Ep. 83: Cupid's Guide to MOA Valentine's Fun

[00:00:00] Mall of America, it's home to world-class shopping, great dining, and amazing attractions and events. And these are our stories presented by Bloomington, Minnesota Travel and Tourism. Hello, Mall of America fans. Welcome to So Much More. I am Jill Renzel, your host for this very special edition of So Much More. It's all about Valentine's Day because it is February, love is in the air, and I have some of my fabulous friends with me to talk about all things Valentine's

[00:00:28] Day. So first off, Dan, my co-host today, you guys all know Dan, a fan favorite. Here we go. SJ, Sarah Johnson. We're going to go by SJ today because we have two Sarahs in the house. Yes. So she's our marketing director here and has lots of fun things from our tenants and Sarah Rogers, our trend correspondent and our specialist. So Sarah Rogers, welcome. Thank you. All three of you. Thank you. Excited for this conversation. I am too. Yeah, we said February is all about love. Yes. And we have a couple of days left for people to quickly gather their plans, whether they're

[00:00:56] making reservations, finding fun gift ideas. And just a fun fact from the industry, Valentine's Day is a huge retail holiday. And so looking at the National Retail Federation, they are predicting over $27.5 billion spent on Valentine's Day. So that's $27.5 billion on Valentine's Day. So that equates to about $188 per person on their spend. I mean, if you think about dining,

[00:01:25] sending cards, things like that. So I mean, cause we always think about, you know, spending something for, or having special occasions with our partner, but you also give things for your, your gifts to your family and your kids and your friends and so many fun things that are happening. So we're going to prep our listeners, our viewers on all the fun things. So I have a first find out your knowledge about Valentine's Day. There are five categories of gifts that are the top gifts that consumers give to their loved ones for Valentine's Day.

[00:01:53] So let's see if you guys can get those five categories. So Sarah, you're up first. What's your category? Well, they're all about equal too. So don't worry. Are they? Oh, okay. Good. Let's see if I can nail one. Jewelry. That is number one. So 22% of people give jewelry for Valentine's Day. Dan, what do you think? I've clearly skewed that number because I've never given jewelry, but how about candy? Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. That is the number one at 56%. SJ. Okay. Well, I was going to go with those two, but I'm going to go beauty

[00:02:22] next. Sorry. Beauty is not a list, but I think it is a great trend because there's like, I always think fragrance too in that beauty category. So I think that is a great gift idea, especially if you're giving for like your girlfriends and things like that. Thank you, Jo. It's great. So even though it didn't make the national list, I'm going to give it to you, but Sarah, what do you think? It makes our list, SJ. Thank you. Well, would it, there'd be something with food, dining?

[00:02:47] Yes. An evening out. So 35% of people go out. Actually, it's interesting. Only about 50% of the country celebrates Valentine's Day, which I think is very interesting with like a special token of something, but yes, an evening out, 35% of people go out. So there's two, and these are very obvious. Flowers. Thank you. You gotta have flowers. Flowers go with candy. Yes. 40% of the people do flowers. And this one might not be as obvious because you might not think of this as a gift, but what is the last one? I was thinking cards. Yes. Greeting cards. Thank you.

[00:03:16] Good one. So 40% of people give cards. Yeah, that's pretty good. You guys did a good job. So let's keep talking about gifts. So those that are watching on YouTube, we have some fabulous gifts displayed in front of us. So if you're listening, we'll do our best to describe these, to paint the picture for you. But there's a lot of fun things sitting out here. So Sarah, can you get us started on some of the gifts? Well, let's start with the jewelry. I went to Little Words Project. They're known for their fabulous jewelry because it's an

[00:03:43] opportunity for you to tell your story, really, with the messages that you can put on a bracelet. And they have what they call their Love Club collection. And that's what you're seeing here. So look for beautiful colors. You're seeing the pinks and the greens and the blues. And guess what? They have a collaboration with Sweetheart Candy. Cute. Do you remember Sweetheart? I love Sweetheart. Yes. Because they are kind of the original message of the heart. You go through the little box to find the stains that were appropriate for the different people.

[00:04:10] Yes. Yes. So they have a collaboration. So you'll see charms. You've got so many great items to pick from. Very cute. And then they also have a bead station. So you can put together your own bracelet. So it could be be mine that you say, and it could be for Galentine's Day. We love Galentine's Day, which is when, Sarah? When's Galentine's Day? The day before Valentine's Day. So the 13th. Spending the special day with your gal pals. So that could be a great opportunity to have a little fun with your crew put together. And just

[00:04:40] think of how significant it is to look at your wrist and see that message of inspiration or love sentiment. So I love that as a gift idea. Fantastic. Dan, you have some fabulous books in front of you. Talk a little bit about that. Well, I will. But I have to say, I know about Galentine's Day because I watched the movie Valentine's Day. You ever watch that? No. I haven't. And it's in there, right? Yes. It's pretty fun. So I do have, so I, the special someone, plural, in my life are my grandkids,

[00:05:10] right? So I have three grandkids. So I love to give them books. So I have an assortment of books for those viewing in front of me for ages nine down to three, which are my grandkids' age, including funny love jokes, jokes for kids. And I'm a- You need to buy that for Chris Segla. I know. Oh, yeah. She would love that. Someone on our team that loves to integrate jokes into everything that she does. Well, I don't think that'll work for Chris because these are funny jokes. Oh, dear. No. Don't let me hear this.

[00:05:39] Chris is not listening to me. Chris, I love you. I'm just kidding. But it's so much fun. But I also give them a little gift card because that's something we forget about sometimes. You do it at the holidays, but if you can't find that special gift, so I bought them all a book. I don't know that they'll be their special books so they can also go pick something out for themselves. So for me, that's a good way to give them something that's not candy related for this holiday. I love that you brought up gift cards because being a mom of college students, so hopefully

[00:06:09] they don't listen to this right away because they're going to be getting these in the mail. But I always load a ton of gift cards for the places that they like to frequent. And so it makes it easy. And they appreciate it because they're not as big a Sweet Tooth fans. And so being able to give them something that they can really enjoy and appreciate. I love it. It's great. I love it. Everyone loves a gift card, right? Yes. And SJ, you have some fabulous Lego products in front of you. Talk to us about Lego. I do. So Lego has done a really great job over the, I mean, for a long time, but over the last couple of years, I would say bringing something to the table per season.

[00:06:38] So we have some really, for those of you watching, some really fun sets, both big and small. So you can make little custom flowers. You can do a wreath, like a heart wreath. And Jill's pulling up our big love Lego set, which is really fun. So there's essentially something for every age and every person. But I love that Lego is bringing something to the table that just, it's fun. It's interactive. It's also really cute. And beautiful display. Yes. And display it. So it's fun to see what they're doing. So I'm super intrigued because it actually says 18 plus. So this is actually for adults.

[00:07:08] Oh, I'm surprised. Well, it's about love. I don't know if I've ever seen that on a Lego box before, but it's actually like an adult-focused kit. That's very interesting. Yeah, very interesting. And they have pictures of adults on the back making it. They do. It must be pretty integrated. What a great night for like a first date or something. That is fun. It could be a good one. I do. That's very good. Activities are always great. Yeah, those Lego flowers. You guys have probably been hearing all about that. They're all over the place and people love those.

[00:07:38] People are collecting them. They're that beautiful. Yeah. When you see them up close and personal, they're gorgeous. And you can make bouquets. Yes. If you see their storefront, they have a bunch of bouquets that you can collect them in. It's beautiful. And on social media, I've seen people like using centerpieces, Lego centerpieces. And they look cool. They really do. Yes, they are. And it's also pride, right? The family or the kids made them. Yes, yes. Well, it's fine to have a nice Lego feature or figure that you can keep assembled and display. Sometimes they're awkward, like where you put these or what do you do with them.

[00:08:05] And I think those are super cool because it is a nice display that you can have out for people to enjoy. And affordable too. Didn't you mention that one of those boxes right there? $10 and below. Absolutely. So if you are looking for that deal or cost effective. Yeah, a lot of times with Legos, you don't know what to do. I have like an eight foot Eiffel Tower in my living room. Do you? No, I don't. You could have come. But I know there's someone out there that does. I'm like, I'm like, I'm thinking of that last time you were visiting. I love that. Sarah, can you talk a little bit about the Water Drops? Yes.

[00:08:35] This is from Water Drop. And it's a gift that keeps on giving, actually, because if you have somebody on your list that you want to help to stay hydrated, the Water Drop store has these stainless steel water bottles. And you can see a variety of colors there. They're beautiful. And what I liked about them, too, is that they can be personalized. You can have them engraved in store. So I thought that was really sweet.

[00:09:02] And then they also have the micro drink cubes. And people are just loving those. And a lot of different flavors. We brought in a lot of the raspberry just because of the holiday color being red or pink, right? But what people love about those, they are from natural ingredients or plant extracts and zero sugar, 100% flavor. So really, really good. You can even taste them when you come in there to purchase it. They've got some samples of the different flavors for you to sample.

[00:09:32] But really great gift idea to give to someone. So you talked about low sugar. Now, I love high sugar. One of the best things to give for Valentine's Day if you do like the sweet treats. Because actually, chocolate, this is a little fun fact. Chocolate became a Valentine's tradition thanks to Cadbury. I'm sure we've all enjoyed Cadbury. I mean, I think they're more known for like the Easter time frame. But definitely for Valentine's as well.

[00:09:57] And so in the 1800s, Richard Cadbury created the very first heart-shaped chocolate box that boosted sales for chocolates for Valentine's Day. So we do have some great places to buy chocolates. M&M store would be a good one to go in. And I was talking about customization. You can get some of your M&Ms customized there too with your picture on it. So they've got on the second floor a little kiosk that you can go to. It is so much fun to go into that store. You'll be surprised on the collaborations.

[00:10:26] Even for somebody on your list that loves designer, they have a collaboration with Kate Spade. So M&M and Kate Spade have a partnership. So really fun options if you want to make it a sweet day. Yeah, I like it. Dan, do you have a favorite chocolate that frequents your office? Well, I love all chocolates. I always have a huge bowl of Lindt chocolate in my office. I'm like the most frequent buyer person in the Lindt store here on level two, just saying. But they're really good. And they do special flavors throughout the year too.

[00:10:56] And they have special flavors right now for Valentine's Day. And they have special packaging as well. So you can buy, and it's not just all traditional hearts. They have a special gold foil bear with a heart on it, which is really cute. So Lindt has a lot of options, but I pretty much like every chocolate. And I like that you buy it because I come and eat it. I know. I know. I'm always sneaking in his office. Is anybody watching? Grab a couple for a little treat. So also talk about dining out.

[00:11:24] This is Valentine's Day is a big night to have dinner. So if you don't have reservations yet, hopefully you can still get something locked in. Esther, do you want to talk a little bit about restaurant options here at the mall? Yes. We have a variety. And for those of you listening but also watching, please go to mallofamerica.com backslash Valentine's Day for all details. But from a dining perspective, Benihana is a fantastic interactive option. You can sit down. You get a show with it. It's a little bit more fun and playful. Cure Sushi is also something really fun if you want to go that angle.

[00:11:54] They have a little robot that delivers you waters. It's fun. It's interactive, a little different, very specific. And then they have conveyor belts too that you can take your sushi off of. So just a cute date night idea. And then also if you're looking for something a little bit more elevated, Fire Lake Grillhouse is really fantastic too. And they have great cocktails and a completely different experience. But we have a nice variety of different places that you can book with here at Mall of America. We do have some really nice fine dining options. That is a great date night. So I do love Fire Lake. Also Cedar and Stone is great. Crave is one of my favorites.

[00:12:24] And they have special menus, a lot of these places, for Valentine's Day. And so on our website, a lot of the folks that are logged on with OpenTable, you can actually make your reservations right there through our website. So it makes it really convenient. And usually tables for two are still maybe available. But definitely don't procrastinate until Friday night to get that reservation. But we also have a lot of great date night options in addition to dining.

[00:12:48] So if you come out to dine, whether it's a day date or if it's for evening, whatever that might be, what are some of the other things that you guys find as your favorites for date ideas here at the mall? Well, I take all of my first dates. It's actually a combination of dining and attraction to Cadillac Ranch and ride the bull, which is probably why I'm still single. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I don't know if I can handle that. You know, things that are – just kidding, everyone.

[00:13:19] What I think is really fun is some of our new attractions. So first of all, there's some new escape games at – escape game, which is new rooms there. And I love that. But one of our new ones, too, is Activate. And I've done that once now, and I was exhausted. But it was fun, whether it's for a date or if you're taking your family for Valentine's Day. I loved it. It was so much fun. Yeah. I feel like it might be cheesy because I feel like we think of it a little bit more for children. But like Build-A-Bear is really cute, too.

[00:13:47] And I think that that's where Valentine's Day comes in for all ages and really fun. So I feel like Build-A-Bear is a really fun additional element. And then, of course, hitting all the treat spots. Like I want to go do all – not just from a dining standpoint, but nothing – Bunk Cakes is so delicious. Yes. We have Carlos Bakery. We have all of these other spots that have a little sweet treat you can get on the go. A little scavenger hunt. You can make a little list. You should do it. Oh, yes. I kind of like that, actually. Sarah, do you have any fun date ideas? Date night.

[00:14:17] You're talking to the wrong person about that because I would want just to go shopping and people watching. We can do that. We can do that, too. That's a little scavenger hunt. And stop and get the popcorn. Oh, that's a good one, too. Popcorn. One of my favorites is Museum of Illusions. Oh, yeah. I think it's a great date night option for friends, for couples. It is just – it's really interactive, fun photo ops, about an hour, hour and a half. It depends how long you'd want to take in there. But then people also forget that we have a movie theater here.

[00:14:45] We have a comedy club here. Lots of fun things for people to do. And so even if you don't get a chance to do it this week for Valentine's Day, very fun options to think about as you're planning things in the future. So why not jump on a roller coaster while you're at it? I mean, attitude. We've got a couple of those, too. Or axe throwing. Or axe throwing, yeah. I mean, honestly, there's so much here. You could have like your first 50 dates here, right? Yeah, that's a good one, too. That would be a good movie to make.

[00:15:15] Well, that's a great lead in because we've had a lot of people get engaged here. So after all of their dates that they have, they sometimes get engaged here. We've had some very interesting engagements. Because if you guys didn't know, behind Valentine's Day, you have Christmas and New Year's are the top three holidays where people get engaged or when they get engaged. And so we've had some fun stories here. So I'm going to look to Dan to get us started with whether it was a wedding, a vow renewal, or engagement.

[00:15:43] We've had some fun ones. We've had more than 10,000 weddings at Mall of America. Can you believe that? Wow, right? 10,000. Well, we had the wedding chapel for so many years. For many years. I remember that. And I was up for a couple of those. One was a Valentine's-themed one where everyone was in pink, the groom, everyone. It was awesome, right? And then I remember another one up there where half of the audience was in.

[00:16:08] I think the bride side was all Green Bay Packers and the groom side was all Minnesota Vikings gear, which was so much fun. But then we've had people get married and we have big weddings, too, right, to kind of get media attention. We had people get married on the Ferris wheel, which was so much fun, right? And we got media attention. We built an ice palace in our north lot one year, and it was so cold. And on Valentine's Day that year, we had a nationally televised wedding for I think there was seven or eight couples, and it was really cold.

[00:16:38] In fact, if I remember right, I think Nordstrom opened early to help us get some jackets for the brides because it was so cold. That's wonderful. Yes. And it was so much fun. We had couples get married on the Pepsi orange streak, all the brides in their bridal gowns on the left side, all the grooms in their texes on the right. Oh, that's cute, too. You know, the families were up on the loading dock, and a justice piece had them do their vows and talked about the ups and downs of married life together. And bam, off they went.

[00:17:07] And then one of my favorite ones, so when we've done it twice now, is a wedding down in Sea Life in the shark tank. The first time it was broadcast live on the Today Show, and a shark actually knocked the veil off the bride. Oh, my gosh. It was so much fun, right? A little too close for comfort. Too close for comfort, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So scary, but love it. But I think – but we've also done some really cool engagements, including more than once we've had people get engaged.

[00:17:34] We had one in the rotunda that I was here for that I remembered. It was just beautiful. It was a veteran. And then one, there was a lady who I happen to know who got – was proposed to on the very top of the log chute. I know this person. You know that. You do know that person and the story. It's so much fun, right? Yes. And he turned around to propose, and then the operator said, you must sit down. Or it's –

[00:18:03] Oh, just a safety acknowledgement where it's like, you can't do that. She's like, I'm going to propose to you. As they plunged down the hill, what did she say? I do. She like screamed it all the way down. It was awesome. And she's still a friend today that's – She is. And they're still married. And they're still married. They're the most important. They're still married, and yeah, it was awesome. So love takes many forms here, which is awesome. It does. And we get to be part of it. We do.

[00:18:30] I love – I mean, we've had so many situations where we've had brides and grooms reach out to us to coordinate a proposal, whether it's during an event, in the movie theaters, through different forms. And it's been so much fun because we love to be part of that. We love to help make it special for them. So never know what's around the corner. Never know what's going to happen. But we do have some fun events that are taking place as well. You talk about the log shoot. Yes. And actually, our team loves to take advantage of themes and holidays to change out the log shoot.

[00:19:00] So Sarah, do you want to share a little bit about that? So the log shoot is being transformed into the love shoot. Of course it is. And now until February 17th. So that would be an awesome experience for sure. Yes. There's a lot of pink involved and a lot of hearts involved. And it's a nice surprise because a lot of people enter that ride and they're not expecting it. Correct. And it has romantic music playing. It's fun. Very cute. But I mean, that's a great one where you can just do a one-off ride in Nickelodeon University. You don't have to go all day.

[00:19:29] But if you're going to have dinner and you want to go on the love shoot and then maybe you grab a movie or a connery. Like you can really package it all together to make a really special day. And then, of course, shop a little bit so you can bring something home with you. That's what I'm talking about. Shop a little bit. And popcorn. Yeah. And popcorn. Both are needed. I'm addicted to popcorn. I love that. The other thing is if you are a dancing machine, on Friday night we have our swing night. And so it's a special Valentine's-themed swing dancing night. So it's in the Huntington Bank Rotunda from 630 to 830.

[00:19:58] So whether you're a beginner or you're a novice dancer, like come and enjoy it. It's so much fun. So the entire rotunda is filled with people dancing away with live music. It's a really fun event. So everyone's welcome, whether you're a novice or not. Absolutely. And they're really supportive, right? So some people are very good and others are just learning and it's a really supportive group. It's fun. I love that. Very inviting. Fun. So I would love for each one of you to share a holiday memory from Valentine's Day,

[00:20:28] maybe a tradition that you've had with your family or with your partner, or just something fun to share, a story that you've had over the years, or maybe it's a story here at the mall. So SJ, would you like to get us started? I would love to. I'm going to start with Valentine's Day. I feel like that's something that I really love that in college all my girlfriends started to do. I feel like it really picked on momentum over 10 years ago. It's been around for a long time. But I would say each year celebrating with my same girlfriends is one of the best memories that I have. And it's just like having wine and dinner and like a little card for each other and some candy.

[00:20:58] But it's a nice additional layer, which I really love and appreciate. Well, now you can do it out of Mob America. I know. I got to pitch them on a new option. All these different options. Yes. Dan, how about you? Well, I have a lot of really fun memories. A lot of them revolve around when my son was little. When he was just one year old over Valentine's Day, he was in the hospital. And he was really sick with RSV. And I just remember sitting there, you know, even at that scary time thinking, what a precious gift.

[00:21:26] And this is what love is all about, right? So it was a – even though it was a hard time, it was a really rewarding time because I got to be there with him. And then I think just watching my grandkids and the excitement they have. It doesn't matter. They're going to love the books. They're going to love everything. They just – kids have a wonderful outlook on life. Absolutely. Absolutely. Sarah, how about you? We're pretty low-key for Valentine's Day. We believe in love throughout the years.

[00:21:54] So it doesn't take Valentine's Day for my guy to give me a special gift or for me to think of him. So, you know, might be giving him a candle just because he loves candles or a new tie. This one's from his closet too. It's very chic. Because he wears ties all the time. And for him, you know, he knows I love salmon too. So he just may, you know, stop at the deli and they go, they have a new sauce or whatever, teriyaki or whatever,

[00:22:23] and bring that, you know, home for me just out of the blue. And even if I have dinner planned, he knows I'll reheat it. And he can never go wrong when he brings me home popcorn, even if I just had dinner. He said, I brought you home some popcorn. So it's about celebrating each other. That is a great reminder to everybody that you don't have to wait for February 14th to do something special. You know, and that's what my husband says too. He's like, every day should be Valentine's Day. So I'm still waiting for those flowers to arrive.

[00:22:51] I was just going to say, what are your plans for Valentine's Day, Jill? We're going to do dinner. We're newly empty nesters. So we're kind of looking forward to trying out a new restaurant and doing dinner this week. But it's one of my favorite traditions that we had when the kids were little is we always ordered the heart-shaped pizza. So we'd have that for dinner, and the kids always thought that was lots of fun and lots of brands that would do that. But it's always a challenge to figure out. It seems like such a small list of gifts that are associated with Valentine's Day.

[00:23:19] So it's trying to be creative and try to create that personalization. I think we have some great ideas in front of us. But it's just being creative. And I think it's more about the moment and the experience that you have together versus the material items. And that's why we were leaning into all the date ideas and fun things because those are the memories that you're really going to capture and be able to share with each other. So wrap it up with a little bit more trivia. Uh-oh. Here we go. No, so I thought this was interesting.

[00:23:45] We didn't talk about pets, but believe it or not, that in the U.S., 27.6 million households buy a Valentine's Day gift for their pets. Wow. So I think that is super fun. I mean, even if it's just a little treat because they should share in the fun of the holiday. Have you bought any yet? Not yet, but now I'm feeling guilty, and I probably need to pick up something for Remy because she would love to have a little treat. So here's my trivia. So how many – because we talked about flowers being one of the number one items. So millions, that's a hint.

[00:24:15] Millions of roses are sold every year. So around how many millions of roses are grown for Valentine's Day each year with red roses being the most popular? In the U.S. In the U.S. SJ, what do you think? Millions. This might feel extreme. 50 million? I was going to say guess at that too. Oh, it's higher? I would say 872 million. That's a little high. Sarah. So between – So between – So 850 – let's go with 250 million.

[00:24:45] Woo-hoo! She hit it right on the money. Way to go, Sarah. I need to go play the lottery today. You sure? Yeah, go buy a lottery ticket. I'm usually not that good. 250 million roses are grown each year for Valentine's Day. Oh, I was including baby roses too. I'm so sorry. All of the roses. Had I known you meant just – I would have. I'm sorry. Theater-sized rose. I should have specified that. I'm sure it would have changed your answer. I love it. Well, you guys, thank you so much. I hope each of you have a very happy Valentine's Day. Thank you. And to all of our viewers and listeners, happy Valentine's Day to all of you.

[00:25:14] We have so many things to offer at Mall of America. So check us out on our website, mallofamerica.com. On the homepage, there's a specific area for Valentine's Day. So everything from reservations to gift ideas to fun events and activities to do. So enjoy and just have a really special day with your family and friends and your loved ones. So with that, that's going to do it for this episode of So Much More. Stay tuned next time. We'll see you soon. Thanks for listening to So Much More, a Mall of America podcast. Subscribe wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

[00:25:41] This show is presented by Bloomington, Minnesota Travel and Tourism.