Forgot about Valentine’s Day? Here are some last-minute gift ideas

• February 6, 2025

One minute, it’s Christmas, then the new year rolls around, and before you know it, Valentine’s Day has arrived. If it’s sneaked up on you this year, you might be looking for a last-minute Valentine’s gift.

Last-minute doesn’t have to mean thoughtless, and you don’t have to resort to grocery store flowers. You can find plenty of great gifts with fast shipping to make your significant other happy this Valentine’s Day, whatever their interests.

What to consider when choosing a Valentine’s Day gift

It’s not just getting your hands on a gift before Valentine’s Day you need to worry about, it’s choosing the right one. Just because it’s Valentine’s Day, it doesn’t mean the gift has to be heart-shaped or flowery. In fact, these types of gifts are more likely to be promptly discarded.

Think about the following to help pick the perfect present for your loved one:

• Interests: Start by thinking about your partner’s interests when picking a gift. It might seem obvious, but it’s too often overlooked, especially when stressing about buying gifts at the last minute. If they love games, for instance, a new board game would be a better gift than a bunch of roses.
• Style: When buying clothing, jewelry or homewares, think carefully about the recipient’s sense of style. Someone who loves industrial interior design will balk at a “Live, laugh, love” sign, while someone with a preppy sense of style won’t want a pair of Doc Martens.
• Consumables: When buying for that person who has everything, consumables are a safe bet. This doesn’t just mean food and drink, but anything that gets used up and needs replacing, such as skin care products, bath salts and even guitar picks.
• Price range: Consider your budget, whether you have $10 to spend or over $100. You don’t have to spend a fortune to show your loved one you care. Any gift bought with thought and attention is bound to go down well, whatever your budget.

Best last-minute Valentine’s Day gifts

Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 is perfect for taking cute snaps of you and your partner together and is a great gift for a keen photographer who might want to have fun with instant photos. It prints 2- by 3-inch photos on sticker paper.

Tea Forte Tea Chest with 40 Handcrafted Pyramid Tea Infusers

Perfect for tea lovers, this set contains 40 tea bag infusers with 20 varieties of tea to sample, in various flavors. They come in a wooden box that’s great for storage and makes the gift look even more special.

Bose SoundLink Flex Bluetooth Portable Speaker

This Bluetooth speaker will make it easier for your valentine to listen to their favorite music anywhere in the home or out and about. It has the sound quality you’d expect from Bose in a compact package, with an impressive 12-hour battery life.

Keurig K-Mini Coffee Maker

If you’re buying for someone who doesn’t function before their first coffee of the day, they might appreciate this pod coffee maker that produces a brew in just a couple of minutes. It’s extremely simple to use, takes up minimal counter space and can make cups of coffee between 6 and 12 ounces.

Fjallraven Kanken Classic Backpack

With its iconic design, this backpack has become a fashion statement in recent years, so if your loved one has been coveting one, now might be the time to buy one. There’s something for everyone, with more than 30 colors and color combinations, including fog, peach pink and warm yellow with rainbow straps.

Nintendo Switch OLED Model

For the casual gamer in your life, a Nintendo Switch is a perfect choice, with a wide range of games available, but many geared to multiplayer fun. This model has a larger, upgraded OLED screen in handheld mode but can also be connected to a TV.

Apple AirPods

A great choice for music lovers, these wireless earbuds produce crisp, clear sound and easily pair with any Bluetooth-compatible devices. The built-in microphones are ideal for taking and making calls.

Dash Heart Mini Waffle Maker

If your partner loves to cook or has a sweet tooth, this mini waffle maker is a great choice. It makes adorable heart-shaped waffles, which is a cute nod to Valentine’s Day.

Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug

Does your partner often complain about not getting to drink all of their coffee or tea before it goes cold? This temperature-control mug keeps hot beverages at their optimal temperature for up to 80 minutes and pairs with an app to easily set temperature preferences.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales.

BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.

​ Orange County Register 

Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams deserve the Presidential Medal of Freedom

• February 6, 2025

That economists Thomas Sowell and the late Walter Williams have not received the Presidential Medal of Freedom borders on scandalous. The award, as well as the Congressional Gold Medal, is the highest civilian award of the United States. It recognizes those who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, or world peace, or cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

Even calling these two intellectual giants “economists” belittles their contributions. As for Sowell, now aged 94, playwright David Mamet called him “our greatest contemporary philosopher” and credits Sowell with helping him overcome being a “brain-dead liberal.” For decades, both Sowell and Williams wrote extremely popular and weekly nationally syndicated columns in addition to their numerous books.

On Sowell’s 92nd birthday, University of Michigan economist and American Enterprise Institute scholar Mark J. Perry wrote: “… there is no economist alive today who has done more to eloquently, articulately, and persuasively advance the principles of economic freedom, limited government, individual liberty, and a free society than Thomas Sowell. In terms of both his quantity of work (49 books and several thousand newspaper columns) and the consistently excellent and crystal-clear quality of his writing …”

When Williams died in 2020 at age 84, Young America’s Foundation then-President Ron Robinson said: “We are grateful for the life and legacy of Dr. Walter Williams, who generously gave his time and wisdom to students to ensure freedom. Dr. Williams was a faithful successor to Adam Smith. He built on Smith’s scholarship and made it fresh for new audiences. YAF audiences were blessed to learn from Dr. Williams these past 50 years. His passing is a loss to everyone who cherishes individual freedom.”

Williams was raised in a Philadelphia housing project by a single mother. He served in the Army and obtained a master’s and a Ph.D. in economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. In addition to writing more than a dozen books, including the inspirational autobiography, “Up from the Projects,” he was the subject of a documentary called “Suffer No Fools.” As chairman of the economics department of George Mason University, Williams become the first black chair of the economics department of a nonblack college or university.

Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Riley, who wrote “Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell,” said: “Mr. Sowell is no stranger to poverty, prejudice or discrimination. He was born in segregated North Carolina in 1930, orphaned as a toddler and raised in Harlem from age 9. He never finished high school and earned his GED after serving a stint in the Marines during the Korean War. The GI bill enabled him to enroll in college, first at historically black Howard University, before moving on to Harvard, Columbia and finally the University of Chicago.”

Some of Sowell’s quotes:

“It’s hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”

“The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.”

“Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant than only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.”

Some of Williams’ quotes:

“But let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you — and why?”

“How does something immoral, when done privately, become moral when it is done collectively? … Slavery was legal; apartheid is legal; Stalinist, Nazi, and Maoist purges were legal. Clearly, the fact of legality does not justify these crimes. Legality, alone, cannot be the talisman of moral people.”

Sowell and Williams were best friends and intellectual soulmates. I was blessed to have known them for decades. Over a lunch, I watched them playfully rib each other. When Williams reached for the check, Sowell shouted, “There you go again, publicly flaunting your wealth!”

President Trump, please award Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It’s long overdue.

Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on X @larryelder.

​ Orange County Register 

A short honeymoon for Catholics in D.C. as Vice President Vance clashes with bishops on migration

• February 6, 2025

By PETER SMITH, Associated Press

The sense of Catholic unity didn’t last long. Less than a week after Vice President JD Vance shared the inauguration stage with a senior Catholic cardinal, Vance picked a fight with the top American leaders of his church.

The new vice president, a Catholic convert, accused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops of resettling “illegal immigrants” in order to get federal funding. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who gave the invocation shortly before Vance took his oath of office, denounced the remarks as “scurrilous” and “nasty.”

Vance has claimed that a concept from medieval Catholic theology — “ordo amoris” in Latin — justifies the Trump administration’s America-first immigration crackdown. He contended that the concept delineates a hierarchy of care — to family first, followed by neighbor, community, fellow citizens and lastly those elsewhere.

Several scholars say Vance is promoting a simplistic misreading of the concept and that Catholic teaching requires the helping of strangers in urgent need.

But Vance received support from others, particularly those in a largely Catholic movement he identifies with, known as postliberalism. It combines a social conservativism with a belief in using the power of the state to promote Christian values and build community. The movement’s leading thinkers have advocated for precisely the sort of sweeping “regime change” underway in the Trump administration, cheering its largescale cuts to the federal agencies and workforces deemed antithetical to these goals.

The Catholic rift comes as leading bishops applauded some of the new Trump administration initiatives. Statements from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops welcomed executive orders supporting “ school choice,” rolling back federal support for gender transitions and requiring foreign agencies receiving U.S. aid to certify that they don’t provide or promote abortion.

Catholic power shift in Washington

The change of administrations seems to mark a tectonic shift in Catholic power in Washington. Democrats Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi — liberal, Mass-attending Catholics who supported abortion rights, prompting some bishops to oppose their receiving Communion — are gone from the White House and House speaker’s chair, respectively.

Trump has nominated a leading conservative Catholic activist, Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, as Vatican ambassador — even as Pope Francis appointed a relatively progressive cardinal, Robert McElroy, as archbishop of Washington.

But Vance’s blast at the bishops conference stung.

Vance called himself a “devout Catholic” who was disappointed bishops have “not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement.” He claimed they took $100 million “to help resettle illegal immigrants.”

Dolan, on his SiriusXM show, called the statements harmful.

“That’s just scurrilous, it’s very nasty, and it’s not true,” Dolan said. The bishops conference is one of 10 national U.S. organizations that resettle refugees, who have been legally brought to the country under decades-old policy until Trump paused the program. Dolan said government grants don’t match expenses and are supplemented by private donations.

“You think we make money on it? We’re losing it hand over fist,” Dolan said, adding that he hoped better from Vance in the future.

But Vance has stood by his “ordo amoris” justification for Trump’s migration restrictions.

“You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country,” Vance said on Fox News. “Then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.” He claimed that the “far left” has inverted that.

What the ‘ordo amoris’ concept means

In a follow-up social-media skirmish, Vance urged people to Google “ordo amoris” or “order of love.”

On the concept, St. Augustine, an ancient theologian, said while everyone must love everyone equally, no finite person can help everybody and thus should particularly look after those with whom one has a “closer connection.”

St. Thomas Aquinas, in the 13th century, agreed that people have a particular obligation to family and fellow citizens. But, he added, it also depends on circumstances: “In certain cases one ought, for instance, to succor a stranger, in extreme necessity, rather than one’s own father, if he is not in such urgent need.”

David Hollenbach, a Jesuit theologian and professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, said Vance seriously misinterprets Aquinas.

“Aquinas says we love most effectively those who are near us,” said Hollenbach, who is also senior fellow of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. But, he added, “Aquinas goes on to say if there are people at a greater distance who are at great need, they take priority.”

Hollenbach cited the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan, in which an outcast took care of a badly beaten traveler neglected by others.

“If there are refugees out there and there are people who are fleeing for their lives, they’re in great need and we need to respond to their needs,” Hollenbach said.

He also cited Pope Francis’ exhortations to countries to receive immigrants. Francis, in a 2020 encyclical, warned against a “xenophobic” response that denies the “inalienable dignity” of migrants in need.

Immigration, gender identity and other Catholic social issues

Vance has received plenty of support from conservative Catholics who see the Trump administration as bringing many of their ideas to reality.

“You know you’re in a postliberal order when high elected leaders explain their views in terms of political theology, and the main debate isn’t over whether they are ‘intolerant’ but whether the political theology is right or wrong,” Harvard law professor Adrian Vermeule posted on the social media platform X.

R.R. Reno, in an article for the online journal Compact, argued Vance was correct about “ordo amoris.” He cited the fictional Mrs. Jellyby in a Charles Dickens novel — someone who is so busy with charitable work that she neglects her own family — as an example of misplaced love.

“Christ-like love encourages concern for victims of fires in other states, regions, or countries,” Reno wrote. “But all the more so does Christ-like love compel us to come to the aid of neighbors whose houses down the street are burning.”

Other Catholic bishops have maintained their support for aid to immigrants.

Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, defended “the dignity of every immigrant, regardless of his or her status.” He said immigrants have enriched the nation and the church. Catholic teaching, he said in a statement, does not allow for an open border but rather emphasizes a “common sense approach where the duty to care for the stranger is practiced in harmony with the duty to care for the nation.”

Immigration is not the only issue that divides high-level Catholics in Washington and elsewhere — there also are sharp divisions over LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Trump’s recent executive order mandating the federal government to define sex as only male or female — a repudiation of transgender people — was welcome by Washington-based Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy Broglio, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Yet Cardinal McElroy has advocated for “radical inclusion” of LGBTQ+ Catholics in the church. And the outgoing archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, apologized at a recent prayer service for the church’s treatment of LGBTQ+ Catholics and his “own lack of courage to bring healing and hope.”

Vance, meanwhile, continues citing Catholic names more often discussed in seminary than in politics. In a speech Wednesday on religious freedom, he quoted the ancient theologian Tertullian in support of freedom of conscience.

“It is, I think, a conceit of modern society that religious liberty is a liberal concept,” he said at the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington. “But we know that religious freedom flows from concepts central to the Christian faith, in particular the free will of human beings and the essential dignity of all peoples.”

Associated Press writer David Crary contributed.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

​ Orange County Register 

US applications for jobless benefits rose to 219,000 last week, but layoffs remain relatively low

• February 6, 2025

By MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Reporter

More Americans filed unemployment claims last week, but the labor market remains healthy and there are still relatively few layoffs.

U.S. applications for jobless benefits rose by 11,000 to 219,000 for the week ending February 1, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts were projecting only 213,000 new applications.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of layoffs.

The four-week average, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 4,000 to 216,750.

While the labor market did start to show some minor signs of weakness last year, jobs remain plentiful and layoffs historically low.

Last month, the Labor Department reported that job growth in December surged and unemployment fell. Employers added 256,000 jobs in the final month of 2024 and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%.

The final jobs report of 2024 showed that the economy and hiring were able to grow at a solid pace even with interest rates much higher than they were before the pandemic.

The Labor Department will released January employment figures early Friday. Economists surveyed by FactSet believe that U.S. employers added 170,000 jobs in the first month of 2025, weaker than December but also still healthy.

As expected last week, the Federal Reserve left its benchmark lending rate alone after issuing three cuts late in 2024. Fed officials are keeping their eyes on inflation and the labor market for signs of a potentially weakening economy. They expect only two rate cuts this year, down from previous projections of four.

Overall, while layoffs remain low by historical standards, a host of companies have announced job cuts already this year.

Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks and Facebook parent company Meta have all trimmed their workforces already in 2025.

Late in 2024, GM, Boeing, Cargill and Stellantis announced layoffs.

The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of January 25 climbed to 1.89 million, an increase of 36,000 from the previous week.

​ Orange County Register 

The best hair perfumes for a touch of elegance

• February 6, 2025

Which hair perfumes are best?

The kind of hair perfume you wear can make a crucial personal statement, and you may have worn the same hair perfume for years on end. But it can be fun to mix up your fragrance from time to time, and that means looking for a new hair perfume. With its amazing smell, the DefineMe Fragrance Sofia Isabel Hair Fragrance Mist is a first-rate hair perfume.

What to know before you buy a hair perfume

Apply hair perfume carefully

You need to practice caution when applying hair perfume near your clothes. If you’re not careful, it can stain or discolor delicate fabrics, including satin or silk.

Get sample sizes of perfume

Ask for a sample size of hair perfume if you want to test it out before purchasing a full-size bottle. Hair perfume can sometimes be expensive, so this is a good way to determine if you like a particular scent before you spend the money for a full bottle of it.

Change your hair perfume with the seasons

It’s an excellent idea to change up your hair perfume fragrance when the seasons change. Lighter floral or citrus perfumes work best in the summer, while musky scents work better in the fall and winter.

What to look for in a quality hair perfume

Ingredients

The most common ingredients in hair perfumes include alcohol and water in different concentrations, synthetic ingredients, aldehydes or organic compounds, animal extracts and essential oils. Also known as attars or absolutes, essential oils are made from fruits and plants.

Animal extracts are used to make the scent of the hair perfume last longer. Some of the most common animal extracts used in hair perfumes are musk and ambergris, which is a waxy substance that is secreted by sperm whales. If you live a vegan lifestyle, keep an eye out for these ingredients when looking for a hair perfume so you can avoid them.

Perfume notes

Perfume notes are divided into three different categories, including base notes, middle notes and top notes. Taken together, these perfume notes are unique, mysterious and complex. The top or head notes are the lightest smells, what you typically smell first when you apply the hair perfume and the first smells to fade.

The middle or heart notes make up the main portion of the hair perfume. They last longer than the top notes and include a combination of spicy, floral and citrus scents. The base notes take the longest amount of time to develop and make a lasting impression.

Aldehydes

All hair perfumes include organic compounds known as aldehydes. These compounds occur naturally in pine, citrus rind and rose, and they can also be synthesized. They are used to freshen and lift essential oils. They also add layers and complexity to hair perfume and are often described as rosy, soapy, fatty, waxy, citrusy, herbal, green, starchy or metallic.

How much you can expect to spend on a hair perfume

Hair perfumes range in price from about $5-$40, depending on the ingredients in the perfume, features and quality.

Hair perfume FAQ

What is the best way to test out a hair perfume to see if you like the fragrance?

A. When you test out hair perfumes, you shouldn’t wear any other fragrance or use heavily scented shampoo or conditioner at the same time. You should spay a little hair perfume on a small section of hair. Hair perfume can take a while to develop on your hair, so you need to wait for the alcohol to evaporate.

The base notes of the hair perfume can take up to 30 minutes to develop. Only after the base notes develop can you truly experience the character of the hair perfume and figure out if you want to wear it regularly.

Why do hair perfumes smell different on different people?

A. The type of hair you have, including whether it’s oily or dry and the texture, will impact how the hair perfume smells on you. You might wear the same hair perfume as millions of other people, but it will smell subtly and uniquely different on your hair, which is why you need to sample hair perfume before you purchase it.

What is the best place to store your hair perfume?

A. It might seem natural to store hair perfume in the bathroom, but the steamy moisture and heat can cause the essence of the perfume to quickly break down. The hair perfume will start to smell differently than it was originally intended as the ingredients of the hair perfume break down.

You also shouldn’t store your hair perfume in extreme temperatures or in direct sunlight. The best spot to store hair perfume is a cool, dry place.

What’s the best hair perfume to buy?

Top hair perfume

DefineMe Fragrance Sofia Isabel Hair Fragrance Mist

What you need to know: This premium hair perfume has a sweet, fruity scent with notes of tangerine, mandarin, blackcurrant, and vanilla.

What you’ll love: Not only does it fragrance hair, but it also adds shine and reduces frizz. It’s made in California using vegan and cruelty-free ingredients.

What you should consider: Some buyers don’t think the scent is strong enough, though most do.

Top hair perfume for the money

Luxe Perfumery Hair and Body Perfume Mist

What you need to know: This hair perfume is perfect for beginners with this type of product, due to the large bottle and the reasonable price.

What you’ll love: This product comes in multiple scents and includes vitamin E and plant-based oils that hydrate and nourish the hair. The reasonably priced hair perfume also doubles as a body spray.

What you should consider: This hair perfume fades within just a few hours, and some people find that the alcohol overpowers the fragrance.

Worth checking out

Sol Janeiro Cheirosa ’71 Hair and Body Mist

What you need to know: This hair perfume features scents of vanilla, as well as other sweet notes.

What you’ll love: This product is ideal for spritzing on your body as well as your hair. The perfume also comes with a combination of white chocolate, macadamia nut and vanilla, which makes it perfect for people who like sweet smells.

What you should consider: The scent of this hair perfume might be overly sweet for some users.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales.

BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.

​ Orange County Register 

Get into the Valentine’s Day spirit with these decor ideas

• February 6, 2025

Valentine’s Day is approaching, and you might want to go all out for your significant other. Whether you’ve got a big day planned or you’re having a low-key celebration at home, the right Valentine’s Day decor helps set the mood.

The Britrio LED Neon Light Heart Sign is a top choice for Valentine’s Day decor. It’s a cool decoration that can be used year-round.

What to know before you buy Valentine’s Day decor

Types of decorations

With the popularity of the holiday comes a wide range of Valentine’s Day decor. Whether you’re in search of tabletop pieces or wall art, chances are, you can find it. Some popular categories include:

• Table decorations: These include table runners, candles, flowers, centerpieces and ornaments.
• Wall decorations: You can find a range of Valentine’s Day wall decorations, including signs, banners, string lights, garlands and wreaths.
• Other decorations: Other Valentine’s decor includes snow globes, figurines, inflatables, door covers and chandeliers.

Number of decorations

If your home is on the small side, you might want to keep the Valentine’s Day decor to a minimum; too much may just look cluttered and messy. That said, if you want to go all out, you’ll need a number of items, not just one piece of Valentine’s decor. You can avoid these scenarios by thoughtfully mapping out your holiday decor layout and determining how many decorations you need before you start shopping.

Style and design

You can find Valentine’s decor in a wide range of styles and designs, ranging from traditional options such as red roses and candles to high-end items that wouldn’t look out of place in an interior design magazine.

Some Valentine’s Day decorations may be a bit cheesy, which is great if you want to embrace the cheese factor, but remember that Valentine’s decor doesn’t have to be Valentine’s-specific. You can fill a room with hundreds of candles or dozens of flowers, for instance, and that would be dramatic and memorable without a single items that says “Happy Valentine’s Day” on it.

If you’re looking for a low-key design, sometimes less is more. You might choose one statement piece, such as a neon sign on the wall, rather than placing lots of small decorations everywhere.

Valentine’s Day decor features

Color

Red and pink are the colors most frequently used in the design of Valentine’s Day decor. Different theories abound as to why these two colors have become associated with the holiday.

One popular theory about red, which originated in Greek mythology, surmises that the goddess of love, Aphrodite, brought the first red rose into existence. As the story goes, Aphrodite was rushing toward her beloved mortal lover, Adonis, and stepped on a thorn from a white rose on her way to him. The goddess’ sacred blood saturated the rose with a red hue.

Pink is a blend of red (passion) and white (innocence). As such, pink is generally regarded as a representation of familial love on Valentine’s Day. However, you don’t have to go for bold pinks and reds.

Size

This is where the square footage of your home really comes into play with Valentine’s Day decor. Trying to cram a large piece into a small space isn’t a good idea. Whether you’re talking about permanent decor or temporary holiday decor, you don’t want the end result to appear cluttered.

Material

Styrofoam, paper, plastic, wood, crystal, glass, ceramic, stone, metal and resin are some of the materials commonly used in the construction of Valentine’s Day decor. The higher the foot traffic in the area where you plan to display a piece, the more important durable material becomes.

Valentine’s Day decor cost

Depending on the materials used, Valentine’s day decor ranges from $5-$50 for the average piece. However, you can spend more if you choose to.

Valentine’s Day decor FAQ

How do you protect your home from decoration damage?

A. No one wants to poke holes in their walls or deal with peeling paint. Fortunately, you don’t have to use nails or tape that cause this type of damage. Instead, self-adhesive is available that’s designed specifically for damage-free hanging of decorations. This product is sold online and at a fairly large number of drug stores, craft stores and big box stores.

How do you achieve a balanced Valentine’s Day decor scheme?

A. Balance is all about moderation, and moderation boils down to having neither too much nor too little of something. As related to decorations, this means striving for an aesthetic that’s neither cluttered nor sparse. While achieving this objective might sound challenging, measuring the square footage of your home can provide helpful guidance.

Which Valentine’s Day decor should I get?

Top Valentine’s Day decor

Britrio LED Neon Light Heart Sign

What you need to know: This heart-shaped neon sign is an on-trend choice that you can use as decor beyond Valentine’s Day.

What you’ll love: It’s available in pink or red, and in a slightly different design with a crown on top of it. The two predrilled holes make it easy to hang. It’s illuminated with an LED light, rather than true neon, so it’s safe and quiet.

What you should consider: It only comes with a USB cord, so you’ll need to run it from a USB port or use an adapter.

Top Valentine’s Day decor for the money

AVOIN colorlife Valentine’s Day Saying Throw Pillow Covers

What you need to know: These four pillow covers are the perfect way to accent your existing decor without being too ostentatious.

What you’ll love: They have cute, love-themed sayings that are perfect for Valentine’s Day. They are also machine-washable and easy to remove.

What you should consider: The material is a bit thin and rough.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales.

BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump urges Americans to ‘bring God back into our lives’ in National Prayer Breakfast speech

• February 6, 2025

By AAMER MADHANI, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that his relationship with religion had “changed” after a pair of failed assassination attempts last year, as he advocated at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol for Americans to “bring God back” into their lives.

Trump joined a more than 70-year-old Washington tradition that brings together a bipartisan group of lawmakers for fellowship. He later spoke at a separate prayer breakfast at a Washington hotel sponsored by a private group.

“I really believe you can’t be happy without religion, without that belief,” Trump said at the Capitol. “Let’s bring religion back. Let’s bring God back into our lives.”

Trump reflected on having a bullet coming within a hair’s breadth of killing him at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year, telling lawmakers and attendees, “It changed something in me, I feel.”

“I feel even stronger,” he continued. “I believed in God, but I feel, I feel much more strongly about it. Something happened.”

He drew laughs when he expressed gratitude that the episode “didn’t affect my hair.”

The president, who’s a nondenominational Christian, called religious liberty “part of the bedrock of American life” and called for protecting it with “absolute devotion.”

Trump and his administration have already clashed with religious leaders, including him disagreeing with the Rev. Mariann Budde’s sermon the day after his inauguration, when she called for mercy for members of the LGBTQ+ community and migrants who are in the country illegally.

Vice President JD Vance, who’s Catholic, has sparred with top U.S. leaders of his own church over immigration issues. And many clergy members across the country are worried about the removal of churches from the sensitive-areas list, allowing federal officials to conduct immigration actions at places of worship.

The Republican president made waves at the final prayer breakfast during his first term. That year the gathering came the day after the Senate acquitted him in his first impeachment trial.

Trump in his remarks then threw not-so-subtle barbs at Democratic then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, who publicly said she prayed for Trump, and Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who had cited his faith in his decision to vote to convict Trump.

“I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong,” Trump said then in his winding speech, in which he also held up two newspapers with banner headlines about his acquittal. “Nor do I like people who say, ‘I pray for you,’ when they know that that’s not so.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to attend the prayer breakfast, in February 1953, and every president since has spoken at the gathering.

Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas are the honorary co-chairs of this year’s prayer breakfast.

In 2023, the National Prayer Breakfast split into two dueling events, the one on Capitol Hill largely attended by lawmakers and government officials and a larger private event for thousands at a hotel ballroom. The split occurred when lawmakers sought to distance themselves from the private religious group that for decades had overseen the bigger event, due to questions about its organization and how it was funded.

In 2023 and 2024, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, spoke at the Capitol Hill event, and his remarks were livestreamed to the other gathering.

AP writers Holly Meyer in Nashville, Tennessee and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed. Follow the AP’s coverage of Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.

​ Orange County Register 

Irvine boys basketball tops Northwood in 2OT thriller to win first league title since 1991

• February 6, 2025

IRVINE – Eight months ago, Holden Stearns might have crawled into his shell. Might have hung his head. Might have disappeared from doing anything meaningful in the scorebook.

But that was then. The sophomore guard for Irvine’s boys basketball team has since matured, has grown into a different player, and on Wednesday he made the most meaningful contribution of his high school career in the scorebook.

Hitting every big shot when it mattered – scoring eight points in the first overtime and hitting a 3-pointer to begin the second extra period — Stearns was the most important player in Irvine’s 65-60 victory over Northwood in double overtime in the Pacific Coast League championship game at Portola High.

It is the first league title for the Vaqueros since 1991. Generations of players and students have passed through Irvine’s halls without witnessing what took place Wednesday, establishing a legacy that was 34 years in the making.

Stearns scored 19 points – 13 of them after the third quarter – and older brother Cooper Stearns scored 28 as the Vaqueros (26-2) won their 19th game in a row. Northwood dropped to 14-10 despite getting 16 points from Logan Barbee, and 14 apiece from Dane Mortenson and Justin Liu.

Cooper Stearns getting his pound of flesh was to be expected. He’s arguably the best player in the league. But Holden?

“We were not expecting him to have a game like that,” said Barbee, Northwood’s senior point guard, who hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 63-60. “It was a little bit surprising but he stepped up.”

Did so in a big way. Fans didn’t get the best of both teams in the first half, particularly Irvine. The Vaqueros, who had not lost a PCL game this season, were tied at 8-8 but were trailing 20-12 with less than two minutes left in the half.

They had missed six consecutive shots and made three turnovers. They were flailing and in danger of watching their almost perfect season go kaput. It didn’t look particularly good that the decades of frustration would finally end.

Then the younger Stearns made his first basket, a 3-pointer with 1:27 left to stop the bleeding. And another 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining to pull to 22-19 at the break. It was the biggest two minutes of the game, maybe the season.

“Those two shots empowered me to go into the locker room and talk calmly,” Irvine coach Harry Meussner said, “talk about statistics, that we weren’t going to shoot (poorly) the rest of the game, that statistically we were going to get better. Just keep shooting.”

The statistics caught up with Irvine. Jalen Yim opened the second half with a 3-pointer, Cooper Stearns scored on a couple of layups and just like that, Irvine led 26-22.

“This is such a special team,” Holden Stearns said. “Every single person on this team is friends with each other. Everyone loves each other. … We are so connected. It means so much to win with my boys and my brother. This is one of the greatest memories I’m going to have with him. It’s going to be one of the last games I play with him.

“I didn’t give up,” he added. “When I was younger, anytime I was facing a challenge, I’d give up. I was playing with my bother for my school and the friends I love. Had to keep the foot on the gas.”

As recently as “eight months ago,” Holden Stearns said he would have checked out if he had so much as a single air ball, much less “the three or four I had tonight.”

“A year ago, I’d put my head down and wouldn’t shoot again, I’d mope around,” he said, crediting his faith and the confidence that coaches have instilled in him. Eighteen consecutive wins to reach this showcase didn’t hurt, either.

“For Holden, his story is that early in the season, he always was his own worst enemy, he’d get down on himself,” Meussner said. “You see what he did tonight. We coach him, but no one coached that. The kid has it in him. He conquered his mental. I knew the sky was the limit, but what a phenomenal game. This was beyond anyone’s expectations, even with high expectations for a young man like that.”

If the first half wasn’t the best of both teams, the second half was. They put on a show. This was not about who wanted to win more. It was evident until the final buzzer that both wanted it in the worst way and left everything on the court before it was stampeded by Irvine fans.

Cooper Stearns scored 11 in the third quarter as Irvine carried a 38-34 lead into the fourth.

Northwood caught the Vaqueros at 40 on Liu’s drive to the basket with 5:04 left in regulation. Taewan Kim scored inside off a nifty assist from Cooper Stearns, but Mortenson answered with a 3-pointer for a 43-42 Northwood lead.

But that would be the Timberwolves’ last lead in regulation. Holden Stearns scored in close, and Yim hit a 3 with 2:38 remaining for a 47-43 Irvine lead. But Irvine went dry. Liu drove the lane for two points, and Barbee tied the score at 47. Both teams had chances in the final seconds but fell short.

Holden Stearns scored 8 of his team’s 9 points – including two 3-pointers – in the first overtime but it wasn’t enough to shake the Timberwolves, who kept pace and took a 56-55 lead on Liu’s drive to the basket with 1:22 left. Cooper Stearns could have won it for Irvine but made only one of two free throws – the second one – with 7.9 seconds remaining to tie the score at 56-56.

The first two minutes of the second four-minute overtime period were scoreless, but one of the game’s biggest moments took place. Liu – with 14 points in the scorebook – fouled out on an offensive foul. The star of Monday’s semifinal upset of Sage Hill, Liu’s absence was too much to overcome.

“That was huge,” Holden Stearns said. “It was like, this is it. This is our opportunity.”

So he hit a 3-pointer. Then Cooper Stearns scored off a rebound. A Northwood free throw was answered by two from Cooper Stearns with 17 seconds remaining for a 63-57 lead.

Barbee made a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left but Cooper Stearns added two more free throws for a 65-60 margin.

The magic had run out on Northwood.

But the legacy was made with Irvine.

​ Orange County Register