is a gift with benefits but can also be bittersweet. Buy the big box and you’re nearly assured a piece or two. However, in today’s health-crazed world, perhaps the smaller box would be more welcome. Some may even reject such a well-thought-out gift, leaving you to eat it all.
Shriver’s Salt Water Taffy & Fudge suggests giving its sweet treats to someone special for Valentine’s Day.
Shriver’s Valentine’s Day Basket, priced at $64.99, contains six macaroons, 1 pound of fudge (vanilla, chocolate, vanilla nut, chocolate nut), 1 pound of assorted salt water taffy, a half-pound of chocolate-covered pretzels and a half-pound of chocolates. Other gifts range from the assorted chocolates box ($22.99) to the Valentine’s Trio (1 pound of assorted salt water taffy, a half-pound of fudge (chocolate and vanilla) and a quarter-pound of chocolate-covered pretzels (choice of dark or milk chocolate) for $26.99.
Shop in person or online at shrivers.com.
The Original Fudge Kitchen, with locations at 800 Boardwalk in Ocean City as well as in Stone Harbor, Wildwood and Cape May, is ready for shoppers and shippers.
“Our iconic creamy fudge hearts are back, along with other new and exciting surprises. Shop sweet hearts for your sweetheart before they’re gone,” its web site states.
Visit one of the locations or order online at fudgekitchens.com.
Looking for something healthier but just as sweet? Consider Edible Arrangements at Ocean Heights Plaza in Somers Point.
Gifts include fruit bouquets, chocolate-covered strawberries, flowers and more. The Mini Sweet Love Platter is an arrangement of chocolate-dipped strawberries topped with white or red Swizzle and paired with fresh grapes for $29.99. The Valentine’s Day Berry Bouquet, priced at $49.99, is a coffee mug filled with chocolate-dipped strawberries. At the upper end of the scale, the Berry In Love Bundle, at $219.97, contains pineapple hearts, semisweet chocolate-dipped strawberries, fresh strawberries and Belgian chocolate pops, a bouquet of flowers and a box of Godiva chocolates.
Flowers
Many people think flowers are a romantic gift because their beauty is fleeting. They’re actually a logical gift, though, since they are everything a husband is not — they’re pretty, smell nice and are quickly and easily disposable.
In all seriousness, those looking for a big bang should definitely consider a gift of flowers.
Nothing says “I love you” like red roses. Fortunately, Spinning Wheel Florist peddles its bouquets in multiple sizes and price points.
Teleflora’s Sweet Thoughts Bouquet is priced at $44.95 (a small price to pay for love?), while the Always on My Mind traditional dozen roses in a glass vase is $74.99 (she had better be a keeper). If you’re punching way above your weight — you know who you are — or a frequent visitor to the dog house, you may want to consider My Perfect Love, “twenty-four stunning red roses … arranged with greenery and delivered in a feminine vase.”
Everything is available at 858 Asbury Ave. in Ocean City or online at spinningwheelflorist.com.
Marjorie Calise, owner of The Flower Company, and arranger Caroline Kopczenski have been working day and night to provide customers with beautiful arrangements.
“We’ll start prepping a week in advance and work at least 12 hours a day,” Calise said, noting Valentine’s Day is the industry’s single-busiest day. “It is kind of like our Super Bowl, for one day it’s definitely a lot.”
Calise, 37, who is in her second year at the Wayside Village in the Marmora section of Upper Township, said roses have lost some of their popularity, with shoppers buying more unique arrangements with a mix of flowers now.
“It brings you joy just to look at them,” Clarise said of why flowers make a great gift. “It puts smiles on their faces and shows them they are appreciated.”
The Flower Company is accepting orders for pickup and delivery (north to Linwood and south to Avalon) and will have plenty of items for pickup in the store.
Calise said Valentine’s Day shoppers tend to leave things late.
“I think it’s because of the men gifting to the women, everything’s kind of last-minute,” said Kopczenski, 26, of Mays Landing. “We’re anticipating that last little bit of last-minuteness.”
Jewelry
Jeweler Charles Stecher, who crafts custom pieces from his shop at 41 Route 9 in Marmora, has the exact gift I’ve always been after — something that lasts forever. The year after I gave my wife a valuable little trinket, she was surprised that I didn’t have another gift for her.
“But the bracelet lasts… ”
Stecher said a gift of jewelry is lasting and shows your love.
“The flowers die in a week, the chocolate gets eaten and the jewelry is always there,” he said. “It’s a lasting gift.”
“Say it with a diamond” is the motto of Henry’s Jewelry, with stores at 1236 Boardwalk in Ocean City and on the Washington Street Mall in Cape May.
Co-owner Sam Koperwas also thinks jewelry makes a terrific gift, but for another reason.
“It’s personal,” he said. “Flowers and candy is one way to say it (I love you), but when you say it with jewelry it’s really tailored for that particular person. It shows you care that much more.”
Koperwas said he and his partner, Jeff Sherman, along with sales manager Nina Camburn, “work with customers as they come in the store and offer the best deals we can.”
Koperwas said Henry’s is a jewelry store “where we tend to bring in merchandise you don’t see other places.” He said their diamond heart necklace at $299 is a popular item, along with Pandora charms and other items geared toward Valentine’s Day.
Henry’s is open all year on the boardwalk, where it will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer, or shop online at henrysoc.com.
Stuffed doodads with hearts, cards
What ever happened to Hallmark? You could be sure to get a card and a stuffed bear at the last minute at a Hallmark store. Now you have to go to either a drug store or department store. Luckily for us slackers, a Target store opened in October at Somers Point Plaza. (No more schlepping to Mays Landing.)
Target has a plethora of gifts of the stuffed variety and, more importantly, loads of cards. A quarter-century into my marriage and I feel that the card is the gift. Am I right? They’re like $5.
Restaurants
If any of the above-mentioned gifts simply will not do on its own, it may be necessary to jack up the romance level with an outing. Candy, flowers, jewelry and other gifts are always welcome, but true romantics go the extra mile to provide an experience as well, and that’s where the area’s multiple fine-dining establishments come into play.
But dinner and a movie, on top of at least a card if not candy, flowers and/or jewelry, can be an expensive endeavor.
To keep the cost down, skip the movie and try dinner and a stroll on the boardwalk or a visit to the bayfront John F. Kennedy Memorial Park in Somers Point.
Better yet, share a meal at the Deauville Inn overlooking Strathmere Bay and skip the stroll (it is freaking February after all).
The Deauville is offering a prix fixe three-course meal for $75 per person starting Saturday, Feb. 12, and wrapping up on Valentine’s Day. Make reservations at (609) 263-2080 or online at deauvilleinn.com.
General manager Chuck Thompson said the chef’s selection will include a choice of three appetizers, three entrees and dessert. The regular menu also will be available all weekend.
Thompson said last week the Deauville Inn already is booking reservations, which he said are highly recommended.
He called the island eatery a “nice, intimate setting with bayfront views.”
“Even though it’s winter, we still have some amazing sunsets,” Thompson said, noting dining on the enclosed porch is by request.
He said a dinner date, instead of or in addition to a gift, is a nice way to spend the evening.
“It allows you to really spend some time together, have a nice meal away from the kids and enjoy each other’s company,” he said.
Excursions
In Tuckahoe, the Cape May Seashore Lines will be offering first-class accommodations for the Valentine’s Express on Friday, Feb. 11, from the Richland Station and Saturday, Feb. 12, from the Tuckahoe Station.
The 75-plus-minute round trip includes a selection of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, desserts and refreshments (BYOB, wine and beer only) aboard the Braddock Inn ($129.95/couple) or New York Central 38 ($119.95/couple). Live musicians, chocolate and flowers add to the fun. Only adults 21 and older are permitted.
The Long Island Lounge will be available for charters and parties of 12 to 24 passengers of all ages during the Valentine’s Express trips.
Visit seashorelines.org for more information or to order tickets. Advance ticket orders are highly recommended; some walk-up tickets may be available the day of the event.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff