1. Do not try to plan everything!
Remember that trip to Disney you took when you were younger, where your entire vacation was planned out down to when you had time to pause for photo ops? Remember how stressed out your parents would get if something on your itinerary ran later than planned and cut into the next scheduled activity? Yeah, not a pleasant time. Imagine transferring that level of stress and time pressure to yourself on Valentine's Day -- the one night a year that is meant to be about spending quality time with your significant other. Now put down your planner and stop writing down all the super-cute-and-fun things you and your bf/gf are going to do that night.
2. Do go out to dinner!
As a broke college kid, I know that date nights usually come in the form of a rented or streamed movie, and frozen pizza or pasta on the couch. However, taking the time on V-Day to actually go to a nice(ish) restaurant as a couple, which can really make the evening feel like a special occasion in comparison to just a normal date night.
3. Do get dolled up, dress up!
There is no better way to set a positive vibe for the night than by having killer confidence! When you look and feel your best, that ease and poise will show not only in your body language, but also in your conversations and any other activities you may have planned throughout the evening.
4. Don't get mad if your bf/gf doesn’t have flowers and chocolate waiting.
Just because your boyfriend doesn't get you a present on Valentine's Day, doesn't mean that he doesn't love you. More often than not, most guys just don't see the value in small and frivolous gifts like flowers. I mean, they're just gonna die in a week, anyway. They would much rather save that money and spend it on something that you really want and are going to be able to get a lot of use out of -- jewelry, electronics, that random thing you saw in the window of that shop that one time and couldn't stop talking about for the rest of the night, etc.
5. Do actually eat!
At the end of the day, there is no easier way to end up cranky and unpleasant than to starve yourself in order to look good, so save yourself the argument, later, and just enjoy your foo,d now! Trust me, your date is not going to care whether you eat a salad or a giant bowl of pasta, but they probably will care if you spend the rest of the night hangry and unapproachable.
6. Do turn your phones off!
This should just be a general rule when you are out to dinner with anyone, but especially on a date. You chose to be sitting at that particular restaurant, at that particular time, with that particular person, so be with the person you're with! Everything that gets posted on social media while you are eating will still be there when you get done, I promise.
7. Do not try to use chocolate or whipped cream for anything other than dessert.
Trust me, Katy Perry is the only woman who can make whipped cream look sexy and manage to not get it all over herself. Even so, you better believe that video shoot must have been hell to clean up afterwards. So unless you want to spend the remainder of your night cleaning up a sticky mess, save yourself the trouble and get your fill of whipped cream or chocolate syrup during dessert.
8. Do not panic if your evening isn’t perfect.
Because at the end of the day, you get to spend a whole night hanging out with your best friend. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a pretty perfect evening to me.
