LQP Asks: Flowers or chocolate?

Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but the reality is that chocolate and flowers fit better into most budgets.

According to the National Confectioners Association, more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine's Day, and about half of women surveyed are likely to give a gift of chocolate to a guy.

And most American men say they'd rather have chocolate than flowers, the association says.

Meanwhile, Valentine's Day is the No. 1 holiday for florists, according to the Society of American Florists. Last year, 23 percent of adults bought flowers or plants as gifts for Valentine's Day and, of those, 61 percent were men.

Men and women give flowers for different reasons, though, says the society's consumer website, aboutflowers.com.
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