“Is it just me, or is Valentine’s Day this year on steroids? No, I think it was like this last year; we just played for the other team.” –Sex and the City
When it comes to love, Valentine’s Day is the one day out of the year when you’re allowed to – no – expected to act like a complete lovestruck puppy and allow your significant other to shower you with gifts and praise. Chocolate, flowers, cards, jewelry, and fragrances, all used to say those three simple, one syllable words: “I love you.” So what happens when you don’t have a significant other to share this special day with?
You might consider sitting at home in a ball on your couch with your good friends Ben and Jerry, but no, not this year, sister! Why? Because Valentine’s Day can be fun for the single collegiette too!
Fancy dinner party
Put on your most fabulous LBD, call up two or three of your closest single girl friends and go to your most favorite restaurant in town. Order one, two, maybe even three (hey, why not?) bottles of wine and eat as much as you want! (No guys there to judge, right?) When you ladies are done wining and dining, switch checks with each other so it’s like someone is buying you dinner. What gentlemen you all are!
Cry-a-thon
After you ladies have stuffed your faces, slip out of those LBDs and into some comfy sweats. Grab that box of Kleenex off your desk, curl up, and get ready to have a good Valentine’s Day cry. The movie adaptaions of Nicholas Sparks’ books, such as The Notebook and Dear John, are amazing love stories that will make you happy, sad and hopeful on this day of romance. You and your girlfriends can “Ooo” and “Ahh” all night long as Ryan Gosling and Channing Tatum grace the screen. And after you can’t cry any longer, pop in feel good flickss, like, What Happens in Vegas starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz, and end the night laughing and smiling. Gosling, Tatum, and Kutcher? Not a bad night if you ask me!
The Fake Date
The Fake Date is a technique that I must admit to haveused before. Call up one of your really good single guy friends and ask him on a “romantic” Valentine’s Day date. Go to dinner at a fun restaurant, pay half (or maybe let him pay the whole thing), and then head to that new comedy that just came out in theatres. Bake some cookies; drink some wine! The fake date is a great way to still technically have a “Valentine,” but at the same time, keep the evening light, fun, and pressure free! All the lovebirds will be so busy on their dates that they won’t even notice the two laughing friends pretending to be on a serious date.
Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be that stressful. The truth is, you’re never “alone” on Valentine’s Day because there are tons of people in your life that you should always be celebrating your love for! And although it may have been easier in elementary school, when everyone in the class had to give a Valentine to everyone else in the class, we’re all grown up now and Cupid is a little bit pickier. So kick back, relax and wait for Cupid’s arrow to hit you next time!