Valentine’s Day is filled with hearts, sweets and the color pink, a consumer holiday used to show love and appreciation for that special someone by giving them a dozen roses or a box of chocolate. For those who work behind the scenes to make this day special for consumers, it’s the busiest day of the year.

Preparing for Valentine’s Day begins during the Christmas season. “We begin to order and plan in the beginning of December,” said Jodi Headrick, the manager of the Hy-Vee floral department.

Shipments and staff increase in the weeks preceding Feb. 14, all in anticipation for one of the biggest consumer holidays of the year. Headrick said that Valentine’s Day brings in six times more business than a normal week.

Terry Stark, owner of Chocolaterie Stam, said that Valentine’s Day is the single busiest day of the year. “We often have 500 or more clients on this single day,” he said.

Headrick also said that Valentine’s Day is busy for Hy-Vee floral. “It is definitely our biggest holiday. People go crazy. Last year a man spent over $500 on one order of red roses,” she said.

A manager of Coach House Gifts said that for their business, Valentine’s Day is the third busiest holiday, behind Christmas and Mother’s Day. There is always a flow of customers until 6 or 7 p.m.

At Chocolaterie Stam a line from the register to the door can be expected on Valentine’s Day. “We have plenty of samples on hand to make the wait a little more palatable,” Stark said.

Valentine’s Day isn’t the only busy day for Chocolaterie Stam. Stark said that they have a lot of clients visit Feb. 13 and submit orders before the big day as well.

Together, the three stores cover the basic Valentine’s products. On Valentine’s Day, Coach House Gift’s biggest sellers are Hallmark cards and promotions, while Headrick said Hy-Vee’s red roses are always the clear winner.

Stark said that while they do sell a lot of boxes of chocolate, they also sell a considerable amount of chocolate covered strawberries. “We start dipping chocolate covered strawberries around 3 or 4 in the morning due to the high volume that are ordered,” he said.

Whether it’s a dozen roses, a thoughtful card or a box of chocolate, stores are more than prepared to serve consumers this Valentines Day.