What did you get for Valentine’s Day?

The vast majority of InMaricopa.com readers responding to a poll on Valentine’s Day gifts were disenchanted with the choices presented. Forty-nine percent said they wouldn’t like to get any or all of the following: flowers, candy, card or dinner and a movie.

Hmm.

Maybe the options just weren’t imaginative enough?

One Concord, N.H., store said its biggest selling items were a cookie bouquet, a 50 Shades of Fun gift box based off “50 Shades of Grey” books and balloons attached to bags of Hershey’s Kisses. Although there is an apparent helium shortage.

Still, according to a story in U.S. News and World Reports, greeting cards are the No. 1 Valentine’s Day gift. And, apparently, Americans were expected to spend more than $4 billion on jewelry this Feb. 14. 

Of the 202 responses to the Valentine’s Day gift poll, 1 percent of the people hoped to receive candy, 3 percent wanted a card, 8 percent would have been happy with flowers while 21 percent were all for a dinner and a movie. Seventeen percent (perhaps the wisest group?) wanted “All of the above.”

Reflecting on our list, perhaps we didn’t have the right gift-getter in mind. The Atlantic reports that while 59 percent of Valentine’s gifts do go to romantic partners, 20 percent go to family, 7 percent to friends, 5 percent to teachers, and 4 percent each to co-workers, others, and, uh, pets.

Some $20 billion was expected to be spent. The most was to be spent on dining out, and in descending order next came candy, then romantic getaways, flowers, jewelry, clothing/lingerie and lastly greeting cards.

Then there’s the website Digital Spy which carried the news that the iPad was the most wanted Valentine’s gift this year.

A techie token of affection? Doh, why didn’t we think of that?