Putting together bouquets, tying up ribbons and taking last minute orders fill each day’s hours leading up to Valentine’s Day for the staff at Touch of Grace Floral and Gift Shop in Ironton.

For the past month and a half, the shop has been preparing for what owner Tim Hackworth says is one of its busiest holidays of the year.

“Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest holidays of the year for us, along with Mother’s Day and Christmas,” Hackworth said. “We have to take into consideration Valentine’s Day being on a Sunday this year because a lot of the schools are closed Friday for parent-teacher conferences and Monday for President’s Day, so there are a lot of options with a four-day weekend.”

Hackworth, who has owned Touch of Grace for 21 years, said the shop has everything, including flowers, candy, stuffed animals, balloons and other gifts.

“People either call or come in and pick out everything they want, but we do mostly phone orders,” Hackworth said. “Usually a lot of people wait until the last minute, but we always love to provide until we run out.”

Orders are organized by date, time and area of delivery, which includes South Point and Chesapeake area and Greenup, Catlettsburg, Ashland and Russell in Kentucky.

“Business has continued to grow and grow over the years and continues growing,” Hackworth said. “We continue to give customers quality designs at affordable prices.”

Touch of Grace first opened in a small cottage on Third Street near where the Rich Oil gas station currently is before moving to the former United Merchandise building next to the Ro-Na. From there, Hackworth bought its current building, where it’s been for approximately 18 years.

“I like pleasing others and making others happy,” Hackworth said. “It makes me happy to see a smile on someone else’s face.”