What your Valentine wants, and what your Valentine will most likely get!

The Tyee has a handy story out on this Valentine’s Day, an examination of the cost of love and how perhaps men might be missing a few signals along the way.

Full of interesting tid bits about the day dedicated to love, the article provides a little chocolate covered food for thought on spending patterns and intentions on this most commercialized of days.

For those looking for romance, the CBC has a look back at Canadian romance over the years.

For those more inclined to learn the bottom line, here are some stats to ponder as you prepare to unleash your charismatic ways upon your intended:

40% of men will give flowers, 15% of women want flowers
31% of men are thinking of giving candy, 9% of women want candy
12% of men will not be giving presents, 23% of women will not be giving presents
29% of women most want restaurant meals, 17% want spa visits, 15% want flowers
43% of Canadians think gift cards are lazy and impersonal

Bad news for the gift card industry which has been making some rather large strides of late in the gift giving business.

But if the omens for the plastic cards are bad, the big shock will be for the jewelry industry. A commercial enterprise which treats Valentine’s Day like a second Christmas holiday; all in all, women would much prefer a good meal as opposed to glimmering bauble. This disappointing result comes along despite their best efforts of the industry since they first began suggesting diamonds back in the 1980’s as a dandy little trinket directed by Cupid.

Florists might be in for a surprise as well if the results ever take hold, with only 15 per cent of women wishing for flowers, there very well may be a huge glut of over priced roses on the market in the future.

Spouses and children receive the most attention on Valentines Day, while Grandparents and teachers are surprisingly overlooked over the course of the day.

When it comes to non participation, only 12 per cent of men say that they won’t be givers, while 23 per cent of women suggest that they won’t be making any purchases for anyone on Valentine’s Day.

Leaving a gap of 11 per cent of lonely men to console themselves by the end of the day, perhaps they can find a good restaurant and find some comfort food to cheer them up! Then again, perhaps they won't even notice, 41 per cent of men surveyed tend to forget the romantic significance of Valentine's Day, compared with only 22 per cent of women.

Make that mistake at your own peril!