New poll reveals Brits find love in a hopeless place

A new UK poll conducted by gifts retailer Menkind reveals attitudes around Valentine’s Day given this year’s lockdown restrictions. Despite the challenges, most couples are still planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day, though some confess there’s added pressure to make the romantic day special at home.

Valentine’s Day beats the lockdown

The survey, conducted in the final week of January 2021, reveals close to 90% of respondents plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day despite the challenges of not being able to go out this year.

For a fifth of male respondents however, the celebration will only take place because “it makes their partner happy”, or if “ they have no escape”. However, a third of these Valentine’s Day sceptics also state they aren’t in a stable relationship, which might explain their reluctant feelings towards the romantic holiday.

Cooking and chill?

 When asked what’s on the cards for Valentine’s this year, it looks like lockdown helped spruce up everyone's cooking skills, as almost half of respondents (43%) are planning to cook a nice meal for their partner, whilst only 7% will be ordering the usual chocolates and roses.

A fifth of respondents (21%) are betting on a small gift, and think it should do the trick this year, while a slightly lower number (15%) are hoping to get away with takeaway on the sofa, watching movies or TV.

Showing that true romance is still alive, and that there’s value in the simple things, one respondent stated that “as long as we have each other, then it's always a happy Valentine’s Day!”, with another confessing “a perfect Valentine’s Day is a quiet night in with no distractions”.

Is lockdown letting couples off the hook this Valentine’s Day?

Staying in this year might actually bring some relief to those who usually feel the pressure of planning the perfect Valentine’s – a fifth of those surveyed state “it’s bliss, I don’t have to worry about an overly slick performance, and excessive forward planning”, when asked about their plans for this year.

It’s not all love in the air though! Surprisingly, 16% of all respondents confess they’d rather be in lockdown than having to plan a romantic Valentine’s Day out, while 6% of male respondents are self-proclaimed anti-Valentiners, declaring “I have no excuse now, the spectre of Valentine’s Day looms over me like the Grim Reaper”.

Adding to this, 5% of those surveyed state they feel like they have to celebrate Valentine’s Day because there’s no escape in lockdown. However, lockdown might not be the perfect excuse for those who’d rather skip Valentine’s after all, as a third of respondents state they’re feeling added pressure ahead of February 14th, as they’ll need to organise something special at home.