Ah, Valentine’s Day. Arguably the most divisive holiday on a collegiette’s calendar:everybody seems to love it or hate it. As someone who has a deep love of Valentine’s Day, and who did even in my singledom (sorry haters), I want to try to convert as many of you as possible to the pro-Valentine’s camp. In order to ensure this, I wanted to give all of you guys ideas about how to have the best Valentine’s Day ever—regardless of relationship status.
“Talking”: If you’re “talking” with a lucky guy or gal, your Valentine’s Day should epitomize the excitement and whimsy about this stage of the relationship. You are just getting to know a new person and want to see where it goes, while still having fun. You don’t need gifts at this stage of the relationship, but sending some punny snapchats or acknowledgement that you’re interested in this person might be a good idea. Texting them memes (especially related to shared interests or inside jokes) also really works well at this stage.
Newly Dating: For those of you in new relationships, you may not want to go over the top for Valentine’s Day, but it’s still worth celebrating your first Valentine’s Day together! For a date idea, try going somewhere you have talked about before. If you’ve always wanted to go ice-skating together, give it a go! Stressing an experience is a fun chance to get to know your new bae without having to worry about what the appropriate gift is for someone you’ve been with for only a month.
First Valentine’s Day together (but you know each other pretty well): So you weren’t with your boo last Valentine’s Day (you were probably in the talking stage), but you’ve been together for the better part of the year now. This might be the most complicated relationship to figure out Valentine’s Day plans. However, the option of a super traditional Valentine’s Day works out super well. If you’re the kind of couple that isn’t into romance you can go on a dinner date ironically and enjoy each other’s company, or you can take the opportunity to enjoy a night out at a real restaurant (and no, Chipotle doesn’t count).
Been together for a while: So you’ve been together for a while, and have a few Valentine’s Days under your belt. What then? You’ve probably been on many dinner dates (and may not have the money to go all out), so you can enjoy a night in! Remind each other why you’re still together and make each other feel super good about yourselves!
Single AF: While Leslie Knope celebrates Galentine’s Day on February 13th, you can make the 15th your day to celebrate with discounts on chocolate! On the 14th, embrace the fact that you don’t have to deal with another person and do something that you like to do by yourself, like read or binge-watch your favorite guilty pleasure show!
Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all. Enjoy the day, regardless of your relationship status and let the whimsy of the day take you wherever it may!