These are the unwritten rules about buying your other half flowers on Valentine's Day

Yes, Valentine’s Day is probably made up by card companies and we’re all cogs in the consumerist machine etc., etc. But - if Christmas is an excuse to meet up and argue with our families, let’s count Valentine’s Day as an excuse to be nice to someone we quite fancy. It’s not National Torture Day is it? 

Confusion can arise, however, if you’re newly dating someone. Are they into Valentine’s Day? Do people still buy flowers? Will he or she think you’re a knight from a different realm? 

According to a survey by Florismart, 41 days of dating is the point at which most women expect flowers, with a third of women expecting them even if you’ve been dating for a week or less. This seems a bit quick, but hey! Everyone likes getting flowers, so why not get them from someone whose surname you don’t even know yet? 

Valentine’s Day is one of the few occasions left where less is still more. Christmas has gotten out of hand, Easter now means Creme Eggs are in the shops in January, birthdays have turned into birthweeks, and stag dos are now a £600 trip to Romania where you spend half your time wondering where your money has gone. 

But Valentine’s is the occasion when a bunch of flowers, a card, and/or a box of chocolates is the best gift. If you buy your other half a new TV, an Apple watch and a £700 pair of shoes, you’ve missed the point, you’re that bloke at school who bought his girlfriend an iPod after they’d been going out for a week and told everyone about it. 

Perhaps worryingly, one in three Brits said they’d be more likely to have sex with their partner on Valentine’s Day if they were bought flowers. What a weird small bribe to introduce into your relationship, but a small cost-effective bribe it is nonetheless. 

Don’t think you’re getting away with a total bargain though, the survey also showed that two thirds of women want their flowers from a local florist, and not the local Shell garage or the Valentine’s promotional stand at Asda. 

Plus, 70% said they wouldn’t want red roses, so if you are planning on flowers, maybe try and shoe horn in a conversation about what your partners’ favourites are over breakfast tomorrow and go from there. 

Essentially, put a bit of thought behind your bouquet, and maybe pay a bit extra to an independent florist who can arrange something a bit more personal rather than a robot in the Lidl warehouse (probably) which has put together 500 of the same flowers that very day. Good luck!

(Images: iStock)