Love is in the air, and so is the smell of fresh-cut roses, heart-shaped cookies and just-dipped chocolate candy.
Valentine’s Day is a busy holiday for area retailers, especially those who sell flowers and sweets.
To prepare for one day of sales and deliveries, employees at local businesses have been busy all week long — in some cases, much longer.
“We’ve been prepping for Valentine’s Day for over a month,” said Heather Zickler, owner of Jubilee Flowers and Gifts in Seymour. “We had to order flowers before Christmas to get the best quality and price.”
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Saturday will be the busiest day of the year for florists, she said.
“We will deliver between 500 and 600 orders,” she said.
Of those orders, most will be for roses.
“Roses are always traditional bestsellers, but our mixed bouquets with lilies and Gerbera daisies are becoming more popular and sell really well, too,” she said.
Jubilee’s roses come from Ecuador and were cut just Monday morning, Zickler said.
Besides pre-orders and deliveries, the business will be open Saturday for last-minute shoppers; and she expects to see plenty.
“Our coolers will be full of beautiful flowers to choose from,” Zickler said.
Some people will shop for unique arrangements with unusual colors or rare types of flowers or even bouquets that are edible.
Since Susan O’Sullivan posted a picture of blue roses on Facebook a few years ago, that has been the most popular Valentine’s Day request at her store, Balloons-n-Baskets Gift and Floral Shop in Crothersville. The roses are so popular that she has to take pre-orders.
“I got them one year just because I wanted to see them myself,” she said. “I posted it on Facebook, and they sold out in no time.”
She was drawn to the blue roses because she’s a Kentucky Wildcats fan.
“I saw them and I was like, ‘I have to have them,'” she said.
Other popular items at O’Sullivan’s store include candy and lollipop bouquets and gift baskets.
This is her third year of making 12-inch-tall candy bouquets, which consist of one type of candy bar or a mix. She even did one this year that included Skittles.
For the lollipop bouquets, she uses a vase shaped like an ice cream cone and adds the suckers on top to make it look like ice cream.
“I’ve offered it for the last three years, and they’re really popular,” she said. “I sell a lot of them. It almost looks like a flower bouquet, but it’s all candy.”
Gift baskets include candy and chocolate or chips and cookies.
O’Sullivan expects another busy holiday for her shop. Last year, she sold 96 gift baskets and 25 candy bouquets. Plus, she sold flowers, stuffed teddy bears and balloons.
“This year, they’ve started a little bit earlier. They started calling last week for orders,” she said.
She also fills orders for nearby Crothersville Community Schools. The parent-teacher organization gathers order forms and brings them to her to put together, and then they will be delivered to the school.
The school’s most popular requests are balloons and tiger-related gifts, since that’s the school’s mascot.
O’Sullivan said she has a good time putting together people’s orders.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun,” she said. “I just enjoy listening to what (customers) want to get this year, especially the kids and how they filled out their cards.”
At Cakes Created and Sonya’s Party Plus in Seymour, there’s only one word to describe preparing for Valentine’s Day.
“It’s just crazy,” owner Sonya Collett said. “Next to graduation, it’s the busiest time of the year for us.”
In January, employees began cutting out heart-shaped cookies, which they freeze and store until it’s time to bake, decorate and fill orders.
“We’re on track to do 3,500 Valentine’s cookies this year,” Collett said.
Although their main offering is cookies, the business offers other Valentine’s Day treats, too, including balloon bouquets, stuffed animals, chocolates, cupcakes and cakes.
“Balloons are really big for Valentine’s Day,” she said.
They may not do as many deliveries as local florists, but Collett said they will still be busy, especially Friday.
“Most people are wanting things delivered to school and work,” she said. “So I expect we’ll do upward of 50 deliveries that day.”
The store will be open Saturday for last-minute shoppers.
“Our cases will be full of cupcakes and other treats,” she said.
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Average annual Valentine’s Day spending — $13.19 billion
Average number of roses produced for Valentine’s Day — 196 million
Amount the average consumer spends on Valentine’s Day — $116.21
Percentage of consumers who celebrate Valentine’s Day — 61.8 percent
Gifts most often given on Valentine’s Day (allowing for multiple gifts given)
Cards — 52.1 percent
Candy — 47.5 percent
Dining/eating out — 34.6 percent
Flowers — 34.3 percent
Jewelry — 17.3 percent
Clothing — 14.4 percent
Gift cards — 12.6 percent
Other gifts — 11.2 percent
Source: Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, as posted on statisticbrain.com.
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