Millions buy Valentine gifts for themselves

A Colombian worker selects roses ahead of St. Valentine's Day on a farm in Chia, Colombia, January 30, 2008. Rather than feeling lonely and unloved on February 14, 8 million Americans admit to sending themselves gifts, according to a new survey.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) -If you're gazing enviously at the bouquet of roses on your colleague's desk this Valentine's Day, remember there's a chance they're not from a secret admirer or even a significant other.

They may just have sent them to themselves.

Rather than feeling lonely and unloved on February 14, 8 million Americans admit to sending themselves gifts, according to a new survey.

And at least those sending themselves a gift, know that they'll like what they get.

The telephone poll of 1,000 Americans also found that there is a big discrepancy between the gifts women would like to receive and what men are buying.

"We found there's a big mismatch between what people wanted and what they got and so people were filling the void by buying for themselves," said Vince Talbert, of the marketing technology company Bill Me Later Inc, which conducted the poll with Ipsos Insight.

"And, of course, there are those people who don't have their honey."

Lingerie was the top choice for 22 percent of men planning to buy their wives and girlfriends a Valentine's Day gift. But only 2 percent of women said that's a gift they would like.

They would prefer jewelry, the survey found, which ranked only fifth on the list of gifts men plan to give.

Men are also more likely than women to fall into the "let's not exchange gifts" trap, when they agree not to buy each other anything, and then their partners get upset when they take it literally. One in five men fall for this trap, the survey, found.

And for those who really don't want to spend money, the survey showed it is also a day for breakups -- 6 million people have broken up with someone on Valentine's Day.

(Reporting by Kristina Cooke; editing by Patricia Reaney)