Valentine's Day: are you a cheap date or a romantic fool?

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/feb/11/valentines-day-cheap-date-romantic-fool

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How much are you planning to spend on your loved one this Valentine’s Day? Surveys say the typical Brit will spend from £24 to as much as £86 per person. We went searching for the best deals – and looked at how much you can splurge if money is no object.

Related: How do I become … a card designer

Roses

Debenhams Flowers is offering a dozen red roses for £18.79, including courier delivery. The total price on the website is £25, but you can use code VDSave5 to save £5 and then knock a further 6% off the price by making the purchase through Topcashback or Quidco. You must order before 7pm on Friday 13 February if you want the roses to arrive in time for Valentine’s Day, but check the website if you’re leaving it to the last minute because if you live in certain postcodes in Scotland, south-west England and Northern Ireland, the cut-off is 4pm on Thursday 12 February.

If you don’t like the thought that your Valentine’s gift will soon wither and die – or you’re just looking for better value for money – then Lidl is selling a rose in a gift bag for £3.99.

Blow your budget and … spend £500 on a bouquet of 100 red roses from Fortnum & Mason. Or send your Valentine a luxury love heart of roses in shades of red and hot pink for £175 from La Maison des Roses.

Chocolates

One of the best offers on chocolates also comes from Debenhams, where you can snap up a 337g box of Lindt milk chocolate for £6 (a 20% discount). Buy in-store to avoid the £3.99 online delivery charge.

Elsewhere, Asda is selling a 50g box of Guylian “I love you chocolate hearts” for £1, while at Aldi you can pick up a 129g box of Moser Roth Finest Truffles for £1.89.

Blow your budget and … buy a 718g selection box of Forrey & Galland chocolates from Harrods for £139.95.

Champagne and strawberries

Buy a bottle of Veuve Monsigny French Champagne Brut by Philizot for £9.99 at Aldi. Alternatively, pick up a bottle of Louvel Fontaine Champagne Brut for £10 from Asda (used to be £24.25).

Meanwhile, Morrisons has cut the price of its Veuve Devanlay Champagne Brut from £28.99 to £12.

Strawberries are cheapest at Asda, where you’ll get 400g for £1.50.

Blow your budget and … buy an Ace of Spades Rosé from Armand de Brignac, priced at £450 at Harvey Nichols, or splash out on a £1,250 bottle of Krug from Harrods. And why bother with strawberries when you can pick up a 50g tin of caviar for £325 from Fortnum & Mason instead?

Valentine’s Teddies

For those who feel Valentine’s Day simply would not be completely without a new bear to share it with, Asda is selling a hi-tech teddy for £6 that allows you to record and playback a 10 second message to your Valentine. It’s only available in-store.

Over at Poundland £1 will buy you a monkey holding a heart embroidered with the words “bananas about you”. Classy.

Blow your budget and … splash out on a “big hunka love diamond bear” from Vermontteddybear.com. This 4 1/2 foot tall bear comes with a 5.9 carat diamond ring and “more than enough love to last a lifetime”, which is good news because it costs $30,000 (£19,710), and that doesn’t include the cost of international shipping.

Candles

If you’re looking for a scented candle, Asda is offering the lowest price on the Glade “With Love” candle at £2, down from a fiver, while Ocado.com has a third off Yankee Candles.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking for some red candles to complement a romantic meal at home, you won’t go far wrong with a pack of four dinner table candles for £1 from Poundland.

Blow your budget and … cough up for an Amber Aoud Roja Parfums candle from Selfridges. Yours for only £750.