By Shannon Crowley | February 12, 2021
Breaking the bank is not required to show that someone special how much they mean to you. Several local shops are offering sweet specials that would make great Valentine’s Day gifts for college students on a budget.
With indoor dining restaurants in Albany only allowing 50% capacity because of COVID-19, finding a reservation for a nice dinner might be extra challenging this year. If you cannot make reservations for the restaurant of your choosing this February 14, or just would rather not be in a restaurant but still want to celebrate with someone you love, think local.
Several local Albany shops are having Valentine’s specials that are the perfect gifts with a small price tag. Emack and Bolio’s, located in downtown Albany, is selling chocolate covered strawberry boxes for $12.50 each. Eight large strawberries come in a box, with the choice of milk, dark or white chocolate.
Another local chocolate shop in Albany, Krause’s Homemade Candy, is no longer accepting orders on their specialty chocolate covered strawberries until after Valentine’s Day due to the high volume of orders it has received, however, Krause’s is still selling all sorts of chocolates, fudges, and other sweets available in store.
If strawberries aren’t your jam, try Stewart’s Shop Valentine’s ice cream flavor called ‘Cherry Loves Me,’ cherry flavored ice cream with dark chocolate flakes and red cherries. All single scoop ice cream cones are 50¢ all day on Valentine’s Day at Stewart’s Shop.
For people with Valentine’s who do not like sweets, the Lark Street Flower Market is selling mixed bouquets starting at $9.99, and for the people with a bigger budget, one dozen fresh red roses for $29.99. Luckily, UAlbany students have access to the largest Walmart in America one bus stop away from campus. Walmart is a good backup for not only cheap but last-minute Valentine's Day gifts. Small flower bouquets are less than $5, mini boxes of chocolates can be found for $1, so if you can’t do anything else, a quick run to this superstore will be sufficient.
The best gift of all this year is to keep wearing a mask and don’t spread the virus to your special someone.