Valentine’s Day brings in over 20 billion dollars in revenue every year. Some stores even start setting out these holiday products in the middle of December. Holidays are often commercialized and capitalized to the point where it can be a little exhausting. Don’t get me wrong, I love receiving chocolates and flowers as much as the next girl, but it’s fun to spice things up once in a while. There’s no rule that says you can’t follow both conventional and non-conventional traditions. Don’t have a significant other? That’s fine! Make Valentine’s Day a self-care day. Whether you are taken or single, you can enjoy all the activities below!
- Cry Me a Cockroach
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The San Antonio Zoo hosts this fundraiser event every year where you can name a cockroach or rodent after your ex and they’ll feed it to an animal! It’s only $5 to name a cockroach and $25 for a rat to feed to a reptile if “your ex was a snake” (their words not mine). There’s even a herbivore option! This $5 selection is for anyone you want, whether it be messy roommates or just random people you have beef with. These selections will be fed to the zoo’s vegetarian animals. This is brilliant marketing, and you should definitely participate to help raise money for wildlife conservation.
On February 14, the zoo will be streaming this feeding frenzy on their social media pages so be sure to check it out! You can submit your request here: https://sazoo.org/valentine/
- Charcuterie Board
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I’ve always wanted to make a charcuterie board. They’re so cute to have on outdoor picnics. This is a really adorable date idea where you can enjoy time with your significant other (or friends), eat yummy food, and take cute pictures for your Instagram. You can assemble anything you want for your charcuterie board. The most common items people put are cheese, crackers, bread, and some type of meat. If you really think about it, charcuterie boards are just boujee versions of Lunchables. Thus, a cheap alternative could be getting Lunchables and putting them on a wooden cutting board, which I think is just as enjoyable.
- Write a Letter to Yourself
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Valentine’s Day is all about love, but who’s saying it can’t be about self love? Write a letter to yourself, whether it be past, present, or future you. Just talk about the things you’ve done that you’re proud of, things that you want to write down to always remember. Write a love letter to yourself!
- Secret Santa: Valentine’s Day Edition
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I like to call this event Secret Admirer. It is essentially like Secret Santa where you randomly get assigned someone you have to get a gift for, and then you all exchange them and find out who was your gift giver. You can do the same thing for this holiday, and it can be limited to traditional Valentine’s Day gifts or anything you think your person would like.
- Breaking Free
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You might’ve seen the trend where people buy cheap plates, write stuff they want to get off their chest, and then smash them. This is a good therapeutic way to let things go. Some people have done the same with balloons or paper lanterns and then let them float away. I don’t particularly like these options as they’re really bad for the environment. So if you opt for smashing plates, at least put them in a bag so the shattered pieces aren’t left behind. Remember to pick up after yourself!
My personal favorite is just setting up a bonfire to burn things I’ve written down on a piece of paper taped to a log of wood. It is super satisfying watching the words fade away until they’re nothing, and all you can hear is the wood crackling. This also serves as a great time to roast marshmallows. There is something so poetic about roasting marshmallows over the flame created out of the things that have hurt you. I consider this a form of self love, or even freeing yourself from love that was holding you back (like an ex or something). Start making Valentine’s Day about yourself!
- Candies with Customized Messages
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Aside from boxes of chocolates, sweethearts candies are what best represent Valentine’s Day. Even though they are pure sugar, they’re really tasty. Each individual piece comes with a little message like “say yes”, “true love”, “cutie pie”, etc. I think these are super boring, but great news! You can get these messages customized! There are sites like https://mycustomcandy.com/ where you can design and order them from, though they’re a little expensive for my taste. I’m sure there are other sites that provide the same service for lower prices, but this is a good place to start. M&M’s also does a similar thing: https://www.mms.com/en-us/.
- Send Valentine’s Day Cards to the Kids at St Jude’s!
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Last, but certainly not least, you can send cards to children at St. Jude’s Hospital. There are a lot of cards to choose from with hand-drawn art. All you have to do is select one (or more) you like and write a little note or select a pre-written one. You can even send them in Spanish if you want. At the end, you are able to donate to the hospital. Either way, taking a few seconds out of your day to sign a card is a great way to bring a smile to these kids’ faces! https://www.stjude.org/get-involved/other-ways/valentines-day.html
There’s no need to dread Valentine’s Day! Celebrate love, wherever it comes from and is targeted towards. As always, stay safe!
