Valentine’s Day broadens beyond couples as Americans embrace family and friends

Valentine’s Day still carries the old reputation of a couples-only holiday, but Americans are using it more broadly. In an AP-NORC poll of 1,112 adults conducted Feb. 6-10, 2025, three-quarters said they planned to celebrate, and the day stretched well beyond romantic dinners: 55% expected to mark it with a partner, about 4 in 10 with family and 1 in 5 with friends.

That shift helps explain why the holiday can feel both outdated and useful at once. Eight in 10 respondents said Valentine’s Day was at least somewhat romantic, and about three-quarters called it fun, even as about half described it as at least somewhat outdated and about 4 in 10 found it at least somewhat stressful. Among adults in a relationship, 86% planned to celebrate with someone, compared with 47% of those not currently coupled up. Women were more likely than men to celebrate with family or friends, and adults ages 18 to 44 were more likely than older adults to mark the day in some way.

The spending picture shows how that broader social circle is reshaping the market. The National Retail Federation projected that Americans would spend a record $27.5 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts and celebrations in 2025, up from $25.8 billion in 2024 and above the previous high of $27.4 billion set in 2020. Average spending was expected to reach $188.81 per person, and the NRF said shoppers planned to spend the most on candy, flowers, greeting cards, an evening out and jewelry.

Those are the categories that fit the new mood of the holiday: lower-pressure, relationship-specific gestures that can land with a partner, a sibling, a parent or a friend. A box of candy or a thoughtful card reads differently now when Valentine’s is also a family holiday and a friends’ holiday, not just a date night. An evening out still works for couples, but the poll suggests the day is just as likely to be about shared time, a small table for two, or a simple gift that says someone was remembered.

The enduring commercial power of Valentine’s Day comes from that mix of sentiment and flexibility. NRF has tracked Valentine’s spending for more than a decade, and the latest figures suggest Americans have not abandoned the holiday so much as recast it, keeping the romance while making room for friends, extended family and easier, more personal forms of giving.