A Guide to the Perfect Valentine's Day Chocolate Gift
Renee Kuo (ISB G10) & Annarosa Lam (ISB G10)
Chocolate lovers, Annarosa and Renee, consider themselves experts on romance. Although they lack actual experience, their extensive knowledge makes this guide fool-proof.
In this collaboration written by Renee and illustrated by Annarosa, they share tips and advice on making Valentine's day “special".
When we think of Valentine's day, one of the first things that come to mind is chocolate. As common as it may seem, heart-shaped boxes of assorted chocolates scream "the perfect valentine's day present"; giving chocolate has become the trademark for showing affection all over the world. But why exactly is chocolate associated with romance and how can we put a spin on this conventional gift?
Valentine's day chocolate isn't anything new, in fact, it's been around for as long as cars and telephones have. Let's go back to the Victorian era in England, where "etiquette books and chocolate advertisers alike encouraged the view that an exchange of chocolates...was tantamount to a declaration of love" (The Independent). The reasoning was that giving chocolate was a way for people to demonstrate affection and show off their good taste in selecting a suitable box. Moreover, these gifts had a sense of exclusivity that appealed to consumers - one box of Cadbury's chocolate could "cost as much as a working-class family’s weekly food budget" (BBC). The fact that not everyone could afford to buy and gift chocolates only served to make them even more desirable. At the same time, advertisers also worked to convince consumers that "there was a direct relationship between the amount of money spent and the intensity of emotions" (The Independent). The Victorians' advertising was obviously successful, as the trend solidified into a tradition that is still followed today. For instance, 52% of all Valentine's Day retail sales in the USA in 2020 were for candy and chocolate. The grand total of 2.4 billion dollars, or 15.4 billion RMB, spent on Valentine's day candy is equivalent to roughly 2.3 billion Snickers bars (if you're buying from Jenny Wang's). That amount of chocolate is definitely a show of affection for both lovers’ and dentists' businesses.
“…52% of all Valentine's Day retail sales in the USA in 2020 were for candy and chocolate.”
Chocolate is a classic Valentine's day gift, so much so that it's sometimes viewed as old-fashioned and boring. So, I've interviewed two (self-proclaimed) experts on all things romantic to create The Official 3-Step Guide to the Perfect Valentine's Day Chocolate Gift. This guide includes three ways to make chocolate unique and features exclusive tips, advice, and spectacular artwork. Enjoy!
1. BALANCE IT OUT
Our first guest, Annarosa Lam, calls herself an expert in "dating, breaking up, texting, [and] relationships". Her slogan? "No matter who or what your partner is, I'm not here to judge. I'm here to figure out your romantic issues."
She recommends balancing out the chocolate with something else. "I'm assuming that you guys are not, like, the best of partners... you'll want to put something that they'll like... You can't only put chocolate because that's like symbolizing your one-sided love." All judgment aside, adding something else to the chocolate is a great way to make it special. The value of chocolate is that "it's sweet and it's like a classic romantic gift. But then the limitation is that it's too sweet. So, you need to balance it out...have you ever smelled like the smell of makeup? It's like, disgusting. I think that [makeup] would be a great balance to balance out the sweetness." She suggests gifting makeup, such as lipstick, to balance out the sweetness of the chocolate. This provides a much-needed break and a chance to give compliments, which will definitely score you some points. If makeup's not your thing, then snacks, hand-written cards, and meaningful items are always a good alternative. As Annarosa sees it, "as they're applying deadly chemicals to their lips, you offer them something to eat so that there's a higher chance that the chemical will go on to what they eat and then they'll swallow it." She declined to answer when asked about recommending poisoning to BUDDY! readers.
2. SURPRISE!!!
Her second tip is to use surprise as a way to put a spin on the classic chocolate gift. Whether it's special packaging or unexpected deliveries, "offering like an element of surprise for your partner" or crush is guaranteed to win their affection. An easy way to do this is "confetti in a box." The process of hunting for the gifts builds the expectation for the final reveal, making it even more fun for everyone. To quote Annarosa, "So, at first they might be hesitant about it, but then they'll realise later that (hopefully if you're a nice partner)...you won't put a snake in there to like endanger them in any way." When asked whether she was recommending BUDDY! readers to put a snake in a box along with chocolate and confetti, she once again declined to answer.
3. JUST DON'T
Below is the transcript of an interview with Grace, a sophomore that doesn't like Valentine's Day nor chocolate.
Q: How would you feel if someone got you chocolate for valentines day and why?
A: I hate chocolate, so if someone gives me chocolate then it means that they don't know me very well. I'd ignore that person probably.
Q: What would you recommend people who don't like chocolate to do if they receive it for Valentine's Day?
A: Politely accept it and then give it to your friend or something. I would say throw it away but that's too wasteful.
Q: What would you want to receive instead of chocolate?
A: Anything else is fine, really. Just not chocolate. Like, maybe celery or something.
Grace makes an important point of knowing your target audience. Pro tip: always find out what your crush likes and doesn't like. And if they happen to not like chocolate, just get them celery or something.
I hope that these tips were helpful or at least gave you a few ideas on how you can make this Valentine's day special. To end on a quote from Annarosa: "Chocolate can be a factor of the thing, but not the whole thing though."
Happy Valentines Day!