SOME SAY LOVE don’t cost a thing, but for those purchasing traditional gifts this Valentine’s Day, it’s going to cost more.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has looked at the changing costs of some of the items most commonly associated with the occasion.

These prices form part of the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation in Ireland.

The costs associated with romantic Valentine’s gestures were on the rise last year and the same trend continues this year.

The CSO has based its analysis on a price comparison between December 2020, December 2024, and December 2025.

In the year from December ’24 to last December, the price of a box of chocolates has increased by 10.1%, which means a box that used to cost €10 is now €11.

But when you compare December last to December 2020, there is a 44% increase in the cost of a box of chocolates.

In recent weeks, some supermarkets in Ireland have added anti-shoplifting security tags and visors to branded chocolate to deter shoplifters.

Last month, The Journal spotted a bag of Cadbury’s Mini Eggs priced at €10.

A Cadbury’s spokesperson said food companies are continuing to experience “significantly higher” input costs across their supply chain, with ingredients such as cocoa and dairy costing “far more” than they have done previously.

“This means that our products continue to be much more expensive to make and while we have absorbed these costs where possible, we still face considerable challenges,” said the Cadbury’s spokesperson.

The inflation in costs is linked to extreme weather in key cocoa exporting African countries.

Ivory Coast and Ghana are the world’s biggest suppliers of pods – the fruit of the cocoa tree – from which cocoa beans are extracted to make chocolate.

The two West African countries account for more than half of global production and the cocoa market is highly vulnerable to West Africa’s weather patterns and tree diseases.

Meanwhile, those buying flowers for their significant other will be paying 2.5% more than they did last year, and 14% more than they would have done in 2020.

Dining costs have also gone up.

The cost of a meal in a restaurant increased by 2.8% in the 12 months to December 2025 but by 24.3% since December 2020.

The increase is steeper for those who want to cosy up on the sofa with a takeaway, as the price of a takeaway has risen by 3.6% in the past year and by 30% since 2020.

And for those planning on going to the cinema or theatre, it’ll cost 4% more this time round.

Between 2020 and 2025, the cost of attending a theatre performance went up by 19% and a cinema outing rose by 10%.