I like to view Valentine’s Day as a bit of a marmite holiday in the calendar – some either love it or hate it. Of course, social media in particular make us singletons feel lonely as we sit and scroll through endless posts of PDA where friends, family and celebrities show off their partners and express how much they love each other. It’s cute don’t get me wrong, but what the hell should us single people do on Valentine’s Day? Let me give you some ideas…
You may have heard of ‘Galentines’. It’s a great twist on Valentines because instead you and all your girlfriends plan a fun day or evening with each other celebrating the love in your friendship, especially if you are all enjoying the single life. So, whilst some of your friends are having romantic trips away filled with great food, why not call your girls over. Maybe arrange a movie night at someone’s house where you can watch all the soppy romcoms like Love, Rosie, 10 Things I Hate About You, How to Lose A Guy In 10 Days (I’m sure you and your girls will have plenty of options to choose from). You could also cook dinner or order a takeaway, because why should you miss out on enjoying good food just because you’re single?
Another great idea to do whilst spending V-Day alone is to travel! Solo trips are great as they don’t need to cost the whole earth to be decent, and you can simply just visit a new city for a day whilst enjoying your own company. Also, because of the pandemic recently, you can even get seriously cheap return flights to Europe, and some airlines currently offer same day returns to places like Paris, Milan and Rome for around £30… crazy, I know.
Think how great it would be to get on a plane and not only spend the day in a new city but also a new country where no one knows who you are. Somewhere you could go and do things you love and enjoy, like checking out museums and galleries, trying some new cuisine and witnessing how a different culture celebrates the idea of love on Valentine’s Day.
I mentioned above how social media becomes overwhelming when filled with gratification posts of people’s relationships – which I will say again, is lovely to see the ones you love happy in love, but this time of year can also heavily remind us single people that we are very much single. Also, for some who are still learning to enjoy this chapter in their life, it can make them feel very much alone. Therefore, I suggest if you are still adjusting to embracing life with yourself, maybe switch your phone off and take some time for yourself. Read a new book or finish one you’ve started, maybe go out and buy some self-care products. and if you really feel like treating yourself, book yourself a spa treatment… you deserve it.
I personally will be spending some of my day making art as it is something I love to do as well as trying out a new recipe because why not? Make yourself a self-care box with your favourite hair and face masks, chocolate, a new candle or something you’ve had your eye on for a while that you really wanted. Think of It as a gift for you, from you. There is nothing better and more worthwhile than taking the time to treat and love yourself, especially on a day when people around us are celebrating their love for their romantic partner.
Whilst everyone is consumed with spending the day with their partner participating in these loving activities, you could use the time to try out something new. Maybe there’s a gym class you’ve been wanting to try out or a yoga class you wanted to sign up for, V-day could be a great opportunity to try out a potential new hobby, plus you will feel good after doing something for yourself! Some other ideas that might interest you include taking up a cooking class, trying out your pottery skills or maybe trying a language lesson if you’re feeling like you’re really ready for something new.
Use the day of love to channel inwards and try out anything you may be curious about or something you’ve been interested in for a while. It doesn’t need to be something time consuming if you don’t want to be, and if afterwards, you don’t think it’s for you then you don’t have to pursue it but at least you’ll know you gave yourself the opportunity to try and to potentially meet new people.
Valentine’s Day doesn’t just have to be for those who are in relationships, instead, if you’re single change the narrative and celebrate it as a day where you love yourself and the friends you have in your life.
