Photo Contribution by Jeremy Vyn

Another season of love has passed. A special day of romance and friendship. The most romantic day of the year, Feb. 14.   

Many people see Valentine’s Day as a day of love and happiness to be shared with that special person or people in your life. While I don’t disagree with this, there is a little something that may put a damper on this holiday of romance and bliss.   

Most of us are aware of the inflation issue. Some of you may also have noticed that the candy or chocolate box you received or gave to someone was a little smaller than last year. You are not wrong.  

The sizes of the boxes are the same as always for the most part, but the amount of empty space where chocolate and candy should be is just plastic or decoration.   

These companies know how to get us to buy things. They know that during Valentine’s Day, we like our heart-shaped candy boxes in the perfect shades of red and pink.   

While there is technically nothing wrong with what the companies are doing, maybe it’s time we start paying more attention to labels. Channel your inner lawyer and make sure you read the fine print.  

Another idea is choosing a non-traditional Valentine’s Day gift for that special someone next year. Or maybe, stick to things we know cannot be shrunk in size (for now), like cookies or flowers that come in sets of dozens.  

This issue isn’t just for the holidays – start to keep an eye out for other products you might buy weekly or monthly, and yet, have not noticed that the portion size had shrunk. Inflation and consumerism aren’t just impacting your favourite seasonal sweets.