Works for Me Wednesday: Frugal Valentine's Day 2010

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

I got the idea to post this tip from one of the comments on my Valentine's Day picture. Stephanie thought they were all my Valentine's Day gift. Only one of the boxes (the big one with the ribbon center) was a gift. Hubs gave it to me last year. I got the others during my time as a Godiva employee.

Aside: Yes, I loved being around chocolate all day, no, I didn't get tired of chocolate and yes, we
had to eat it all the time. I know, tough life, right?


 
We got a killer discount even on sale merchandise so I started collecting them to use as part of my decorating. Most people don't know that you don't have to fill the heart with Godiva pieces. You can purchase just the empty heart box and it becomes a neat keepsake.

I wanted to make sure I got one of this year's designs because i
t's really pretty. I bought an empty heart then filled it with the hubs' favorite candies. I did the same thing last year. It might become a tradition. He doesn't like "fouffy" candy and most of what I buy comes from the dollar store and See's. (shhhh, don't tell Godiva)
  
Buying an empty heart is significantly less expensive than buying a pre-filled one, but those tend to go really fast since most people prefer to customize their gifts over buying the pre-filled hearts. We had so many customers bring in their empty hearts year after year to be filled. It was awesome to see some of the designs from years ago. 

Another option is to take a chance and wait until the day after Valentine's Day. If there are any pre-filled heart boxes left in the stores they'll be half off (and since Godiva is now $40 a pound that's an excellent deal!). You'll have the keepsake heart and the chocolates. Bonus!

But, unless the economy is hurting sales, people will be lined up waiting outside the store the day after a holiday to snatch up anything left over. The day after Valentine's Day is the the most popular time to hit the store (at least that was my experience years ago). The hearts are shipped to the store in their own cardboard box so make sure to ask the staff if they have any left over. They're perfect for storage.


 
Do you have any Valentine's Day traditions?

8 comments:

  1. Your boxes are beautiful! I can see that they'd make great decorations. Not to mention all the good snacks you'd be absolutely REQUIRED to fill them with ;)

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  2. Oh my gosh. I LOVE this idea. Thanks!

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  3. How cool, I didn't know you could buy just the boxes! Thanks for the heads up =)

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  4. This was a great idea, Mel. Those boxes are beautiful! I never thought of customizing (filling with my own stuff). Next year!

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  5. Oh my word! I can't even imagine working at Godiva. I gotta tell you, though, I would have a tougher time working at See's. I heart See's and miss it so much living on the East Coast.
    I love your idea of buying the empty heart and customizing - perfect!

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  6. Oh! I love that idea. I should do that in the future. People are sure to get what they want, and it's fun and creative.

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  7. I had no idea you could just buy the box! What a great idea to fill them with favorite (less expensive) candy. I might have to give this a try next year.

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  8. I had no idea you could buy empty gift hearts! My husband and I don't eat a lot of choc and would LOVE to be able to customize these!

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