Celebrating Valentines with that Special Someone
It’s Valentine’s Day – the day of love – and it is when many choose to display their love for each other by sending love-themed gifts and gestures to their valentine. It can be a lover, a relative, or even a close friend, but traditional gifts are almost always the go-to treat for this special day. News Five’s Duane Moody stopped at a couple of hotspots in the city.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Picking out that perfect treat for that special someone on Valentine’s Day remains daunting despite the many options available across the city. But if you are looking for something different for a sweet tooth lover, Kisses and Bites on Saint Thomas Street in Belize City is the place to go. Entrepreneur Ivily Valdez says there’s been a lot of traffic since they opened this morning, but they were prepared for the last-minute shoppers.
Ivily Valdez
Ivily Valdez, Owner, Kisses & Bites
“We take our éclairs and cream puffs and cupcakes; we do blueberry yum yums. We come out with pretzel barks. Today, we are debuting our macaroons so we have that on display also. And just a lot of little chocolate covered goodies perfect for Valentine’s Day. It’s such a hectic day for us but I love it. I get nervous, but it is really, really nice.”
Duane Moody
“Have people been purchasing from earlier because I know there are people who wait until the last minute to get that treat for loved ones?”
Ivily Valdez
“We try to focus mostly on our last-minute shoppers because well, I am a last-minute shopper too and sometimes I try to buy local. So we are mainly focusing on that. We do also do pre-orders, but yeah, we are having a good day.”
Within the store, pop-up shops were selling an assortment of jewelry and gifts, such as water bottles, shoes, and purses. But Valdez says that the best seller is the chocolate-covered strawberries.
Ivily Valdez
“Kisses and Bites is a pastry house, we solely do just pastries. Right now, we have one of our best sellers which is the chocolate covered strawberries. We also usually host pop-ups for Valentine’s Day too so we have two local businesses, the Jewellery Hub and Pink Hibiscus here with us today along with the treats.”
Then there is the traditional gift we have come to enjoy – flowers. Flowers by Alma on Bachelor’s Avenue in the Coral Grove area of Belize City is busy all year round creating that bouquet or basket filled with roses and sometimes wines and chocolates – to melt the hearts of those you love the most.
Marvin Ottley
Marvin Ottley, Florist
“All of this work start just about a week and a half ago. We had to do a lot of preparation before. From Saturday, we have been doing what you can call the volume. You guys just got here this morning, but the volume of work that went out this morning was a whole lot. We have locations on the streets and that kind of stuff.”
Duane Moody
“And all across the country, you guys have been sending flowers?”
Marvin Ottley
“Yes, we do deliveries every corner of the country, so to speak. We team up with the local airlines and with BPMS who does do land travel and that kind of stuff.”
Duane Moody
“They are all imported? Local flowers?”
Marvin Ottley
“For this day, the demand is for imported flowers and roses is the key on valentine’s so that’s what we ensure that we have in volumes so that we could provide the work that the customer asks for.”
You may know him as the Deputy Director of the National Sports Council or for his athletic career, but Marvin Ottley has been a florist for over thirty years, starting with Florasol and having made arrangements for a few royal visits. He stands ready to make one for you.
Marvin Ottley
“At the time we were very limited in supplies in terms of imported flowers; it was mainly local arrangements that we did back then. I had good artistic hands. I don’t need a drawing to create anything; I could create it from out of my head. Got some training and became a florist and it just took off from there. I used to produce on a maximum level of a total sixteen arrangements in just an hour. I know I am getting older so I am doing less. I partnered with Miss Alma over the last eight years and we really have taken off. And so Flowers by Alma was created and she’s really doing a lot of good work.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
