Marks & Spencer is taking orders on flowers, bouquets, plants and food and wine gifts for Valentine’s Day until stocks run out today.  Their original last order time was 5pm yesterday so this is great news for all you slow coaches who haven’t been able to order those flowers yet!!  But hurry, because when the stock runs out today that will be it – and that’s for guaranteed delivery for Valentine’s Day.

Visit the M&S Valentine’s Day shop here

Other online flower delivery merchants are likely to extend their last order time as the day goes on – this has been the pattern in recent years – but the normal cut-off time is likely to be around 6pm this evening for the very last orders with guaranteed delivery for Saturday.  So come on ladies and gents – hurry if you’ve still not made arrangements for that special bouquet or spray of nice red roses.

A selection of online flower delivery merchants – click here

If you still haven’t ordered that vital Valentine’s Day present or gift for your loved one then you need to be quick.  Most flower delivery merchants will be closing their order lines tonight – including online ordering – but some will take orders tomorrow.  But, you will need to be quick.  Flower delivery at Valentine’s Day reaches fever pitch and is the busiest time of the year bar none.

If you haven’t ordered yet, here are a couple of websites that may help you grab that last minute bargain.

Flower delivery including last minute ordering and same day delivery – click here

Valentine’s Day Flower delivery special offers – click here

If you’ve really left it last minute then going the online route is really your best bet.  Experience Days or Pamper Days for both him and her are easy to order online and, because they can be ordered for any specific date or month, you don’t actually have to have anything other than the online order in an envelope to hand to your partner to give them a great gift they’ll love.  Both Red Letter Days and Virgin Experience Days have a great range of gifts and experiences to suit all tastes.  Alternatively, Thruxton Motorsports Centre should all the petorl heads out there for more extreme gift lovers.

Or you can search across a range of experience gifts here.

If you’re after a bargain this Valentine’s Day then you could be in luck.  Retailers have been willing to drop prices quite heavily this year and offer online incentives to those looking for a bargain.  I’ll try and list as many of the top offers that I’ve found this year.

There are plenty of discount codes available with money off.  You can see all current discount codes and vouchers codes this Valentine’s day here as well as special offers from the major retailers.

Joules Clothing Valentines Shop – click here

Cheap flowers for Valentines Day – click here

Cheap perfume for Valentines Day – click here

Free delivery and gift wrap from Goldsmiths Jewellers – click here

Debenhams Valentines Offers – click here

Marks and Spencer Valentines Day Offers – click here

Purely Diamonds Valentines Day Offers – click here

Send Valentines Day Cards online – click here

If your Valentine is a keen gardener then a subscription to the Royal Horticultral Society may be the perfect Valentine’s Day present this year.  An RHS Gift membership costs just £49 and includes access to over 140 RHS recommended gardens as well as reduced price entry to the big events such as the Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and the Tatton Park flower show.  Members also receive FREE the monthly magazine The Garden which retails at £4.25.

The monthly magazine includes gardening advice, access to seeds harvested from RHS gardens, reduced price tickets to special RHS events, workshops and demonstrations as well as special information on more than 4,500 plants.

Membership to the Royal Horticultural Society is perfect for either male or female gardeners with the annual flower shows the cornerstone of the Society.  These include the Chelsea Flower Show (May19-23), Cardiff Flower Show (April 17-19), Hampton Court Flower Show (July 7-12) and Tatton Park Flower Show (July 22-26).  You can buy tickets for any of these shows as a special Valentine’s Day present here.

RHS membership can be purchased for just £49 here.

Are you stuck for an ideal gift for Valentines Day and trying to move away from the norm or the traditional gift of flowers or Chocolates?  Or perhaps you’d like a present that’s slightly different to supplement some red roses.  Red Letter Days has a fabulous selection of experience days gifts for Valentines Day that can either be enjoyed alone or as a couple.

These range from pamper days, tea for two at Fortnum and Mason, wine tasting, spa days and a trip on the London Eye to dance workshops, hot air ballooning, a champagne flight trip over London, cocktail mixing or a massage treatment for two.  You name it and the chances are that Red Letter Days has the unusual gift covered – and it’s the true diversity of the experiences that make them ideal Valentines Day gifts.

And, as you may have gathered, the experiences and days out are not just limited to gifts for ladies or couples.  They can also serve up the high octane experience for guys such as Aston Martin or Ferrari driving, flying a glider, scuba diving with sharks, an SAS theme experince or even the ultimate men’s wet shave.  How’s that for a selection of truly unusual gifts.

Check out Red Letter Days’ fabulous range of unusual and luxury Valentines Day Gifts here 

Chocolate is a great favourite with the ladies and is always a popular choice as a gift on Valentines Day – perhaps as an extra present.  Chocolate Trading Company has some excellent gift boxes on sale for Valentines Day with some nice added extras including champagne chocolate hampers as well as full chocolate gift boxes and selections.

And to tempt Valentines Day shoppers that little bit more, Chocolate Trading Company is giving away a free Valentines gift in the form of a Free red chocolate hearts gift bag with every order over £25.00 excluding postage and packing.  The free gift is worth £2.99 so it’s a nice freebie for the romantic gentleman (or lady).

The free gift is available via a special discount code that you enter at checkout – the free gift will then be added to your shopping cart.  Chocolate Trading Company also have other discount codes for money off purchases.

Check out all Chocolate Trading Company offers and special discounts here.

See all Chocolate Trading Company’s Valentines Day gifts and selection boxes.

Flowers, of course, are a perennial favourite on Valentines Day and the best place to buy flower for valentines day is online – simply because the choice is so huge.  Buying online means you get the best of the prices too with prices starting from just £9.99 for an excellent bouquet or basket.  Unless you know a very good value florist locally to you, buying online means you’re assured of your gift arriving on time and delivered by courier personally.

The other great advantage of buying online is that you can see what you’re buying via photographs – as well as a great choice graphically presented.  In other words, you can rest assured knowing exactly what you’re getting for your money.  Many of the online flower delivery specialists also offer incentives for buying early as well as discount codes that you can use to get money off Valentines Day flowers.

You can see a great range of Valentines Day flowers here.  You’ll also be able to get up to 10% off at selected retailers.  They’re also taking orders right now – so you can click away and get your order in early this Valentines Day.  Roses are always a favourite but you can also choose to add a balloon, chocolates, teddy bears, hampers and other assorted gifts.  Other popular flowers on Valentines Day include chrysanthemums, lilies, carnations and tulips as well as a selction of other seasonal spring flowers.

Don’t pay more for flowers than you have to this Valentines Day by ordering early.

Yes, it’s the Slanket again.

In case you didn’t already know the Slanket sold out everywhere at Christmas but stock at the online stores will be replenished very shortly for what promises to be a very quick sell-out for Valentines Day.  The Slanket is a big colourful blanket with sleeves that sites probably halfway between a blanket and a dressing gown.  Whatever it actually is (or can be described as) it has proved very popular indeed with the UK public so grab one while you can for Valentines Day.

The Slanket is completely unisex in that it can rightly be purchased for both men and women.  However, my guess is that it would prove to be a very good gift for a lady this Valentines Day.  It comes in a variety of colours from pink, blue, and ruby to green and chocolate – and is particularly suitable given the Arctic conditions we are experiencing this winter.

Prezziesplus has more stock arriving on January 28 for dispatch in time for Valentines Day – but if Christmas is anything to go by  then will sell out fast.  Orders are being taken right now for Valentines Day so be quick and you’ll be able to reserve one for February 14.  Prezziesplus was the online retailer that managed to get extra stock as Christmas approached so I’m happy to recommend them this time round.  The Slanket has also been reduced in price to £29.95 which is pretty much as close to a bargain as you will get.

Order the Slanket here.

I hope all the guys out there are prepared and have a good idea what they’re buying their loved ones this Valentines Day.  I learnt many years ago that you either forget or don’t take Valentines Day seriously as a guy at your peril.  Having said that, the range of choices for men on what to get their ladies is pretty vast – from flowers and chocolates to romantic breaks away and jewellery.  The conundrum of what a lady should buy her man is somewhat more complicated…
Some opt for flowers although I’ve seen many a guy cringe as a dozen red roses arrives at work (some may call me unromantic I guess) – but the fact remains that some men don’t particularly like receiving slushy gifts or flowers.  So what else is there?

Well, the choice is actually pretty huge and with a little imagination, there are som,e really great gifts that a lady can buy.   are becoming more and popular.  These come in all shapes and sizes from the high octane powerboating to satisfying a petrol head boyfriend or husband a la true Top Gear style.  But there are also some great personalised gifts that you can buy that may be more to your taste.

Getting Personal has just launched its range of Valentines Day gifts for men and there are some really innovative choices on offer such as engraved cufflinks, personalised champagne,a range of personalised calendars as well as lots and lots of different sports related gifts.  I could be wrong but this may just go down a whole lot better than a dozen red roses.  And, of course, you may get a nice dinner out of it too!!

What better way to cheer yourself up in January than to plan a romantic City break for Valentines Day.  City breaks have become very popular in recent years and with airfares at an all-time low, most European destinations are within reach without having to break the bank.  And one thing’s for sure – you will get ultimate hero points for treating your lady to a romantic break away from the UK in probably the dullest month of the year that is February.

City breaks are available for just about every destination in Europe – Prague, Paris, Venice, Rome, Moscow, Naples, Florence, Amsterdam, Madrid, Copenhagen, Oslo, Athens to name but a few - you can fly or take a little longer and travel by Eurostar to many destinations.

Directline Citybreaks caters for all Valentines Day needs and can provide a tailored package to suit any Valentines Day City Break requirements.  Here a few guides to some of the more popular European destinations

Rome City Breaks

Prague City Breaks

Paris City Breaks

Amsterdam City Breaks

Venice City Breaks

There are many more to choose from including Valentines Day city breaks in the UK – click here for the full list.