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Valentine’s Day guide Things to do with or buy for your sweetie Denver Daily News staff report Thursday, February 11, 2010
Linda Enstrom of Enstrom's Almond Toffee at 201 University Blvd., stands by some of her store’s offerings for Valentine’s Day.

Two-thirds of Americans (67 percent) say they plan to spend less than $50 on Valentine’s Day this year, according to a new Zogby Interactive survey of adult Americans. 

One-quarter of Americans (25 percent) say they plan to spend nothing. Men (31 percent) are more likely than women (18 percent) to shell out more than $50.

How much do you plan to spend on Valentine’s Day?

Check out this Denver Daily News Valentine’s Day guide to help you decide.

Enstrom Candies throughout the Denver area offers many Valentine’s Day options. From toffee petites to passion ivy chocolate, Enstrom Candies is a perfect stop if you’re looking to get something sweet for your sweetheart this year. For a list of products and retail locations, visit Enstrom.com. Pictured is Linda Enstrom, Denver area manager, and the store on 201 University Blvd.

When only the best will do, head to Argonaut Wine & Liquor for a wide selection of wines, beers and champagnes to move your Valentine’s Day along with a warm buzz. The best part about shopping at Argonaut, is you can get rewarded for it! Membership cards get you instant savings on certain purchases. This Valentine’s Day, show love for both your sweetheart and your wallet, at Argonaut Wine & Liquor, 760 E. Colfax Ave., 303-831-7788, www.argonautliquor.com.

Five couples will compete Friday at noon in the ultimate Valentine’s Day Challenge at Denver Pavilions. Check out all of the antics of these local couples as they attempt to impress the judges by executing these romantic timed tasks in an effort to win the “Ultimate Valentine’s Day Date” for their sweetie. Challenge No. 1 includes setting the prefect romantic Valentine’s Day table for your sweetie sponsored by Maggiano’s Little Italy. Task time is two minutes. Challenge No. 2 includes creating a vibrant Valentine’s Day floral arrangement for your sweetie sponsored by Fresh Bunch and Gifts. Task time is two minutes. Challenge No. 3 includes opening a bottle of champagne and serving it with panache sponsored by Jerri’s Tobacco and Fine Wines. Task time is two minutes. Challenge No. 4 includes feeding your sweetie a sweet with style — chocolate-covered strawberries sponsored by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Task time is two minutes. Challenge No. 5 includes singing your sweetie a Valentine’s Day original song created by you sponsored by Barnes & Noble. Task time is one minute. The five finalists were selected because of the letters they crafted to their sweeties. Read the letters and then learn about the prizes up for grabs at: www.denverpavilions.com/valentines.php.

Valentine’s Day at Copper Mountain is bound to light a spark between loved ones. Whether in the mood for ice skating or bubbly, a dinner sleigh ride or a night out without the kids, Copper is the perfect place to cuddle up and enjoy Valentine’s Day. You can call it Valentine’s Eve or Chinese New Year, but we call it En Fuego, a free street party the whole family will enjoy, from 4-7 p.m. on Saturday. For a romantic night, don’t forget about the Kids’ Night Out program, a FREE childcare service offered to parents on the condition that $30 per child is spent in any commercial outlet at the resort during the hours that your children are in the program. The service is offered from 5:30-10 p.m. through Saturday. Reservations are highly recommended. Call 970-968-2318 Ext. 38101 for more information. For lodging packages and special Valentine’s Day deals and events, call 970-968-2232 or visit www.coppermtstables.com. 

Symmetry Therapeutic Massage has joined other community practitioners to create an all-inclusive Highlands Wellness Center, located off 32nd and Zuni in the heart of Highland — just in time for Valentine’s Day. The newly renovated center will celebrate their Grand Opening today from 6-9 p.m. The evening will be filled with live music, massage spa treatments, appetizers, wine, and custom-blended teas. The first 100 guests will receive a free goodie bag and access to special package deals. Enter a drawing to win full treatments. They also will be offering two Valentine’s Day couples massages, which include a 60-minute massage for $120 (regularly $150) or a 90-minute massage for $150 (regularly $200). For more information about the Highlands Wellness Center or individual practitioners, visit www.highlandswellnesscenter.com or call 720-524-3431. Pictured are, from left, Stephanie Siens, Kina Ueda and Celeste O’Brien.

Valentine’s Day is around the corner and The Oxford Club has the perfect way to express your love! They have several unique services to create a memorable Valentine’s experience. Services include a couples massage package, including two 50-minute Swedish massages; and an Eminence Paprika Facial special, which is a facial that uses the finest herbs, Hungarian paprika and an AHA exfoliant to cleanse and renew the skin. Purchase a gift certificate for that special someone, as well. And Super Saturday will include door prizes, snacks and other special offers.

This weekend only, buy one 50-minute service and receive another service of equal or lesser value for 50 percent off! Also, receive a free teddy bear with any $200 purchase! For more information, call 303-628-5435.

This month, The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa is the destination for romantic retreats. From sappy to simple, or over-the-top, The Brown is going far beyond just Valentine’s Day and has declared February the “Month of Love.” Offers include everything from creative proposals set to the scene of a favorite movie, to a girls getaway, puppy love, and even a special package for those who think love stinks. Sure to overcome even the most insatiable sweet tooth Ellyngton’s Chocolate Brunch will feature chocolate in every bite with a lavish array of cooked- & carved- to order items, salads, seafood & sushi, and a dessert buffet accompanied by live music. For a complete list is packages and items, call 800-321-2599 or visit www.brownpalace.com.

Check out the Amor y Besos “Love and Kisses” collection of heart jewelry at John Atencio Designer Jewelry stores throughout Denver. Move quickly, though, because special Valentine’s Day orders must be made by noon today to guarantee delivery by V-Day. John Atencio is donating 5 percent of all heart purchases made through Feb. 28 to benefit the American Heart Association. And if you purchase a John Atencio heart, you’ll receive a $10 coupon off a Lehrer’s Flowers Valentine’s bouquet. For more information, visit www.johnatencio.com, or www.thinkflowers.com. Pictured are Abbey Wagner and Scott Nicholas at the store at 1440 Larimer St.

From roses waiting on the dinner table to personalized menus, McCormick & Schmick’s is offering to take care of the details this Valentine’s Day. Reservations can easily be made straight from the Web site, www.mccormickandschmicks.com. McCormick & Schmick’s will not only be offering a romantic Valentine’s Day menu all weekend long, but any guest that makes a Valentine’s Day reservation will also be offered the “above and beyond” service. With this service, roses will be delivered to the table upon the guests’ arrival for dinner, and the flower cost can either be included on the dinner bill at the end of the evening or billed separately. Diners can also choose to add a unique touch by having a specially tailored message included on their dinner menu or a personalized note card on the table at arrival.

Exquisite mouth-watering food is the key to the ultimate in romance and relationships! It’s so sad. Each year you can see untold millions of men scrambling at the last minute to do something romantic – a bouquet of obligatory roses, a box of heart shaped chocolates or reservations at one of the popular, but invariably, hectic local restaurants. It’s like the lemmings jumping off the cliff into the sea. Boulder Colorado Chef Eric S. Lee says he’s discovered exactly how men can jumpstart, even supercharge their romance and relationships and make them last. Lee’s brand new cook book, “Sweeping Her Off Her Feet with Food,” is packed with delicious mouth-watering, aphrodisiac-laden instructions for preparing, cooking and presenting knock your socks off romantic recipes. Here is a simple, easy to use cookbook for the romantically deprived. Visit www.sweepingher.com.

“I love you!” That will be on display as the cupids in the office of the Denver Clerk and Recorder stage a friendly takeover of Lincoln’s Birthday Friday for couples who come in to obtain their marriage licenses on the last business day before Valentine’s Day. Gifts donated by a number of Denver agencies and departments and by local merchants will be awarded to selected couples obtaining marriage licenses, and the office will be decorated in a Valentine theme, including a heart-shaped wreath, multilingual declarations of love and a new set of decorated wedding columns, between which couples can take their pictures. There will also be refreshments served and romantic movies shown in the “Sweetheart Bistro.” One lucky couple will receive a special gift from Denver’s Theaters and Arenas: tickets to the Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2, and a gift certificate for dinner before the show. Another couple will receive a free overnight stay at the Oxford Hotel and a gift certificate for dinner. There will also be other giveaways during the day. The Office of the Clerk and Recorder’s Marriage License Counter is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is located just inside the Court Place entrance to the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building located at 201 W. Colfax Ave.

allaboutDenver.com invites you to enter to win the city’s most coveted “prime” time reservation, at 7 p.m. on Valentine’s Day. Enjoy a three-course steak and seafood dinner for two compliments of Morton’s The Steakhouse Denver and Denver Tech Center! Dinner includes two single cut filets, choice of limited seafood selection, salad, potato or vegetable and dessert. Alcohol and steak enhancements are not included. Guests can simply go online to enter to win at either mortons.com/valentines-denver.php, or mortons.com/valentines-denvertech.php. Contest winners will be notified on Friday.

According to the National Retail Federation, couples are spending less on each other this Valentine’s but more on their pets. Pet parents are expected to spend 50 percent more this Valentine’s Day, and for those who are shopping last minute PetSmart is discounting special holiday items up to half off. PetSmart’s Valentine’s gifts include apparel, blankets, plush and loofa dog toys featuring hearts and sweet messages.

Nothing says “I love you” like the gift of a cigar. Well, for some that’s the case, and if you want to treat your sweetie to a cigar this Valentine’s Day then consider heading to Jerri’s Tobacco Shop and Fine Wines. Jerri’s is Colorado’s oldest tobacconist, serving the community for more than 51 years. The key to their success has been to offer only the finest quality cigars, pipe tobaccos and accessories, and to always remember that their customers our their No. 1 priority. Because of that, they are always happy to service everyone, from the novice to the experienced cigar and pipe smoker. As you can see by their name, they sell more than just cigars and pipe tobacco. They also sell wine, champagne and spirits, among other things. And if you’re looking for a sweetheart of a deal this Valentine’s Day, Jerri’s is offering 15-percent off a bottle of champagne with the purchase of any two cigars. For more information and hours, visit www.denvercigars.com or call 303-825-3522. Pictured are, from left, Andrew Clifford, Bret Goodman and Corbin Crandall.

Go ape over your loved one this year by sending a free downloadable Denver Zoo Valentine’s Day card. Back by popular demand, this year there are 20 different free cards to choose from, available at www.denverzoo.org. Whether downloaded for printing or e-mailed to friends, these cards are grrrreat! These unique cards showcase some of the zoo’s most lovable and popular animals, including giraffe calves, a baby hyena, polar bears, an Arctic fox and more! These cards are perfect for children who exchange Valentines at school. Kids can download five letter-sized pages of four cards each and print them out to exchange with school friends. These irresistible cards can also be downloaded and attached to an e-mail message to send to friends and loved ones as well. Everyone can be courted with this sweetheart of a deal! Visit www.denverzoo.org and show your animal attraction with 20 different free Valentine’s cards, today!

Chocolate is fattening. Flowers fade. This Valentine’s Day, give a gift that’s unique, humorous and a visual treat. The Brew Dogs of Colorado is ideal for anyone who loves dogs or beer; in Colorado, often the two go hand-in-paw. A high quality, 152-page hardbound edition with images of over 70 brew dogs and over 200 color photos of breweries throughout Colorado, BrewDogs was produced by a Colorado Springs family. The BrewDogs of Colorado retails for $29.95. It can also be ordered online at www.brewdogsbook.com. 

Grand Hyatt Denver Downtown is offering Denver’s “most extravagant” Valentine’s Package this weekend. Priced at $5,000 per night, the Diamond Valentine’s Package comes complete with: A one carat diamond bracelet; Privately catered dinner for two people in the renowned Pinnacle Club, on the 38th floor overlooking the city; String quartet serenade during dinner; Overnight stay in the newly renovated Presidential Suite; Welcoming Bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne and Caviar for Two Presentation; A dozen long-stemmed red roses; In-room dining breakfast the next morning; Limousine service to and from the hotel. Reservations for this package may only be made by calling 303-603-4095. 

Today’s seniors don’t have to play bingo or bridge to meet new people. Today, local seniors will meet 10 new people an hour at a senior speed dating event at Fortune Valley Hotel and Casino. To heat things up this Valentine’s Day, sexy seniors willing to gamble on love will race to meet as many single seniors as possible during a two-hour speed dating event just for seniors age 60-75. At the upcoming “Bet on Love” event, singles will get a free bus ride to Central City, lunch and giveaways and then speed through 10 different five-minute dates for that potential “love at first sight.” And with extra time to mingle and gamble. The event will take place 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the actual speed dating event is 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for anyone driving themselves. Participants MUST visit www.rockymtnsingles.com to sign up. Daters can also call 303-345-6315 to make their speed dating reservation. To participate in the speed dating, reservations must include name, phone number, gender and how many people in the group. 

8 Rivers, located at 1550 Blake St., is offering love … Caribbean style. They say if you celebrate your Valentine’s Day there it’ll spice up your romance. They are offering their regular menu and a special three-course meal for $70 per couple, which includes a choice of roasted pepper and corn chowder or house salad with curry vinaigrette; entrée choices of either curry goat of smoked salmon with sweet spicy pineapple teriyaki sauce; and a dessert choice of decadent flourless chocolate cake or key lime pie. Reservations are highly recommended, so call them at 303-623-3422. You also can visit their Web site at 8riverslodo.com.

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