Being single when Valentine's day appear nearer is painful, but life is not always Rosy and there is life beyond playing Valentine.
Boyfriend bonfires (burning your ex-boyfriend's stuff a la the classic Friends episode) and copious dark chocolate consumption seem to be the yearly Valentine's Day prescriptions for single ladies. But what about the non-bitter singletons among us? Shouldn't the celebration have something for us as well? In short, yes!
We've come up with seven ideas that treat V-Day not as the glorification of romance, but as a celebration of love in general—love for yourself, your friends, your community and for the world. The ideas will also work for singles who would prefer to be coupled up. So go forth and revel—no matter what your relationship status.
1. Indulge in yourself. Since Valentine's Day is all about love, spending the day loving yourself makes perfect sense. Play hooky from work (or just leave an hour early) and do whatever you want, be it pampering yourself with a lavish mani-pedi or staying home, ordering take out and marathoning every movie your celeb crush has ever been in. After all, you have no one to please but your own darn self.
2. Go after what you want. If indulging seems a little too...indulgent, go the opposite direction and use the day to finish (or start) something you've been meaning to tackle. Secure that promotion you've been after at work, sign up for Mint.com to get your finances in order, or rearrange your bookshelf by color (it really brightens a room!).
3. Find something new to love. Interested in taking up yoga? Want to learn how to dance ballet? Wish you could cook risotto? Challenge yourself to do something you haven't done before, or seldom get to do because of your schedule.
4. Send love someone else's way. Studies show that kindness spreads, so start an epidemic. Give Valentine's Day cards to those close to you, like your co-workers and friends, as well as those not so close to you, like the barista who serves you your coffee. Not the Hallmark type? Volunteer locally and help those less fortunate than you. Seeing a face light up from your small gesture will fill you with love and make the world a better place.
5. Participate in a secret santa, Valentine's Day style. Who needs a valentine when you and your girlfriends have each other? Round up your girls, draw names from a hat and buy whomever you draw a little something (don't forget to set the spending limit beforehand). Then on V-Day, meet at a friend's apartment to exchange gifts. Afterwards get all dolled up and enjoy a night out on the town. Try a karaoke bar, because, let's face it, when is karaoke anything but a good time?
6. Throw a party. If gift-giving won't go over with your group, invite your friends over to celebrate being fabulous.
7. Figure out what you want out of love. We know, we know, this whole post is about NOT being romantic. But since our mission is to help people live their best love lives, we would be remiss in not telling you that—even if you don't want to right now or don't believe it will ever happen—everyone, including you, can fall in love. And it usually happens when you least expect it. So take some time to write down a few love goals. Whether you want to remain single for ten more years or want to start dating this month, the clarity of knowing what you want makes it that much easier to get there.
We've come up with seven ideas that treat V-Day not as the glorification of romance, but as a celebration of love in general—love for yourself, your friends, your community and for the world. The ideas will also work for singles who would prefer to be coupled up. So go forth and revel—no matter what your relationship status.
1. Indulge in yourself. Since Valentine's Day is all about love, spending the day loving yourself makes perfect sense. Play hooky from work (or just leave an hour early) and do whatever you want, be it pampering yourself with a lavish mani-pedi or staying home, ordering take out and marathoning every movie your celeb crush has ever been in. After all, you have no one to please but your own darn self.
2. Go after what you want. If indulging seems a little too...indulgent, go the opposite direction and use the day to finish (or start) something you've been meaning to tackle. Secure that promotion you've been after at work, sign up for Mint.com to get your finances in order, or rearrange your bookshelf by color (it really brightens a room!).
3. Find something new to love. Interested in taking up yoga? Want to learn how to dance ballet? Wish you could cook risotto? Challenge yourself to do something you haven't done before, or seldom get to do because of your schedule.
4. Send love someone else's way. Studies show that kindness spreads, so start an epidemic. Give Valentine's Day cards to those close to you, like your co-workers and friends, as well as those not so close to you, like the barista who serves you your coffee. Not the Hallmark type? Volunteer locally and help those less fortunate than you. Seeing a face light up from your small gesture will fill you with love and make the world a better place.
5. Participate in a secret santa, Valentine's Day style. Who needs a valentine when you and your girlfriends have each other? Round up your girls, draw names from a hat and buy whomever you draw a little something (don't forget to set the spending limit beforehand). Then on V-Day, meet at a friend's apartment to exchange gifts. Afterwards get all dolled up and enjoy a night out on the town. Try a karaoke bar, because, let's face it, when is karaoke anything but a good time?
6. Throw a party. If gift-giving won't go over with your group, invite your friends over to celebrate being fabulous.
7. Figure out what you want out of love. We know, we know, this whole post is about NOT being romantic. But since our mission is to help people live their best love lives, we would be remiss in not telling you that—even if you don't want to right now or don't believe it will ever happen—everyone, including you, can fall in love. And it usually happens when you least expect it. So take some time to write down a few love goals. Whether you want to remain single for ten more years or want to start dating this month, the clarity of knowing what you want makes it that much easier to get there.
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