IJL Survey Reveals Valentine's Day Pitfalls

Who Plans the Date? What’s the Ideal Gift? Men and Women Disagree

If you’re a man who intends to arrange your Valentine’s Day festivities without consulting your date, you might want to change your plans, according to a new survey by It’s Just Lunch. And if you’re one of the rare guys who want to leave the whole thing up to your girlfriend, that’s not a good move either.

When the specialty dating service asked over 750 singles, “Who’s supposed to plan Valentine’s Day?”:

• 56% of women thought it should be the couple together while 42% picked “the guy”.
• For men, 48% said “the guy” and “the couple together” was a close second at 47%

But women clearly don’t want to plan February 14th on their own: About half a percent thought that “the girl” should make Valentine’s Day plans, which may come as a surprise to the 5% of men who chose that answer.

“Most people aren’t mind-readers,” says Jacquie Brownridge, spokesperson for It’s Just Lunch and director of the Toronto office. “Talk about the holiday before you decide who plans the date.”

There were also significant gaps between the sexes when it comes to “the best Valentine’s gift.”The top answer for women, chosen by 38%, was a “gift certificate for an activity we can do together.” Only 21% of men selected that answer.   Men’s top gift ideas were flowers, chosen by 43% of men, but only 31% of women.

“Togetherness seems to be the key for most women, both in planning the holiday and with regard to the gift they receive,” says Brownridge. “Men just need to be smart enough to choose something their dates enjoy as much or even more than they do.”

It’s Just Lunch is a personalized dating service for busy professionals. The company has coordinated over two million dates for clients since opening in 1991. IJL minimizes the stress and maximizes the efficiency of dating by sending people on casual, no-pressure dates over lunch, brunch or drinks after work. IJL’s team of dating specialists, not a computer, performs the matchmaking.   The company has over 150 locations in the US, Canada and internationally.