Escaping the Valentine's Day Blues

*This post was meant to be posted on Valentine's Day. My computer, on the other hand, felt differently. Enjoy!

Aah Valentine’s Day. The day of love and, in my experience, listening to everyone around you complain about how much they hate the day. The complaints are always the same:

“I hate Valentines Day. “

“Valentines Day is just a corporate scam to force us to buy nonsense items at jacked-up prices.”

“Being single on Valentine’s Day is just a reminder of how sad and lonely I am.”

Blah blah blah. If you are depressed by Valentine’s Day then you are simply doing it wrong! To me, Valentine’s Day is a day of love and self-indulgence. It is meant to be a celebration of all things pleasurable. After all, Valentine’s Day is the one day a year when women can eat copious amounts of chocolate and men can watch romantic comedies without being made fun of. I have been single far more Valentine’s Days then not and I still find the day to be quite enjoyable. There are three ways I like to celebrate my Valentine’s Day that are guaranteed to give me a good time:

     1. Love Your Partner- If you have a significant other on Valentine’s Day, you are pretty much set. In fact, there is not much to say about you and your traditional Valentine’s Day setup, as this post is not really about you. Grab your partner, go to dinner, a movie, your favorite spot, whatever speaks to you as a couple. Add a little champagne and voila! Instant Valentine’s Day. Now, if your partner is one of the people who hates Valentine’s Day or simply refuses to take part in it for whatever reason, refer to option 2 and 3 below. Trust me, I have been in this situation before and there is nothing more boring than listening to your significant other, no matter how sweet they may actually be, brag all night about how he didn’t have to do anything for you. Distractions will be needed. 

   

        2.  Love Your Friends- Last year, my best friend and I were both single on Valentine’s Day and, I have to admit, it was the best Valentine’s Day I have ever had. We made a delicious dinner (well, she made dinner. I sampled the wine), drank wine, listened to music, and nearly laughed ourselves into a coma. Later that night, we met up with more friends for drinks. It was perfection. So celebrate your friendship and have a blast. You will be glad you did.

 3. Love Yourself- Now this is perhaps my favorite way to spend Valentine’s Day, probably because it has the potential to be the most indulgent.  If you are all alone on Valentine’s Day and don’t have anyone to celebrate with, this is the perfect time to love yourself. Gather your favorite food, your favorite drinks, your favorite chocolate and your favorite movies and books. This is a night about YOU. While everyone else is running around trying to figure out what on earth to get their boyfriend or girlfriend, or trying to figure out where to meet each other, you only have to worry about pleasing you. There will be no argument over what to eat, what to watch, or what to do. You don’t have to worry that you underdressed or won’t be ready in time. Tonight, love yourself. This is most important of all.