Last-Second Gifts of Love
Today is Feb. 13. Ring a bell?
It was this time last year that you vowed never to forget another Valentine’s Day--to buy that special sentimental gift well in advance of the occasion and not go dashing out at the last minute and buy the first red thing you stumbled upon.
But that vow suffered the same fate as so many New Year’s resolutions--long since forgotten. And once again, you have less than 24 hours to acquire some meaningful token of affection for your loved one.
Roses, jewelry, overnight resort stays, fancy dinners and many of the other more lavish standards of the romantic day are perfectly fine. You already know where to find them and you know how much you are willing to spend, so we will leave the particulars up to you.
But if you are interested in hitting some local stores for smaller, less pricey items, we may be able to streamline the process. We went to a few Ventura County retailers to check out the Valentine’s Day stock and came across a variety of items--from sensual candles to singing gorillas.
We will start with our favorite--yes, the gorillas. Or they could have been devils--with red faces and dressed in striking red and black, it was kind of hard to tell.
At the Michaels craft store in Camarillo’s Carmen Plaza shopping center, the singing gorilla, which moves its mouth and belts out the Troggs tune “Wild Thing,” was regularly priced at $17.99. Providing they are still in stock today, they will be marked down 20%.
We found virtually the same gorilla singing a nice rendition of the Doors’ “Light My Fire” at the Rite Aid store at the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks. There, it was priced at $19.99. The other items at Rite Aid included Chatter Bug Loves, an electronic love bug with hearts on its wings, that whistles and giggles, priced at $5.99. They were available at the Rite Aid at the Buenaventura Mall, too, for the same price.
Elsewhere at the Janss Marketplace, Mervyn’s California has a 30% off sale on Valentine’s Day gifts. Bears in assorted sizes, regularly priced from $5.99 to $19.99, are on sale today for $4.99 to $13.99. Assorted other gifts (including a small lamp with hearts on the shade, a candy box and a pink pig clutching a candy-filled heart), originally priced from $5.99 to $9.99, are now on sale for $4.19 to $6.99.
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At the nearby Linens ‘N Things store we found a cute, funny-looking bumblebee holding a heart that reads “Bee Mine” for $9.99. The store also had some “Grow-A-Date” products priced at $1.99. The small pink men and women, dressed in their underwear and bearing Valentine gifts, grow when immersed in water.
Back over at Carmen Plaza, along with the musical gorilla, Michaels craft store had some other nice Valentine’s Day stock, all at 20% off through today.
Polly Puckerup, a small bean bag that lets out a big smooch when slammed on the floor, was regularly priced at $4.99; a three-wick red, heart-shaped candle in a glass candleholder was regularly selling for $9.99; and a 5-inch clip-on bear with a Mylar balloon that reads “I love you” was originally priced at $2.99. Michaels also had several shelves of teddy bears hand decorated by the store staff.
Just a few feet away from Michaels, Sav-on Drugs was selling a variety of Valentine’s Day stuffed animals for $4.99 to $22. On the high end of the scale was an elephant in tuxedo and top hat.
And at the Pic ‘N’ Save store a few shops down, a large stand-up ceramic mouse holding a heart was priced at $2.99; a music box with a male and female cat, playing the theme from “Love Story,” was going for $7.99; and a gorilla holding roses was priced at $7.99.
If you’re a bit more adventurous, you may want to check out Salzer’s music store in Ventura. The upstairs gift shop offers a large selection of unique items, ranging from the tame to the unmentionable.
A “Heart of Dreams” incense burning kit with 20 cones, 20 sticks and other accessories, was priced at $9.99 and a box of three “sensual” aromatherapy romance candles was going for $12.99. Salzer’s also sells a glass ball music box playing “Love Me Tender.” Inside the ball is a wire sculpture of a person, with a large heart, down on one knee, appearing to propose. Price: $49.
One other item that particularly caught our eye was the fourth edition of “The Best Places to Kiss in Southern California.” The book lists restaurants, parks, bed and breakfast spots and other romantic sites. Among the Ventura County locations was Ojai’s Ranch House restaurant, which on a scale of zero to four kisses, received a four-kiss rating. The book sells for $13.95.
