Valentine’s Day this year is on a Monday, a holiday on which Americans will spend nearly $24 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.
Despite the lingering pandemic and inflation recently hitting a 40-year high, 53 percent of consumers plan to celebrate, reported the NRF, projecting a per-shopper gift average of $175.41, about $11 more than last year.
As always, candy, greeting cards and flowers will speak the language of love the loudest, but plenty of cash also is expected to be spent on evening-out experiences and jewelry.
“Love is expressed in a number of different ways,” said Vincent Vasquez, C2 Tactical’s managing member.
To that end, C2 Tactical, an indoor shooting range and firearms-training facility in Tempe’s Emerald Center, at Interstate 10 and Warner Road, has a popular Date Night package.
“This is an experience that two people can share together that can bring them closer,” Vasquez said, “to provide confidence in knowing that your loved one can take care of you.”
For $125 per couple, you’ll get two handgun rentals, two boxes of 100-round ammunition, four targets, eye and ear protection, and a dedicated safety officer on the range. Book a Date Night package for February 14 and take 15 percent off. Use promo code “Valentine” when booking online: c2tactical.com. Availability is expected if you order soon.
“Everyone can go to dinner, but that can be a hassle because Valentine’s Day is so busy and finding a time slot can be difficult,” Vasquez said. “We offer entertainment with a unique bonding experience.”
If you are skeptical, know that C2 Tactical is no stranger to the ways of love.
A couple met later in life — he was retired, and she was a test driver of luxury sports cars. They shared a love for Jeep off-roading, world travel, firearms and, eventually, each other.
When it came time to get hitched, they decided against satin and lace for her and formal black tie for him. Instead, they donned Western attire and cowboy boots. Keeping with the theme, the venue — and the reception — could not have been more untraditional.
“If a couple shoots guns together, why not at their wedding?” posed Brittany Shulla, an ordained minister through Universal Life Church Ministries, who officiated.
Quite literally, they had a shotgun wedding, at C2 Tactical. The couple got the Shotgun Wedding package, which includes the reverend and the room, and enough guns for guests to aim-and-shoot on the range. Cake, photography, flowers and wedding-party swag can be added on.
And not to get ahead of ourselves, but C2 Tactical also offers bachelorette and bachelor parties, starting with the “Get to the Choppa” package, $400 for up to five shooters. Part of the reason for offering these packages is to demystify the sport, Vasquez said.
“In addition to being fun and exciting, it’s empowering. People who are nervous about it, they may be afraid, and they find it was amazing. It’s ‘I can’t believe I did that,’” he said.
Weapons are chosen with the individual’s experience and comfort levels in mind, and training is provided, too, Vasquez said.
“So, if you’re new, you’re not having to worry about a Dirty Harry-type of explosion,” he said.
Of course, the Internet has no shortage of other offbeat, less-explosive Valentine’s Day options that, if you’re willing to pay extra for shipping, may arrive in time. To name a few:
- Surely every girl wants a bouquet of gourmet salamis, the most direct route to her stomach. Choose from three or six Olympia Provisions sausages, wrapped in butcher paper and red ribbon. $50-85, plus shipping. From Food52.com.
- —Is your honey threatening to move out from nonstop viewing of Netflix since 2020? Say “I love you” with this Binge-Watching Survival Kit, complete with socks, decision coin, stain remover and more. $22, plus shipping. From PinchProvisions.com.
- —Summon your inner Monet with the Date Night Paint by Shadows Kit at Uncommon Goods. Maybe you can’t visit Paris right now, but you can paint the City of Lights. $40, plus shipping. From UncommonGoods.com.
- —The cover photo alone on Fifty Shades of Chicken: A Parody in a Cookbook will get your mouth watering. By F.L. Fowler, this book has 50 seductive recipes — dripping thighs, bacon-bound wings and mustard-spanked chicken — among others. And since it’s on Amazon, it might arrive on time!
Let’s be honest, there are some of us for whom it just wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without flowers, preferably roses. Renee Potter, a fourth-generation florist and owner of Fred’s Flowers on Warner Road in south Tempe, has a theory on how Valentine’s Day 2022 will go.
For the first time since 2011, Feb. 14 falls on a Monday, a mostly subpar day for feeling celebratory. Or human, even. Additionally, Valentine’s Day is the day after the Super Bowl and the final weekend of the Waste Management Open in Scottsdale.
“It feels like the 14th will be a big, last-minute rush,” said Potter, who will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, a day her shop normally is closed. “People are going to wake up Monday and, ‘Oh …, I partied all weekend.’ We’re prepared, and will have a lot of fresh product on hand.”
Valentine’s Day packages aren’t a thing at Fred’s Flowers, and a point of pride with Potter is that customers aren’t boxed into buying an arrangement from a website photo.
“What our neighborhood and community have come to expect from us is customization and persona touch we give them,” she said. “Ninety percent walk past the displays and right up to the counter and say, “Hey, here’s what I want and what I want to spend.”
Potter’s advice is to score big by remembering your valentine while you’re buying chips for Super Bowl-watching or putting gas into your car to drive to the golf tournament.
Order as soon as you can and, because deliveries may be challenging this year, consider picking up your flowers, inside the store or at curbside. You’d be surprised how far a personal floral delivery with a handwritten card will go, she said.
You’re not limited to roses, of course. Potter sends her husband cut orchids because they are unusual and last a long time. But her personal favorite Valentine’s gift? Chocolate-covered strawberries, of course.
