I will look for just about any reason to insert “snowpocalypse” into a sentence this week.

So for today’s excuse — if you haven’t gotten that Valentine’s Day present yet, now’s probably a good time to hop online and order that trinket for overnight delivery before high winds hand you a power outage. With the area’s malls closed again today because of the blizzard, stores could be a war zone on Friday and Saturday as people rush to escape cabin fever and snatch up some last-minute gifts.

And if you’re thinking you’d like to find something different this year instead of the usual flowers, jewelry or candy, you’re not alone. According to the National Retail Federation, practical gifts are stylish this year, with 14.4 percent of shoppers planning on buying a sweater, winter accessory or another clothing option for their loved one. That’s up from just over 10 percent last Valentine’s Day.

In addition, the NRF says men will spend nearly twice as much as women on the holiday this year ($135 compared with $72), and most shoppers will head for discount stores and department stores. Or in the Mid-Atlantic’s case, that may translate to Target.com or Macys.com.

And even if you’re splurging on shipping to make sure your gift gets here by Saturday, you can still make up for that in savings online. Target’s having a Treasure Hunt Deals sale, visit DealCatcher for hundreds of coupons for flowers or electronics or you can be sneaky at Macys.com and buy something for yourself and receive a Lancome gift set for her (or buy something for him and get the gift set for yourself) AND they’ve thrown in free shipping. Sears is also having an online sale of its MP3 players, cameras and digital picture frames.

So as you watch the snow slowly pile against your windows, be thankful you can still look like a superstar to your significant other while barely lifting a finger. Imagine what a pain snowpocalypse would have been in the days before the Internet!

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