If your single (like me) and you’re worried about being alone on Valentine’s Day, you don’t have to sit around feeling sorry for yourself! There’s no reason why Valentine’s Day can’t be fun for singles as well as couples.
On the one hand, it’s easy to argue that Valentine’s Day is just another day on the calendar. On the other hand, it can a sad reminder (if you let it be) that your love life isn’t what you’d like it to be. Every day has the opportunity to be worthwhile, even a Valentine ‘s Day spent alone.
Since love is in the air, it’s the perfect opportunity to enhance your self care and spend some time doing what makes YOU happy. Here are some ideas to shift your focus from loneliness to happiness:
1) Ignore It!
Valentine’s Day is just an arbitrary date on the calendar. It doesn’t mean anything that you happen to be single on this Valentine’s Day, so why not just ignore it and treat it like any other day of the year? Plenty of others will be doing the same so don’t put too much pressure on yourself on this day.
2) Share It With A Friend
If you’ve got a friend who doesn’t know what to do on Valentine’s Day, why not have a “date” together? It’s a fun way to spend time with someone you care about. Just because you may not be in love doesn’t mean you shouldn’t celebrate the different kind of love you feel for your friends!
3) Enjoy Yourself
Why not spend some time showing yourself some love? Buy some smelly bath salts, some nice candles, chocolates and wine and spend the evening pampering yourself. After you’ve had a long relaxing bath, cozy up under a blanket and watch a movie while eating your chocolates and indulging on some much needed “me” time.
4) Go Out And Meet New People
If you want to know what to do on Valentine’s Day, have a look to find out what’s going on in your local area. Many venues set up speed dating, parties and club nights for singles on Valentine’s Day. Some yoga studios in my area are having a “date” night at the studio where you get to go and practice yoga and self love. These kinds of events are a perfect place to meet new people, or just have a night of fun. Being single on Valentine’s Day can actually be a positive in these situations so don’t be afraid to explore what’s going on around you.
5) Ask Someone Out
If there’s someone you’ve had your eye on, Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to ask them out. Show them that you’re a not-so-secret admirer and ask them out for dinner or to the movies. If all goes well then it’ll be a Valentine’s Day to remember. If you don’t hit it off, at least you will have had a fun Valentine’s Day!
6) Host A Singles Only Valentine’s Day Party
If you really dislike Valentine’s Day, then why not turn your dislike into something fun? Host an anti-Valentine’s party where hearts, candy, flowers and cards are all banned! Invite your other single friends can bring friends and make it a fun party. Have everyone make a list of all the things they love about being single & enjoy the night meeting new people.
7) Spend Time Thinking About What You Want Next
Make a list of the positive attributes want in your next partner. If you’re not sure where to start, it might be easier to look back at some of your past relationships and pinpoint things that you didn’t like. From there you can ask yourself “what would I like instead?“. Be thorough with this process and give this step the attention it deserves. You might find that once you start to list out all the attributes you do want you start to get excited about dating again.
8) Give online dating a fair chance.
Online dating has a few big advantages. There are lot of people with the same goal, and they’re right in front of you! You can also approach them via online message, eliminating the terror that comes with approaching a stranger in public. You can go through a lot of profiles while watching a movie from the comfort of your couch. Sites like Match.com & Eharmony have great promotions during Valentines day so today is a great day to take advantage of those offers! Here are some more tips for online dating:
- Make sure to stay on task as you go through the profiles. Look for signs of your desirable attribute list (that you made in step 7) & avoid those profiles that demonstrate one or more of your undesired traits.
- Set a goal for how many people you’ll contact each day. Keep the number small. You’ll find that you can’t juggle very many at once. You might lose a great potential partner if you’re too distracted by too many emails.
- Have fun with it! Don’t take yourself too seriously & make sure to have fun & don’t put too much pressure on finding “the one”.
It can be a little depressing to be alone on Valentine’s day but it doesn’t have to be. It can also be a great opportunity to take action and begin the process of finding someone new. Instead of sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself and eating too much junk food, take control of the situation by beginning the search for your perfect partner. When you’re thinking about what to do on Valentine’s Day, make the choice to be happy with where you are and what you have today!