Valentine's Day Gifts You Can Get Now Without Leaving Your Desk
Oh crap. It's Valentine's Day. You forgot. Not to worry.
Feb. 14, 2014— -- Oh crap. It's Valentine's Day. You forgot. Not to worry. Here are five thoughtful gifts you can get right now without even leaving your desk.
Flowers
It seems so cliché. It is. But every girl – and many men – appreciates flowers on Valentine's Day. But who is still taking orders and delivering at this late date? And how do you know your loved one won't just get the leftovers? Enter BloomNation.com. Type in a city or zip code and up comes all the available arrangements available for delivery -- plus prices – from local florists in the area. There's even a little countdown clock next to each arrangement telling you how much longer you have to order. But the best part? The florist takes a photo of the arrangement you ordered before it goes out for delivery and it's emailed to you – so you know what you ordered is exactly what your sweetheart is getting.
Books
Hard-cover books are lovely, but you're too late for that. Instead, gift a book to your loved one's e-reader. Sara Nelson, Amazon's Editorial Director of Books and Kindle and her team have picked their favorite romantic reads in a dozen categories. Simply select a book from the clickable heart of chocolates and click on the "give as a gift" link, underneath the "buy now with 1-click", on the book detail page. Then you will be prompted to enter the personal e-mail address of your gift recipient and enter a delivery date with an optional gift message.
Hotel Room If there was ever a time to plan a spontaneous getaway, now's the time. No one even needs to know you almost forgot Valentine's Day all together. And, you're thoughtlessness might actually save you money. HotelTonight, the app that pioneered the same-day hotel booking phenomenon, is offering last-minute Valentine's Day packages on the app today starting at 9am. Packages will include a hotel room, plus dinner reservations or flowers and champagne waiting at the hotel. Cities include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington D.C., plus many smaller cities. Bonus: First-time bookers get $25 off with the code HTVDAY.
Video messageDrug stores all sold out of the good Valentine's Day cards? Skip the traditional love note and instead record a personal video message for your significant other. Do it on your smart phone or use Skype to do it from your desk. They don't have to be online or available, as the video is stored for as long as they want to view it.
Skywriting It's pricey -- $500 -- and a little bit of a long shot, but you'll be a hero if you can pull this one off. Uber and MasterCard have collaborated to offer skywriting on demand (New York City only). How does it work? Use the Uber app between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. today and create a romantic message (12 characters max). If it's available, request the UberSKY option and confirm We'll ask for your message and tell you when you can expect to see it in the sky! Demand will be high, they say, so "please be persistent if you're unable to order skywriting on your first try."
