Supermarket Valentine’s Day merch rated, for all those who forgot to buy a present in time

It’s that time of year again when the shop windows are filled with all things red and heart-shaped and questions like "Have you got any plans?" keep popping up in conversation.

But when it comes to Valentine's, there’s no need to splash the cash on anything extravagant – we can’t afford it. That said, whether you are having a Valentine’s or Galentine’s there’s a lot of affordable stuff out there, so here’s a rundown of what’s on offer in some of the staple high street stores.

Tesco

In my humble opinion, Tesco have put on quite a good show this year, offering the usual teddy bears, candles and fake rose petals alongside some more unusual items – a personal favourite of mine being the heart shaped frying pan.

Why not combine Pancake Day and Valentine’s Day? It gives us two excuses to stuff our faces with tasty, unhealthy goodness and hey, if you don’t have a date at least you’ll have a pancake.

Co-op

Again, a nice display and some originality, despite a heavy reliance on chocolate (which no one’s going to complain about). For the standout product, it couldn’t be anything but the heart shaped sparklers. It's just not good enough to only have one night of the year for sparklers!

Sainsbury's

A cute yet minimalistic take on the Valentine’s display with a commendable collection of mugs. Asides from the ‘Perfect Match’ how well do you know your partner cards, which are undeniably sweet, the table scatter deserves a mention. This product is surprisingly versatile, don’t limit yourself to just scattering it on tables. It’s time to upgrade your glitter highlight in the club and just go all out with some red and gold hearts!

Lidl

Now I’ll be the first to declare my love for Lidl but when I walked in and saw these measly offerings I’m not ashamed to admit I was devastated. True, the selection of edible heart shaped treats is cool but where’s the showmanship? No petals or confetti?! I expected better of you Lidl, the only positive I could find was that the Love Hearts tin was 51p cheaper here than in Sainsbury’s – every cloud I guess …