I was supposed to do a frugal Valentine’s Day ideas segment for “The 10! Show” tomorrow, based on the latest National Retail Federation research that said that Valentine’s Day spending would be down this year. That is, while loved ones would still be buying each other gifts, they would be spending less overall and choosing practical, affordable gifts over the extravagant ones.
According to this NRF research, instead of jewelry and dinners out, these gifts are going to top frugal Valentine’s Day lists this year:
- sweaters, winter accessories and other clothing options
- greeting cards
- candy
- flowers
Additionally, most people were going to be doing their shopping in discount stores instead of traditional department stores.
Based on all of this, I’d been gathering information and product samples from PR agencies and companies that have deals worth mentioning. Unfortunately, the incoming Nor’easter here in the Mid-Atlantic, during which we’re supposed to get up to two feet of snow, will make it impossible for me to safely get to the NBC10 studios in time. So my segment is canceled, and I will be return all the product that I can return to the companies that sent it to me for free.
In the meantime I was thinking: what am I going to do with all my great ideas? Blog about them, of course.
So for the next few days, I’m going to do a short blog posting on some of the items I would have talked about on camera but which I think the Suddenly Frugal readers will want to know about, too.
First up: affordable flowers!
READ LEAH ON HOME GOES STRONG
Sorry your appearance was cancelled. You do such a great job on air. I recently wrote about frugal & green Valentine’s Day ideas in a post: http://everydayfrugaleverydaygreen.blogspot.com/2010/02/5-tips-for-frugal-and-greener.html
One of the most important things is that imported cut flowers are an environmental nightmare. So, even though you can get really beautiful bouquets for $10 at the grocery store, their carbon and nitrogen cost is sky-high. I suggested giving seeds for flowers that can be planted in the spring, a plant to grow on a windowsill or a gift certificate for a flowering tree or shrub from your favorite garden center, instead of imported cut flowers.
Good points about the environmental footprint of certain flowers. I think you’ll like the flowers I’m going to highlight in tomorrow’s post!
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I like the sweater idea. In Wisconsin, we still have a substantial amount of winter left. A new sweater now would brighten the wardrobe and get lots of wear!