Valentine’s Day has become a capitalist holiday owned by Hallmark and chocolate companies. Everyone knows this to be true. It’s full of cheesy cards, overpriced flowers and too much PDA. It’s one of those holidays people either absolutely love or absolutely hate. Those who hate it are extremely vocal about that hate. However, instead of complaining loudly about how much Valentine’s Day sucks when there really isn’t anything you can do about it, there are many other things you could be doing with your time.
1) Read a book
Use your free time to finally read that book you have been too busy to finish or read “Harry Potter” for the fifth time. Wander around a book store for an hour or two. Reading can help you relax as well as allow you to avoid the Valentine’s Day crowds outside.
2) “Me-time”
Grab a face mask, discount chocolate and binge-watch Netflix. Take a bath. Cook yourself some dinner. Chances are, your friends will be busy with Valentine’s plans so this creates the perfect opportunity to ignore the world and spend some quality me-time.
3) Galentine’s
Spend some time with your friends and embrace the best holiday ever: Galentine’s. Created by the show “Parks and Recreation,” this day is made for BFFs. Grab wine, eat waffles and hangout with your true soulmates.
4) Party
For many people, holidays are really just an excuse to party with a theme. Drinking pink cocktails and dancing to Beyoncé does not sound like a waste of time, no matter how much you dislike the day.
5) Treat it as just another day
If you dislike Valentine’s Day, just ignore it. Granted, the bright pink and red ads constantly in your face starting in January are abrasive and hard to ignore, but it is not much different from the constant barrage of advertisements we are constantly exposed to and is therefore easy to get used to. Just live life like any other day.
Obviously, not everyone has to enjoy Valentine’s Day. But griping about it changes nothing and is really just rude to the hopeless romantics who love the day. Use the day as a reason to find something you enjoy doing and make the day more fun for you!