Valentine’s Day. For most, February 14th is an always-ominous day filled with all that lovely consumerism — the boxed chocolate, romantic bouquets of vibrant flowers, sentimental cards, oversized stuffed animals, and a restaurant infiltration of “cutsie” couples. Valentine's Day has turned into a celebration of romantic relationships when some of us “single ladies” (or men, I’m not tryin’ to discriminate) have lots of love in our lives. Nowadays we think of Valentine’s Day as an exclusive celebration of romantic relationships, only to be celebrated by those who are married, dating, or have a significant other. But I am going to challenge you to broaden your view of Valentine’s Day to an all-encompassing celebration of all the love in your life.
1. Love for yourself. This Valentine’s Day, celebrate you and all the things that make you the unique individual you are, and do something for yourself.
a. Tap into the love that you have for your health and your body. Hit the gym, take a yoga class, or go on a nature hike (#neature). Or treat yourself and go get a mani-pedi, haircut, massage, or go shopping. Some retail therapy or self-beautification might be an awesome way to keep busy on Valentine’s Day.
b. Do something intellectual. Go to a museum, art gallery, or musical performance.
2. Love for another. And of course, this one is generally for that significant other in your life. And if you are not in the “single crowd,” I encourage you to break out of the stereotypical Valentine’s Day date. Try something fun and creative. Here are some ways to mix up the typical dinner and a movie date …
a. Don’t buy each other anything. Agree to each plan an activity or make something for each other that doesn’t cost any money; this will force you both to be creative.
b. Go out to dinner at a nice restaurant, but bring a pen and some paper and each write twenty-five things you love about the other and exchange them.
c. And of course, there are an endless amount of good date ideas out there. I just encourage you do try something atypical to show your date what they mean to you. (You can always use one of the many other ideas in this article, and take it for a group or solo activity, and make it a date!)
3. Love for a group. We have our friends and family, and we forget to celebrate the familial love and friendship in our lives. So do something fun with your friends and family!
a. Get some friends together for a movie night. Maybe steer clear from those romantic movies and have a scary movie night, pop in an action packed thriller. Or pick your favorite actor/actress and have a movie marathon with all the movies they are in. But don’t forget your popcorn and candy!
b. Organize a game night. This one is pretty self-explanatory, just invite over some amigos for some good, old-fashioned games.
c. Get a group of friends together and in a Secret Santa fashion, draw names and deliver your “Valentine” some chocolates, a cute card, or flowers. This way all your friends “feel the love” on Valentine’s Day.
d. Get a group of friends together for some put-put (it might be a little cold for mini-golf in February?), ice-skating, or bowling.
e. Take your parents or siblings out for dinner. Celebrate that familial love and have a nice family dinner and of course if your already out you might as well splurge on some desert … am I right?
4. Love in a larger picture for the world around us, and our communities.
a. Spread some love in your community and volunteer. It might feel really good to help those less fortunate by working in a soup kitchen, volunteering in an old-folks home, or even volunteering to read to youth in your community. And then of course, it always feels good to love on some cute animals so volunteer at an animal shelter.
b. Maybe you decide to stay in on Valentine’s Day and donate your “going out money” to charity.
So ladies (and single dudes), don’t waste your Valentine's Day binge-eating a box of chocolates you bought for yourself, crying your eyes out while coveting the rom-com relationships on ABC Family, or going out on the town trying to remedy your “singleness.” Make a date night with your besties or roommate, have your siblings or family come down for a visit, or just spend sometime doing something for yourself. Do something fun! Realize that you in fact DO have love in your life.
