While there is nothing wrong with traditional gifts and romantic activities for Valentine’s Day, the Leader has searched for creative ideas for the gift-giving impaired among us.
For those unaware, Valentine’s Day comes every Feb. 14.
Sources were sought from each of the four Leader Publications edition areas – Arnold-Imperial Leader (northeast Jefferson County); Jefferson County Leader (southern Jefferson County); West Side Leader (the western side of Jefferson County); and the Eureka Leader (city of Eureka and portions of Wildwood and Pacific).
Santino’s Cigars & Cocktails
Mike Marino, owner of Santino’s Cigars & Cocktails, 1508 Professional Drive in Imperial, said a place that includes cigars in its name might not jump out as a Valentine’s Day destination, but people would be wrong if they did not consider it.
“I have a wine bar room separate from the main lounge,” he said. “I’ve got a couple of fireplaces. There’s a lot of ambiance.”
The establishment sells meals as well as its cigars, wine and other drinks, he noted.
“We’re a restaurant with authentic Sicilian food,” he said. “We have the best pizza in town. We’ll have a special Valentine’s dinner for two.”
He said Santino’s 6,000-square-foot building offers plenty of space for smokers and those who want to avoid smoke.
Marino said, “You can have wine by the glass or by the bottle. We have many wines. We sell cigars and wine that would be a good present for Valentine’s Day.”
He said a significant number of women also appreciate a good cigar.
“Many, many more than anyone would expect,” Marino said. “They can have regular cigars and we also have flavored cigars. Basically, any flavor you can think of, like a coffee-flavored cigar.”
For more information, go to santinoscigarcocktails.com.
Phyllis Basler owns Crystal Coin & Jewelers, 521 Bailey Road, in Crystal City with her husband, Brad.
Crystal Coin & Jewelers
While jewelry may be a traditional Valentine’s Day gift, Crystal Coin & Jewelers offers a service the majority of the public may not necessarily consider for a romantic gift, one of its owners said.
“Sometimes they bring in their wife’s jewelry, not just the rings, but maybe a pendant, maybe one of their necklaces, to be repaired,” said Phyllis Basler, who along with her husband, Brad, owns the business, 521 Bailey Road in Crystal City.
She said people may notice their significant other has not worn an old favorite piece of jewelry for a while.
“Sometimes the wife has a pendant and isn’t wearing it because the chain is broken,” Basler said. “We saw this a lot at Christmas this year, especially, where the men are getting things fixed from their wife’s jewelry box, as a surprise … Maybe it’s something he had bought her and maybe it’s been broken for a year or two, and he decided he wanted to get it fixed for her and surprise her.”
Or, the gift giver may not only want to have a cherished piece of jewelry repaired, but to improve it in some way, she said.
“They might take their wife’s ring and have a bigger diamond put in or they might have it fixed,” Basler said. “Maybe the prong’s broken, or the shanks are cracked or a diamond is falling out on the side of the ring.”
She said Crystal Coin & Jewelers has had many visitors in the weeks leading to Valentine’s Day seeking engagement rings.
“Valentine’s Day is a popular day to get engaged on. We get guys coming in for engagement rings, looking to propose. I have one gentleman, and he worked luckily way ahead and he created her ring. He picked the mounting. He picked the stone.”
She said she is used to Valentine’s Day shoppers popping into her shop more or less at the last moment.
“Oftentimes, we get people who are shopping at the last minute,” she said. “We do get a lot of walk-in business on the day before Valentine’s Day and on Valentine’s Day.”
For more information, visit crystalcoinandjewelers.com.
Staff at Open Door Animal Sanctuary in House Springs suggests that a Valentine’s Day date to their facility can be a splendid part of the day.
Open Door Animal Sanctuary
People might not consider Open Door Animal Sanctuary, a no-kill animal shelter, as a Valentine’s Day destination, but maybe they should, said Jeanette Curtin, Open Door’s social media coordinator.
The organization seeks adoptions of cats and dogs it rescues.
She said couples might want to come by for part of their Valentine’s Day activities, particularly if they are feline lovers. The organization, which offers rescued cats and dogs for adoption, is located at 6065 Duda Road in House Springs; it is open to visitors every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“They can come in on Valentine’s Day and be with the cats in our adult cat section, Pampurred Palace,” Curtin said. “We are open seven days a week. This is something we do every day, not just for Valentine’s Day. But, we do have people who want to spend Valentine’s Day at Open Door.”
She said an attractive feature of the Pampurred Palace for Valentine’s Day is there is no entry fee. The organization accepts donations of dog and cat food, but it is not a requirement in order to visit the place.
While Curtin invites people to visit Open Door for Valentine’s Day, she said her organization absolutely does not allow pet adoptions as gifts.
“We do not allow pets to be adopted as a surprise gift,” she said. “It’s like trying to pick a boyfriend for someone. You might think the guy is right for your friend, but there must be chemistry.”
The organization has a process for its pet adoptions, she said.
Curtin said Open Door is always looking for volunteers for, among other things, walking its dogs, but those who wish to volunteer need to go through a bit of training. Therefore, visitors on Valentine’s Day may not walk the dogs unless they have already gone through the training, she said.
“We’re always looking for volunteers,” she said. “It’s about an hour-and-a-half course in order to walk our dogs as a volunteer.
For more information, visit odas.org.
Kaleidoscope Consignment & Boutique co-owner Christine Slusser poses in the vendor section, which has handmade items for Valentine’s Day.
Kaleidoscope Consignment & Boutique
Christine Slusser, owner of Kaleidoscope Consignment & Boutique, 136 W. St. Louis St. in Pacific, said her establishment offers items for sale good for Valentine’s Day gifts, but also is a place to spend part of the occasion.
“If you wanted to get a thoughtful gift or a one-of-a-kind gift, we have one-of-a-kind jewelry,” she said. “They hand make it. I feel a cool, one-of-a-kind or locally handmade gift hits harder than chocolates from a gas station.”
As a consignment shop, Kaleidoscope gets a wide variety of items not readily available at other stores, she said.
“How it works is, people bring in their items for us, then we sell them,” Slusser said. “They receive 40 percent of what it sells for. So, then, every purchase supports the community, supports the store and supports the person that the item belonged to.
“We have one vendor that epoxies roses. It preserves them. It’s a thing a lot of people don’t know about. That makes it unique on its own. We have heart-shaped paper roses. We do carry that nostalgic candy that’s really hard to find. So, we have candy cigarettes, Necco wafers, bubblegum cigars. We have those old strawberry candies you’d find in your grandma’s glass jar.”
With so much to see, Slusser suggests that couples stop by on Valentine’s Day.
“It would be a fun little date,” she said. “It would be a different kind of date. There’s a coffee shop right around the corner. They’re called Little Ireland Coffee (125 N. First St.). You could grab a coffee, come here and pick out something silly for each other. That’s been the trend I’ve been seeing. They’ll go into, like, a thrift store or consignment store, and they’ll pick out something silly for each other. It would be a fun date on Valentine’s Day.
“It doesn’t have to be fancy to be meaningful.”
For more information, go to ilovekaleidoscope.com.