This February 14th, you can forget the flowers and chuck the chocolates – our new survey of 400 Canadians has revealed what people really want for Valentine’s Day: handwritten love letters.
- 56% of Canadians think love letters are the perfect Valentine’s Day gift
- 83% think it’s vital to exchange love letters in a relationship
- 70% of men, 86% of women think it’s acceptable to keep love letters from an old flame
- 7% of those under 35 think text messages are just as romantic as handwritten letters: just 3% of those over 35 agree
Love letters are Canada’s most-wanted Valentine’s Day gift
The survey, which was conducted by premium dating site EliteSingles, asked 400 Canadians to pick their perfect Valentine’s Day gift. 56% said that their dream present would be a heartfelt love letter or poem – making love letters a more desired treat than being taken to a fine restaurant (chosen by 26%) or getting flowers and chocolates (picked by 12%).
85% of Canadians think that exchanging love letters is an important part of a relationship
The survey also showed that, far from being a dying art, love letter writing is flourishing in Canada. Love letters are considered an important part of a relationship by 83% of those surveyed, with 80% of men and 90% of women admitting that they’ve written one in the past.
70% of men, 86% of women think it’s acceptable to keep love letters from an old flame
Canadians are likely to treasure their love letters, sometimes forever: 70% of men and 86% of women think that it’s perfectly acceptable to keep love letters from an old flame. What’s more, 43% of men and 54% of women think it’s fine to keep old letters even when you’re with someone new.
Honesty really is the best policy: how to write a love letter
So how should you go about crafting the perfect love letter? Don’t fret; it doesn’t have to be all polished prose. In fact, 73% of respondents said that that a letter written straight from the heart was more special than one that focused on beautiful writing. Similarly, 81% agreed that honesty is the most important thing to try for when writing a love note (although 5% do prioritize poetry).
The medium also matters. As quaint as it may seem, 61% of Canadians agreed that actually putting pen to paper was the most romantic format for a love letter. That said, love texts are on the rise, especially with younger Canadians; 7% of respondents under the age of 35 said text messages were the most romantic way to send a love letter, compared to just 3% of over 35s.
One final tip: pay attention to when you send your love letters. 14% of Canadian men and 10% of women admitted that they would use a love letter to express interest in someone before dating them. However, 86% of men and 90% of women think that such things are better kept until you’re courting, so would-be-Wordsworths may be best to err on the side of patience.
For more on this study, including a countdown of the world’s greatest love letters, please see our in-depth article
Press contact: Sophie Watson
EliteSingles Research Team
About the author: The EliteSingles Press Team
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