NRF projects Valentines Day spending to increase by $2 million

Amaya Baker Staff Writer

Valentine’s Day is a day to shower thos e you love with gifts, appreciation, gratitude, and affection on.

It is also a day where some spend a lot of time and money with the one they love. It can be a very expensive day for everyone but especially college students. There are many ways to save.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) about 52 percent of the population plan to celebrate while the other 28 percent do not celebrate the love day at all but sometimes still plan on marking the occasion somehow. On average consumers spend on average $192.80 on Valentine’s Day alone.

Consumers are expected to spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day this year, up from $23.9 billion in 2022 and one of the highest spending years on record, the NRF projects.

NRF reports that standard V-Day gifts include candy, cards, flowers, going out, and jewelry. Candy is gifted the most by a whopping 57 percent of the population, cards are gifted by 40 percent, flowers follow slightly behind with 37 percent, 32 percent choose to treat their partners to a night out, and only

21 percent choose to buy their partners jewelry.

McKenzie Armstrong, a junior biology pre-med major from Nashville Tenn. said she has a special gift planned for her boyfriend.

“I plan on gifting my boyfriend an electric drum because he is a musician. This is not a cheap gift, but it’s him”. Other Jackson State students like to keep it simple because they simply cannot afford expensive gifts. Darren Smith, a junior biology/pre-med major from Natchez, Miss said he wishes he could give his girl the world.

“Valentine’s Day is a day that feels very pressured because I obviously want to show how important this person is within my life,” Smith said.

Not all college students can afford to buy their partners expensive gifts for Valentine’s Day and that is okay. Here is a list of three inexpensive V-Day gifts college students can give to their partners for under $20.

1.

101 Reasons Why I Love

You: A Fill-In-The-Blank Love Journal For Couples - Cost range between $7.99 to $15 on average. Whether you’re in a long-term relationship or just starting out, each prompt is carefully crafted, with a wide mixture of both light-hearted sentences and deep topics that ignite intimacy and strengthen your relationship.

2. Decorated Valentine’s Day Mug Date - Cost range between $5 to $10. This price covers all materials needed to decorate the mugs. It’s creative, engaging and interactive. And it really shows your partner you want to spend time with them

3. A Romantic Picnic on a lawn - Cost ranges depend on the type of food or items gathered for a picnic. Get out and have fun play Frisbee, play catch, play badminton, kick the soccer ball around, fly a kite, or even teach your date how to throw a football

Stanley Powell, a sophomore theatre major from Crystal Springs Miss. said the best gift will always be chocolates and flowers because it’s simply the best gift to give.

“The gift does not have to be expensive because it’s supposed to show affection how much you love them rather than how much you are willing to spend on them.”

Alandria Jones, a sophomore childcare and family development major from Jackson, Miss., agreed with Powell and said she does not think gifts always have to be expensive but she believes the man should cater to his lady.

“Honestly, the perfect gift to give a girl for Valentine’s Day would be a date or outing in a nice setting filled with whatever the girl truly enjoys,” Jones said.

Valentine’s Day should be a day of love, regardless of the price tag of a gift. The real gift is the quality time spent with those you cherish the most.

You People deals with race and religion in a cringeworthy comedy

Matthew Adams Staff Writer

*SPOILER ALERT*

A new romantic comedy on Netflix has emerged onto the mainstream scene called “You People” and some viewers have mixed feelings about it.

The movie is directed by “Blackish” writer Kenya Barris and actor Jonah Hill. The star-studded cast includes: Eddie Murphy, Nia Long, Jonah Hill, and Lauren London, just to name a few of the myriad of great cast members.

I think this movie encompassed two highlighted worldviews that many would say don’t gel well together, race and religion.

The film follows the life of the main male character, Ezra. He is a Jewish podcaster, who is pursuing his dreams and created a podcast called “The Mo and E-Z Show” with his friend Mo. But even though he was chasing this dream, he was working every day in a job he did not want.

After leaving his day job, Ezra mistakes a black woman named Amira for his Uber driver and somehow this ignites a spark between the two and they end up in a relationship.

Generally, as relationships grow, emotions grow stronger and eventually it is time to meet each other’s family. And this is where the issue arises: Ezra comes from a Jewish background while Amira comes a Muslim background. I believe the difference between their cultures helped the movie convey a lot of social issues addressed in today’s society.

Despite their differences, Ezra invited Amira to his parent’s house. This started a large number of culturally tone-deaf comments from Ezra’s family to Amira, the underlying theme of this movie.

The couple did not let this stop their relationship from growing deeper. Ezra decided to propose but culturally he had to get a blessing from Amira’s parents first.

He invited her parents to dinner at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. Painting Ezra in a light not much different from how his family treated Amira in the early parts of the movie.

Ezra became a nervous wreck and tried hard to keep conversation going without offending the parents of his future wife. After enough nervous babbling, he ended the dinner but he did not get Amira’s parents blessing and Ezra returned home to Amira, shared his feelings and he still proposed.

With this crazy turn of events, the couple plan their bachelor/ bachelorette parties in Las Vegas. Ezra boards the plane with his friend Mo and is encountered by Amira’s father, who does not see Ezra suitable to be in a relationship with Amira.

Amira and her group of confidants plan a trip to a resort and are plagued with Ezra’s mother’s presence and she makes these uncomfortable remarks and doesn’t mix well with the group of people.

Both Ezra or Amira seem to leave bad impressions on each other’s parents throughout the whole trip. After the trip is over and their families are back in their respective places, the couple decided to push the envelope again and invite both sets of parents to a dinner.

This proved to be a terrible idea and it created a giant rift in the couple’s relationship and it led to both of them reaching their boiling points regarding the constant pressure of their parents.

Each has their own ending experiences with their respective parent-in-law and the two end up calling the marriage off. But to their surprise, their parents seem to get over their differences to plan the couple a surprise wedding for all their friends and family to attend.

Overall, I think it was a good movie and I recommend it for people who enjoy cringe comedy because it will make you laugh. I also feel like it was a bit cliche and every scene was about race and that could have been dialed back a little bit.