Best Ever Valentine's Day ~~ On a Shoestring Budget.

After the President’s SOTU, we’re all feeling the love. How about sharing the love for Valentine’s Day? The timing is perfect. We have one week to plan.
Remember when you were a kid and we all brought Valentines to other schoolmates? And some kids didn’t get as many as others? And when you HOPED you might get a special Valentine from a secret crush? Well, we’re all grown up, but this year, be generous with the Valentines. Think of the people who have been kind to you over the past year. An UNEXPECTED Valentine magnifies the impact. The payback comes as a surprise but it’s magnificent sight to behold.
Because we catered and did so many big parties, I had the same commercial accounts as florists. I really don’t like to pay retail prices and wholesale pricing means a bigger bang for the buck. I would often order the flowers for a wedding or party, and then hire a florist, off hours, for a set rate. It saved me and the bride, thousands of dollars. Win-win, right?
But I hair-brained idea for Valentine’s Day, which is easy for anyone to do. I had a reputation in town for being a little tough. Some MEN would send in a “sacrificial lamb” to deal with me, because they thought I was difficult or intractable. Scaredy cats! Nonetheless, I needed to soften my image a little. Valentine’s Day was an opportunity to make amends.
From a wholesale house, long stemmed red roses come in a bunch of 25 or 35 and they cost me about $25 for the bunch. I ordered two bunches of 35 each. One for me to give out and one for my husband to give out. I ordered 2 bunches of gypsophila, commonly known as baby’s breath. Now, I’m tall, so my arms are a little longer than most women, but the bunches of baby’s breath were so big, I couldn’t get my arms around them. Cost for a bunch of gypsophila was about $6.25/each. Then, I order 4-5 bunches of ‘leather-leaf fern’. Cost was about $1.50 each. These are the standard ingredients anyone would expect to see in a bud vase from a florist – but you don’t need the vases.
For about $70, I had supplies for 70 terrific Valentines, about $1.00 each. I ordered a bigger quantity from a wholesale house but the idea is easy to replicate with flowers from WalMart or any grocery store, which might cost you $2/each.
Roses come dry-packed, whether from a wholesale house or WalMart, and they need a little attention. Remove the outer petals, cut the stem at an angle, strip off the bottom leaves, and plunge into lukewarm water with an aspirin dissolved and a capful of bleach. Do this the night before and put the buckets of flowers in a cool place. Your roses will be in peak condition in the morning.
I wrapped each rose with a few sprigs of baby’s breath and leather-leaf, in a waxed tissue paper and tied with a big red bow, using inexpensive leftover red Christmas ribbon. If you don’t have waxed paper, dry the stem with a kitchen towel or wrap in Glad wrap. You really don’t need the expense of a water pic for each flower. Just make sure to put your tissue paper and bow in the center of the stem so you can plunge the bottom of the stems into a bucket of water while you deliver your Valentines.
Now, the fun begins, and I can’t begin to tell you how much fun you will have. By the time you are done, you will feel like Robin Hood, or Oprah, giving out cars….., all for about $1.00 a piece.
I had 35 for me and 35 for my husband. He delivered to women we knew and I delivered to men we knew. It will take you several hours to deliver.
He delivered Valentines to the tellers at the bank, the women in the office at the city, the lady who answers the phone at the police dept, the sec to our lawyer, the mom of the guys who own the lumber company, the ladies at the school office bldg, our son’s teachers, etc.
I had a blast delivering mine, because I got the old crusty guys, who NEVER expected to get a Valentine from any woman, let alone a rose with a bow.
My first choice was Leroy, the block-layer. He’s the biggest black man I’ve ever seen, and he blocks the sun when he enters a doorway. He wears a size 18 ring. Biggest hands – from picking up concrete blocks everyday. I love Leroy and he’s come to my defense more than once. I caught him on a jobsite, and in front of his men, asked him to be my Valentine, because our family loved him. I explained, “People don’t often take the time to say thank-you, enough. I pick you to be my Valentine because you’re a good man.” I fussed all over him and he deserved it. Stopped the whole crew. Leroy had tears in his eyes and picked me up to hug me.
My next choice was the CEO of the bank and a prominent lawyer in town, with whom I had crossed swords on more than one occasion. Never mind that he was in the church the day I was baptized as an infant, never mind he has 4 daughters as old as me……, he was squirrely and thought I was hitting on him. What a jerk. I hit him with my rose and made him feel about 2′ tall. I won.
My mailman, Mr. Charles-my favorite checker-guy at the grocery store, the guys at the lumber company, several of my police guys and fireman friends, Wayne – the old court clerk who adored my grandfather, men who were clients – strong masculine men who’ve never received a rose in their lives – blushed – and for the REST of the day, had to explain where the rose came from. PRICELESS!!!! They had to go and get a vase for my flower, and it became a big production in their offices. It made them feel handsome, appreciated, and walk a little taller. It was perfect.
I found the crew of bricklayer brothers and gave them all a Valentine. I found our roofer, and his father who was a roofer, and planted a big kiss on his cheek. I gave a rose to my excavator, the man who uses a grader like a surgeon uses a scalpel. He brought me vegetables for the next 10yrs. He adored me, because of that rose.
I found the mentally handicapped guy who swept the parking lot of a local fast food joint. Everyone in town knew him, and I gave him a rose. He handled it like it was breakable treasure. I don’t think he ever received a Valentine before…. from anyone.
I found our pediatrician, who was an Indian national, which necessitated an explanation of what a Valentine really is. That was a pretty interesting conversation. Our maintenance guy for the city school completely understood. I delivered to husbands of my girlfriends who worked in town, because they were all my “cousin” husbands. The Mayor put my rose in his teeth and danced. He felt special. And I located my minister, who was a good man, cause Valentine’s Day is about all kinds of love, right?
The best of all, though, was our HVAC subcontractor. We’ll call him “L” for this story. L was the kind of man you would want as your dad, grandfather or uncle. He was a multi-millionaire who wore the same three shirts. He was everything good about men, all rolled into one. He was crusty and hard on the outside, and such a good negotiator, he would have given President Trump a tough time. His favorite word was, “No!”, but inside, he was a teddy bear. I respected him and we understood each other. When we got married, I registered with a frilly local gift shop. His wife went in and dutifully bought me a crystal stem. I learned later on, “L” went back in, personally, to the prissy gift shop, and sent me 11 more. I loved him. He was the last one to whom I delivered a Valentine, and he saw me coming. He knew my car.
By the time I got to “L”, word was out in town as to what I was doing. He yelled at me across a field and said, “I was wondering if I was going to see you today…” I smiled all the way through my eyes but didn’t say anything as I walked a long way across a wet and muddy empty lot. “You know how much I love you ‘L'”, I said. “Awwwww,” and he threw his arms around me and hugged me like I was the daughter he never had. He whispered in my ear, “I love you, too”.
I went home that afternoon floating on air. Best Valentine’s Day ever. My husband’s experience was equally surprising. He found several women, friends to his mom, who lost their husbands….. and had not received a Valentine in years. He was kind of misty-eyed about it. Those damn onions…..
But something strange happened along the way….
For months, the effects of our Valentine’s Day reverberated. I never had to worry about a bankdraft charge. Our subcontractors showed up to work, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The school maintenance guy mowed half of my lawn and he even edged it! My minister’s sermon the next Sunday was about “All kinds of love”. I didn’t wait 10 minutes to see the pediatrician. Even the jerk of a lawyer was nice. After the Valentine, we “had an accord”. It was a psychological reciprocation overload, like a vaccination for the whole town.
If I had known all it took was a bunch of Valentines to make people happy, I would have done it long ago. Yet, we know it wasn’t the Valentines at all. The Valentines offered the opportunity, the excuse. It was a genuine thank-you, appreciation, friendship, expression of all kinds of love, and that we took the time to think about “you”, which made the difference.
No, we don’t tell our spouses or children we love them, enough. We don’t thank people, enough. We don’t appreciate good service or simple kindness, enough. We should. I can’t imagine what the impact would be….
Therefore, to everyone on this forum, thank YOU, and yes, I do love you all. You’ve made my life richer, and I learn something new, every single day. I do appreciate you all, and especially Wolfie, for allowing us to come together and revel in our successes and commiserate on bad days. Our camaraderie is real.
And please, this Valentine’s Day, think about my suggestion. Even better, come up with an idea of your own. Do something, anything, to make this Valentine’s Day memorable.
Hugs and Kisses, from our house to yours,
D++++