We’re all familiar with how hard Valentine’s Day can be when you don’t have a Valentine. But anyone in a long-distance relationship can tell you how hard Feb. 14 can be when you have a Valentine who’s hundreds of miles away. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to get out of your feels and still have a pretty decent Valentine’s Day, long-distance style!
1. Skype or FaceTime your significant other.
This may seem like a pretty obvious piece of advice, but I still can’t leave it out! When you wake up on Feb. 14, be sure to FaceTime your significant other and wish them a happy Valentine’s Day! Don’t keep it short and sweet; spend time talking to each other. You’re both going through the same thing and sharing some quality conversation will make the distance feel a little bit shorter. If one of you has to get ready for class or go eat breakfast, figure out a time of day that would work for you both to talk. Face-to-face interaction is important on V-Day… even if your faces are really far away from each other!
2. Surprise your boo with a love letter or a care package.
It may sound a bit old-fashioned, but there’s nothing that says “I love you” like good old snail mail! Everyone loves to be surprised with something handmade. Whether it be a sweet love letter on pen and paper or a cheesy macaroni Valentine’s heart, send your boo something that will make them feel special. This tip, however, may require a bit more planning. You’ll want to send it as soon as possible so that the gift hopefully arrives by Valentine’s Day.
3. Turn Valentine’s Day into Galentine’s Day.
The ideal Valentine’s Day would, obviously, ideally be spent with your Valentine. But when your bae is nowhere around, you can still spend V-Day with someone you love! For that reason, our wonderful foremother Leslie Knope has crafted the term “Galentine’s Day.” Galentine’s Day is a time for the ladies. It’s a day to do your makeup, get your nails painted and have a fancy group dinner. It’s a night for ice cream, chocolate and Fifty Shades of Grey. Galentine’s Day is for the single ladies and the lonely girlfriends. So, call up your girls and make some G-Day plans!
4. Can’t bake for your bae? Bake for your bestie!
If you’re anything like me, you might show your love with food. From cookies to cupcakes, there’s nothing quite as fun as baking heart-shaped treats on the morning of Feb. 14. But if you can’t bake for your bae this Valentine’s season, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get your Martha Stewart on anyway. Bake for your best friend, bake for the girl who went through a bad break up last week or just bake for yourself. There’s something really therapeutic about buying a heart-shaped cookie cutter and a tube of pink frosting, and there’s no reason that a long-distance relationship should be the reason you miss out on that!
5. Most importantly… Treat yourself!
When your significant other isn’t around to treat you with flowers and chocolate, be your own Valentine! There’s nothing wrong with spoiling yourself on the one day of the year that was literally designed for red roses and chocolate truffles.
All images courtesy of Giphy.