For a week, Nguyen Khac Tuan Nam, a student from the Institute for Postal and Telecommunication Technology has been busy making a special gift for his girlfriend. For Nam, handmade gifts for the Valentine’s Day is special because they are also commemoration of their love.
This year, Nam’s gift is ‘handmade’ chocolate. He learnt chocolate making technique from the Internet and practiced several time to have a heart-shaped chocolate. He said that the chocolate-made heart and a self-made Valentine’s Day card are his unique gifts for his girlfriend.
After school, Hoang Lam, a student of the Hanoi Trade University, stays in her room to make a heart from bamboo, rock and lamps. The idea came to Lam after she saw a beer can-made heart, the gift of his sister’s boyfriend, who is a soldier.
Lam’s “heart” is made from very simple materials like bamboo toothpicks, board, stone and lights. Words of love are created by stone and lamps amid the “heart”. Whenever lamps are turned on, the heart sparkles.
“He thinks that girls like me cannot do things related to electricity. This gift will be a big surprise for him,” Lam said.
Toothpick-made houses are among favorite handmade gifts of the youth. Instead of paying tens of USD to buy a ready-made product, Doan Hoai Bac, from the University of People’s Police, makes a house himself.
The two-storey house has windows which can open and close and lights inside. Bac places a pottery-made couple inside the house. The young man’s hand skin was peeled off after the house is complete. “The house is everything that I want to tell her on the Valentine’s Day,” Bac said.
Besides handmade gifts, gifts in pairs like glasses, rings, etc. are the top choices of young couples on the Valentine Day.
This Valentine, instead of offering fresh roses to their lovers, young people “hunt” Thaibaue roses, which are fresh for five years, with special colors like green, black, etc. Moreover, scripts or images can be printed on pedals.
Le Minh, a high school student in Hanoi, said that he has booked a Thaibaue rose for his girlfriend on the Internet. “My girlfriend likes roses very much so I buy a Thaibeau rose for her.”
“Gifts for the Valentine’s Day are available everywhere but it is painstaking to have a meaningful gift. I believe that my girlfriend will be very happy when she receives such a gift,” said Tuan Nam, from the Institute for Postal and Telecommunication Technology in Hanoi.
Gift market heats up as Valentine’s Day draws near
This year, as supermarkets and online sites kick off special programs and promotions early, some young lovebirds have also started their search for original gifts for their other half.
Although Valentine’s Day is a week away, the electronics chain store Dien May has launched a promotion called “Just the two of us”. Customers will get 11 percent off of two 16GB iPads or 16-27 percent off of two Nokia phones of specific models, together with free memory cards.
There are also some games like Cupid Arrow and Password to the heart for young shoppers to participate in to find their partner.
In the supermarket chain Coop Mart, more than 400 fashion and cosmetic items for Valentine’s Day are discounted up to 40 percent. Shoppers have the chance to enter a “Trendy couple” lottery draw and win one of 53 pairs of iPad 2s.
Another online site, Sinh Nhat, introduced a service for generous customers to take care of their lovers not only for a day but the whole Valentine’s week. The site gives tips on what gift to give a boyfriend or girlfriend on each day of the week. For example, it recommends a bouquet of flowers on Monday, a box of chocolates on Wednesday, and a dinner for two at a tranquil and beautiful restaurant on the weekend. A Valentine’s week costs VND2-4 million ($100-200) depending on the gift selection and rendezvous.
“We also received some orders from overseas at $100-200. There is also a $1000 order that includes a laptop, a pair of teddy bears and a bouquet,” revealed a representative at Sinh Nhat.
Young lovebirds tend to search for budget gifts that can last through the year.
Minh Hai, a student at Hanoi’s commercial university, was surfing the net to find a gift for his girlfriend when he came across a crystal rose being sold VND45,000 (US$2)
“It is beautiful and can be kept and remembered, unlike roses, which only last a few days,” he said.
“2012 is a good year for Valentine gifts. Many businesses concentrate on products for couples, like shirts, rings, and teddy bears. They attract many customers because they’re lasting, and not too expensive,” said Mai Thu Trang, a marketing representative at online shopping site Vat Gia.
Tran Tu Anh, a representative at the online store Cho Dien Tu, said the market for Valentine’s gifts has opened earlier than previous years and the shop has received several gift orders.
“The majority of young shoppers pick rare or strange products at affordable prices that show off their personalities,” he said.
Besides material gifts, some people search for original presents that have a special meaning for the couple.
Trung, an engineer, said he had run out of gift ideas for Valentine’s Day. After five years of dating his girlfriend, who recently became his fiancé, the two have given each other flowers, Belgian chocolate or stuffed animals.
This year, Trung wanted to make a difference and decided to buy a pair of SIM cards, which contain the exact number 332007-- March 3 2007, when the couple first met.
“Chocolate or flowers represent endless love but they are only symbols. SIM cards can be used for your whole life and are meaningful to both of us,” he said.
Trung revealed that he spent no less than VND5 million (US$250) for this special gift and had to order 5-7 days in advance.
Similarly, some shoppers go online and try to buy money with similar serial numbers. At the moment, a pair of VND2000 notes with the same four digits are on sale for VND99,000 (US$5) on a popular website.
Thabeau roses:
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