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Manhattan | Wellness > Sex + Relationships

5 Ideas to Make your Long-Distance Valentine’s Day Special

Grace Cardinal Student Contributor, Manhattan College
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Manhattan chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

By: Grace Cardinal

This year, Valentine’s Day falls on a Tuesday, making it extra hard for long-distance couples to celebrate together. If you and your boo find yourselves a few too many miles apart, don’t worry! There are still many ways you can celebrate the holiday together. 

  1. Start their day with a sweet surprise!

Bakeries like Insomnia Cookies are around just about every college campus. It’s super easy and affordable to have something ordered right to your special someone’s door! They have lots of adorable Valentine’s Day options, like this customizable heart shaped cookie cake ($27.50 without the gift sleeve) or these red-velvet loaded brookies ($5.25 each)!

  1. Plan your next trip to visit each other. 

Even though you can’t be together for Valentine’s, plan your own intimate day for the next time you can be together! Think of all the romantic possibilities and put them into action. Make a plan with your significant other for dates, arrangements for bus tickets or flights, and a bucket list of things you want to do together on your visit. 

  1. Make a video time capsule of your relationship so far.

IMovie, Tiktok or any other video-editing app is great for this one. It’s a thoughtful gift that your bae can get in real-time, it’s meaningful and it’s free! Put together a short film with your favorite photos, videos and memories together, and put the song you two listen to most as the backtrack. It will remind them of all the sweet moments you’ve had together and is a perfect way to put a smile on their face, even from miles away. 

  1. Who says you can’t have dinner?

Doordashing each other your favorite dinners is a thoughtful gesture that can show your significant other how much you care, even from afar. If you want to make the night extra special, get dressed up and Facetime each other to eat. While it may not be as good as the real thing, it’s pretty dang close! Light some candles, play some music and feel the distance between the two of you drift away.

  1. Showtime!

Who says dinner and a show can’t be as fun apart? After you’ve finished eating, pick your favorite movie to watch together. Many streaming platforms have started introducing watch party features, so you and your boo can feel like you’re watching a show together, making each other pause for pee breaks and all. 

Grace Cardinal is the Social Media Director of Her Campus at Manhattan University. She loves designing Instagram posts on Canva to promote her team's work and creating short-form videos that get campus engaged with the HC community.

Apart from Her Campus, Grace works as the Editor-in-Chief of The Quadrangle student newspaper and as the Lifestyle and Opinions Editor for the fashion magazine on campus, Lotus. She is currently a senior, graduating in December 2025, and is majoring in communication with a minor in political science.

Over the summer, Grace worked as a Commerce Intern with Shop TODAY at NBC News. Previously, she worked as a News Intern with Decider at the New York Post. After graduation, Grace plans to stay in NYC and hopes to work as a political reporter at a national newsroom.

In her free time, Grace dances as a company member at DanceWorks NYC. She enjoys grabbing coffee and dinner with her friends around the city, and attends as many broadway shows as possible.