When asked about their dream gifts women rated jewellery (26%) as the top choice followed by flowers (16%) and Colmar Brunton's innovation and business development director Vanessa Clark says the men surveyed appear to know what the women in their lives want.

"Flowers (18%) and jewellery (8%) are the top two gifts men are buying so it appears a good number of them are in sync with their partners."

Men, on the other hand, rated their ideal Valentine's gifts as travel / holiday / trip overseas (10%), love and affection (9%) and a new car (8%).

"The fact that love and affection rates almost as highly as travel raises the question of whether men are more romantic than they are often given credit for, or some of them simply feel starved of affection," Ms Clark says.

"The reality is that according to what women are buying, men are most likely to receive a romantic card, chocolates, jewellery or dinner out this Valentine's Day."

For those celebrating Valentine's Day there's no beating dinner at a romantic restaurant for 23%, a casual dinner out (19%), a home made dinner (14%) or spending the night in a hotel suite (14%).

While a majority of both men and women surveyed (54%) said couples should plan the Valentine's Day celebration together, most men (57%) expect to foot the bill on their own.

The good news for men is that many women are coming around to the idea of splitting the cost of Valentine's Day celebrations.

Only 46% of women expect men to pay and 40% favour going 50 / 50, compared to just 27% of men who suggest splitting the cost is the way to go

However it may not be a dream Valentine's Day for retailers this year with 41% of respondents saying they won't spend a penny on Valentine's Day, Just 15% say they will splash out $100 or more.

For those looking for inspiration on where to take their sweethearts on Friday, the survey provides some ideas. The beach (17%) is rated the most beautiful place in New Zealand for a date. Other favoured date sites are Queenstown (16%), Bay of Islands (4%) and parks / forests / bush / mountains (4%).

But those couples staying put on Valentine's Day could be in for the most romantic gesture of all - the comfort of home is by far the most popular setting for marriage proposals. Twenty-five per cent of those surveyed got engaged at home, well above overseas (17%), at the beach (6%) or at a restaurant (4%).

Colmar Brunton interviewed a representative sample of 1,000 people around New Zealand. The survey has a maximum margin of error of + or - 3.1%.

ENDS