At 5:00 p.m., standing in front of a shop making scented candles and teddy bears, Tien Anh shyly held his girlfriend's hand and walked in.
The 26-year-old man in Hanoi said that in the past, he bought flowers, clothes or cosmetics to give to his girlfriend on holidays. This year, he tried something new by making a teddy bear himself because he thought "it's more personal so his girlfriend will appreciate it more".
After his girlfriend chose the color of the teddy bear she liked, Tien Anh started choosing the fabric, sketching the shape, and threading the needle to sew along the lines. It was his first time sewing so he pricked his hand with the needle several times, but after nearly four hours, he finished.
"She sat next to me, chatted and encouraged me, and even recorded my work and posted it online to show off," Tien Anh said.
Tien Anh makes teddy bears and scented candles for his girlfriend on March 8 and February 25. Photo: Thanh Nga
10 days ago, on March 8, Vo Minh, 23 years old, in Dong Da district, Hanoi, took the opportunity to go to a pottery shop to make a cup for his girlfriend. Minh said that after making the pottery, he still had to wait for it to be fired and then glazed, which took 5-7 days, so he had to prepare in advance.
After struggling for nearly two hours, Minh finally finished shaping the cup, but his hand strength was a bit too strong and clumsy, so the mouth of the cup was deformed. Despite many revisions, Minh's product still looked a bit like a bowl. Struggling from morning to afternoon, the young man breathed a sigh of relief when he finished coloring and waited for the day to receive the results. "I wrote our date of love at the bottom of the cup, hoping that when she uses this cup, she will always remember it," Minh said.
Since the beginning of February, many souvenir shops, flower shops, and scented candle shops in Hanoi have continuously organized handmade workshops to serve customers on the occasion of February 14 and March 8.
A boy sat for four hours making a ceramic cup as a gift for his girlfriend on February 26. Photo: Thanh Nga
The manager of a handmade shop in Tay Ho district said that before the March 8 holiday, the number of customers visiting the shop was quite large, about 500-1,000 customers per day, more than 50% of which were male customers coming with their girlfriends or alone to make notebooks, key chains, and phone cases. "This year, the number of male customers coming to the shop is double that of last year," the manager said.
At 6 p.m. the night before, March 8, a shop making scented candles, teddy bears, and perfumes in Dong Da district had customers lining up at the entrance. The store manager said it welcomed more than 70 customers a day, double the usual number. Of these, more than 70% were couples or single men.
"This year, many boys came to ask for advice on making perfume and scented candles for their mothers and girlfriends, unlike previous years when it was only girls," said the manager.
Handmade gifts at the store cost from 180,000 to 360,000 VND. Many male customers like to mix their own perfume according to their girlfriend’s favorite scent and then engrave their name on the bottle to create a personal touch.
Minh Anh, 24, an employee at Ceramic Club, a pottery shop, said that since the beginning of this year, holidays and weekends are often full or even overloaded, and on peak days, she only receives customers with pre-booked appointments. She said that more than 70% of customers are between the ages of 18 and 29. In addition to experiencing pottery making, this is also a dating spot for Gen Z couples.
"Young people increasingly want to express their personality, color, and unique mark, which is also shown through the gifts they prepare themselves," Minh Anh said.
Not confident in sewing and embroidery, Quoc Khanh, 25 years old, decided to order bags and scarves, embroidered with patterns, from a handicraft shop. Although he did not make them himself, Khanh ordered the ideas, colors, and embroidery of whatever his mother liked. "Receiving the gifts early, my mother was touched, used them every day, and proudly showed off the gifts her son made to the neighbors," Minh said.
Knowing that her boyfriend was planning to go to a workshop to make perfume and candles, Bich Diep, 23, from Thanh Xuan district, stopped her and expressed her displeasure. Diep said handmade items are often twice as expensive as ready-made ones. For example, the bottle of perfume her boyfriend wanted to try to make costs 500,000 VND, while for that price she could buy two bottles she liked.
"If both of you go and experience it once, it's okay, but giving handmade gifts on every occasion is expensive and you don't know if it meets the requirements, let alone looks good," said Diep.
Thanh Nga
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