Be my VALUTINE
Supermarkets have plenty of sweetheart deals for couples looking to enjoy a nice, romantic dinner at home
There may be lots of love in the air with St Valentine’s Day looming on Wednesday. But there isn’t lots of money around. We don’t want to skimp on romance on the one day it’s universally celebrated. But we don’t want to get ripped off either when it comes to the basics – which can cost the earth if we’re not careful.
There’s an astonishing difference between snapping up 12 small roses for €3.79 with Aldi, or €9.99 for some slightly more impressive blooms with Lidl – and paying €50 in desperation for the last withered bunch from a street seller on the way home from work!
Getting the best bang for your buck on some items means you can spend more on others – like a great present, an especially fine wine, or meal out. You can get a great deal from most supermarkets on flowers, chocolates and cards – if you get there in time.
Staying in is also the new going out, it seems, as 58% of respondents in a new survey said they’d like to stay in, to either cook a meal with their partner (31%) or enjoy a takeaway (27%). Only 30% of the population are planning to go out for dinner to celebrate, according to Supervalu’s new report.
‘Budgets are tight but many people still want to mark the occasion’
‘Budgets are tight for many people post-Christmas but they still want to mark the occasion, so we have a range of Valentine meal offers and wines to ensure they can still celebrate in style,’ said SuperValu Marketing Manager, Shane Lynch. He said many people are choosing to push the boat out with a fine wine on the night rather than blow their budget on a fancy restaurant. When it comes to what people spend on Valentine’s Day, the average spend is €47.70, with top gifts received being a card (31%), flowers (29%) and chocolates (27%).
As you can see from our survey of Valentine prices, Lidl and Aldi have pushed the love boat out with the cheapest prices.
But they’re not always the cheapest – and selection and quality may be better in some cases at Tesco, Dunnes and SuperValu.
SuperValu’s Valentine’s Meal Deal is just €12, for example.
The offer includes one Signature Taste meal, two sides and one dessert.
Tesco also have a steak meal deal for €15, which would go very nicely with a bottle of my favourite – but expensive – Italian wine Amarone (€49) from the same store.
This is the kind of special treat you can afford to splash out on and really impress your other half if you don’t get ripped off blowing your Valentine’s Day budget on the other basics. After all... “that’s amoré!”’