Cost of Valentine’s Day on the rise, CSO finds

Couples will spend 30% more on a meal out than they did in 2020 while flowers are 12% more expensive

A box of chocolates has risen in price by 1.6% since February 2020 and a bunch of flowers is now 12.1% higher. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A box of chocolates has risen in price by 1.6% since February 2020 and a bunch of flowers is now 12.1% higher. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Money can’t buy you love? Perhaps not, but the cost of securing a Valentine has become more expensive over recent years, according to new findings.

Research from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has found that the cost of a typical St Valentine’s Day gift or night out has increased over the last five years.

Its findings were based on a comparison of prices collected in February 2020 and December 2024.

A bottle of wine has gone up by just 0.9 per cent over that period, a box of chocolates has risen by 1.6 per cent and a bunch of flowers is now 12.1 per cent higher.

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A meal in a restaurant has risen by over 30 per cent over the 58-month period. A trip to the cinema is up 3.1 per cent and attending a theatre performance has increased by 14.6 per cent.

“If you are looking to make a romantic gesture tomorrow, it will be more expensive this year than it was five years ago,” the CSO said on Thursday.

Sarah Burns

Sarah Burns

Sarah Burns is a reporter for The Irish Times