What do we really want for Valentine’s Day?

We are pretty excited that the CBS TV affiliate in Atlanta has chosen Huff Harrington Home for a segment on Valentine’s ideas, but there are two problems with the request:

1. It will be taped at 5 a.m. (oh no … and the DryBar doesn’t open until 8 a.m.! Will we have to have our do’s done the day before and stay up all night to prevent the flat hair syndrome?)

2. We don’t really have a lot of Valentine’s goodies in the store.

Don’t get us wrong. We have lots and lots of new goodies in the store, with recent purchases arriving daily. But there isn’t a lot of red. There’s not a lot of heart shaped anythings. And we certainly don’t have red roses.

But that got us thinking. What do people really want for Valentine’s day? Is it stuff? Or is it thoughts? And what do we like to give for Valentine’s day? Does it have to be red, sweet or heart shaped? Or should it be something a little more thoughtful, fun, and personal?

We decided to go to our favorite source and ask our Huffington employees what they liked giving or receiving for Valentine’s day. And these are the ideas they came up with:

Linda says:

I love to give newly sprouted Daffodils or Forsythia to friends.

My husband and I treat ourselves to a nice bottle of red wine and a seafood pasta dish.

Of course, the “widow” (Veuve Cliquot Champagne) makes an appearance, along with some chocolate.

Veuve Cliquot by Amy Dixon

I’m going to use a recipe from the Veuve Cliquot cookbook this year!

Colleen says:

Don’t go out to the fanciest restaurant, but do stay in and cook a special nostalgic meal with your loved one(s).

Do buy your lady a piece of karen sugarman, but don’t buy her whiskey stones! Kidding! But not really ;-)

Karen Sugarman, Prasiolite Earrings

Allison says:

My wish list (hint, hint to Mark!): Huff Harrington Home jewels (prehnite, labrodite, or lemon citrine) or shagreen skin cuff or turquoise bangle.

Or even sexier -Amy Dixon nude. You know that's my fave!

Past faves -- including menu items -- have been: silky lingerie, Palace Cafe's White Chocolate Bread Pudding, Capo's Chicken Diablo, and madras pjs. (Editor's note: We need to have great PJ’s at HHH. Oh, guess what! We do! They’re on their way … from Paris … where they don’t call them PJ’s!)

Emily says:

1. Give a certificate for manicure/pedicure, green fee (men) or favorite restaurant. Wrap it with a couple of cute accoutrements that correspond, such as for the spa a cute book like Daily Candy from HHH to read while getting pampered.

If the restaurant certificate is for a French place include an Eiffel tower bottle opener or our guide to French wines book.

2. I'm making this for my door and as a gift for a couple of girlfriends: cupcake liner wreath.

(Editor’s note: Emily, this is adorable!!)

3. What to get the person who has everything? A 'have a little heart' gift. Make a donation in their name to the American Heart Association or their favorite charity and include it in their Valentine card.

Sarah says:

First and foremost, some kind of chocolat or sweet treat is required to make it officially Valentine's Day. Oh how I wish Atlanta had a Ladurée ...

The caramel are my favorite.

I love receiving things I normally wouldn't buy for myself: a fancy candle, a beautifully packaged lipstick or perfume, or a gorgeous bouquet of flowers (but not red roses!).

Sparkling objets (of the bauble or bubbly variety) are also always acceptable. I've never been the type of girl to turn her nose up at any kind of gift, let's be honest...

Sam says:

Johnny and I dance to "My Funny Valentine" sung by Johnny Mathis every Valentines Day morning before we go to work. Great way to start the day! A gift you can't buy but worth a million dollars.

Ann and Meg:

So what will we tell our TV viewers about Valentine’s day?

It looks like nobody asked for or wanted to give red roses. And there wasn’t a lot of heart shaped requests either. Instead what we heard was:

Make it personal. Make it thoughtful. Make it yummy. Make it sentimental. Make it glitter (jewelry!). Make it memorable. Make it a surprise. And if you have the skill and inclination, make it by hand.

To this, we would add that the little heart shaped present we would want most is … make it heartfelt.

Happy Valentine’s day!

Ta ta …

HH