Happy Day of Love and Valentine's

Flowers, chocolate, dinner, cards, hugs, and kisses. Today is the nationally recognized day of love.

Sure, it might be a commercialized holiday, but there’s nothing wrong with expressing your admiration for the special ones in your life. Whether it’s a significant other, family, friends, pets, the beach, sunshine, or your morning coffee. Share your love and gratitude.

If you’ve yet to make plans with that special person in your life, check out this list of local restaurants and events with Valentine’s themed options, courtesy of the Downtown Santa Barbara organization.

Now, we did mention it’s a commercial holiday and we’d be remiss if we didn’t look at the numbers, Ed’s favorite thing.

Just like every commercialized holiday, the focus is on spending. Consumers are expected to shell out more than $25.8 billion for Valentine’s Day this year, making it the third-priciest holiday on the calendar.

According to WalletHub’s 2024 Valentine’s Day Survey, over 45% of people expect their Valentine to spend at least $50 on a gift. But, the survey estimates about $8.7 billion of the total money spent on this holiday will be unwanted gifts.

So… spend wisely, or not at all.

See all the numbers below.