As the new year fades away and promises of “new year, new me” become a dim echo, implement a new resolution by taking a fresh perspective on Valentine’s Day 2023. For the longest time, I hated seeing all of the candies and heart-shaped objects and stuffed animals cluttering store shelves for the weeks leading up to a day that celebrated a love I didn’t have. What a missed opportunity to celebrate love! Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be about romantic love, and I have found so much joy in celebrating it for the love I have for my friends and family. Also, my new attitude doesn’t change the fact that stuffed animals go on sale on the 15th, which requires an urgent Walmart trip for a stuffed animal shopping spree. Please enjoy this step-by-step guide to becoming into a Valentine’s Day fan!
- Get your nails done
Pink is my favourite colour, and you bet I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to go all out for a pink-themed holiday. This one is good because it’s subtle: you can have pink nails any time of the year and no one has to know it’s for Valentine’s Day! Here’s a link to a Pinterest board for some inspo: https://www.pinterest.ca/search/pins/?q=valentine%27s%20day%20nails&rs=typed
- Make Valentines for your friends
My preferred method is to make gift bags full of candies and small knickknacks I find at the dollar store. You can spend $20 at the dollar store and make about 10 really cute gift bags! I like buying a bunch of different chocolates, mini stuffed animals, and glitter pens. Alternatively, you could make actual Valentines. Do not underestimate the power of a good DIY! It’s so fun to whip out the glitter and heart stickers—this kind of thing makes friends so happy, even if its small.
- Get baking
The dollar store currently has heart-shaped muffin tins. Heart-shaped muffin tins. You can make simple heart cupcakes and use food colouring to dye a can of store bought icing pink, or you can buy pre-cut heart-shaped cookies from most grocery stores. It’s really easy to make sugar cookie icing—you just mix powdered sugar with water or milk until it’s a good consistency. Dump on some sprinkles and you’re set! There’s something about a can of sprinkles that really makes me feel good.
- Watch as many rom coms as possible
This one is even more fun if you have your friends over on Valentine’s Day to celebrate. However, rom coms may be controversial if you’re just starting to learn how to not hate Valentine’s Day. A good in-between is To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, or just get rid of the romance entirely and sub it for another fun movie!
- Drink matcha with strawberry purée
You may have seen this on TikTok, but matcha with strawberry puree is SO GOOD. My tried and true recipe is a grandé iced matcha latte from Starbucks with soy milk, substitute vanilla syrup, and add strawberry puree. This gives the whole drink a fun pink tint and tastes really good!
- Make a big deal out of it
Put up decorations, wish all your friends a Happy Valentine’s Day, and have everyone over on the night of the 14th! You can all make charcuterie boards together, have a paint night, or watch movies. I love the idea of having everyone dress up really nicely and doing a pink cocktail party.
The point here is to make the holiday your own! There’s no reason to neglect a holiday that’s all about celebrating love, and there are so many ways to make it fit your lifestyle. The people you love are worth being celebrated, and it’s fun to make a whole day out of loving them!