Valentine: Beyond the Flowers and Chocolates
Let’s talk about Valentine! I know, I know, you either love it or you roll your eyes so hard they almost get stuck. But hear me out as I freakin looove celebrations, and I want to convince you, we can do it another way. Without the chocolate (okay, maybe some), the dates so cheesy they make you go🤢and the heartbreak over cards you never got. Yeah, you broke my heart boys, and you don’t even know it. So give me chance and let’s make this Valentine’s a celebration of YOU. Here’s some ways to celebrate Vday, your way.
Singletine - 10 Ways to celebrate on your own
I don’t know if this is an official term, but I declare it Singletine. It’s a day just for you. Heck, I think everyone should celebrate this whether you are single or not. I present to you: 10 ways to celebrate Singletine:
1) Go get yourself flowers. I mean it. I’m not much of a flower receiving girl, but buying myself flowers feels like an indulgement. They’re expensive. They’re going to fade. But darn me if they aren’t pretty to look at!
2) Take a day off socials. Jup, I said it. Looking at other people’s highlight reels isn’t going to help you. Unless you want to watch cute dogs. Cute dogs are allowed.
3)Pamper yo’self. Treat yourself like a star. Go get a massage. A new haircut. Go get your nails done. Stay at home and draw a bath with some candles, wine and your favourite show.
4) Get your craft on. Take a pottery class. Get baking: cupcakes, lasagna, whatever tickles your fancy. Learn to read notes. Try your hand at watercolour. I don’t care if you’re no good at it, I just want you to make something. Creativity nurtures your soul. Go try and make something new.
5) Go on an adventure. check out a local museum, a new coffeeplace. Go for a nature walk with hot cocoa at the end. Bring a book or a sketchbook and stay a while.
6) Spend time with people you love. Parents, grandparents, friends. Pay them a visit, have dinner with them.
7) Another indulging one! Head to a chocolatier and get the best, most expensive selection of bon-bons.
8) Learn a new skill. Something you always wanted to do. Start today or book a class, like, now!
9) Create a vision board. Don’t stop at a day for you, make it a whole year.
10) Treat yourself a gift. Something that will be useful to you. Something that you would love to have but won’t let yourself buy ‘cause it’s soooo costly. Go get it girl!
Galentine & Palentine - 10 Ways to spend it with your friends
They’re always around, through the ups and downs, and they are your sisters, friends, pals and everyone you needed in your life. Celebrate them on this special occasion. You can even go all in and make it a whole day!
1) Kick off with a breakfast of champions. Mimosas, chocolate covered croissants, cream and strawberries. I love to eat anything sweet so this is my favourite, but you do you boo!
2) Explore a new town together. Visit somewhere new and go get inspired. No itinerary, just vibes. Want to go all in and have some extra time and cash to spare? Plan a weekend getaway together and do this whole darn list
3) Schedule a mani-pedi. The best way to spend an afternoon and catch up
4) Retail therapy. Add an extra task of getting eachother a little gift of lets say, max 10euro. Expensive coffees are mandatory.
5) Go Ice skating. One of the best winter activities and a great way to have some fun. It’s also way too cheesy to do with your lover so why not get your bestie to join?
6) Get a tarot reading. Get a little witchy and go get a reading. If none of your friends has a deck, find a tarot reader.Wether they’re right or wrong, this sure leaves you with a lot to talk about!
7) Get a high tea. Go make a reservation at a place you’ve never been to and be wooed.
8) Make cocktails together! You can take mixology classes, but this is also easily done at home and easily replaceable with mocktails if you don’t want to get hammered
9) Go to karaoke. While everyone is trying to show the best of themselves, go make a fool out of you, and go all in singing loudly and off tune. It’s all about having fun. Also, if you are so lucky to actually be able to sing, even better
10) What better way to end the day but with a slumber party? Seriously. Why don’t we do this anymore when we grow up? Why? Bonus points for truth or dare, never have I ever and watching horror movies. Gorging on sweets and popcorn included.
Valentine - 10 Ways to Spend it with your lover
This one is the cheesiest one, true. But these are all about you two spending some extra time together. It doesn’t really matter what you do, but let’s take it beyond roses and chocolate. Let’s talk about ten ways to celebrate Vday with your lover.
1) Start the day off going out for breakfast. It might seem basic, but waking up early and grabbing a coffee and a fancy breakfast together will lighten the whole day
2) Wander the streets. Explore the surroundings. Go somewhere new. Take a car and get lost. While you might have a set plan for your own trip, a chilled version to spend with your friends, this one is all about getting lost, finding the unexpected and relying on eachother. No google maps. (unless you're about to get into a fit, of course).
3) Go camping. Spending a night in a tent under the stars is super romantic. Also, the cold will make you build a fire, curl up and cuddle just to stay warm 😉
4) Get your head into the clouds with a hot air balloon ride or a skydive. If you’ve got vertigo why not try your hand at indoor rock-climbing? Still scary, I know, but it’s all about trust and your lover’s right there to catch you.
5) Play trivia. Get your friends together and host a trivia night. The winning couple gets to take home a prize and bragging rights
6) Sign up for an escape room. If you can manage to get out, you can manage everything.
7) Have a spa date. Go to a sauna and get a massage together.
8) Get a little competitive and go minigolfing, bowling, or even paintballing. If you’ve got a man, he’s going to love this one for sure.
9) Go to a comedy club and have a laugh together. Just remember not to sit in the front row 😉
10) Visit a winery or brewery for some good old wine or beertasting. This never gets old right?
Got Kids? - 10 Ways to celebrate with your family
Now if you’ve got kids, there’s no need to skip Valentine’s altogether. This can be just as much fun celebrating as a family, showing your kids how to pamper loved ones while you’re at it. They will thank you later. Check out these 10 ways to celebrate as a family
1) Have breakfast together. Wether it’s a pancake bar with different types of fruits, heart shaped toast with jelly or decorating your own waffle. This is a perfect way to start the day off celebrating.
2) Plan a scavenger hunt. Hide little hearts around the house to get the little ones some excitement. The one that finds the most hearts, gets to choose the movie. Or you can skip the latter and go straight to #5
3) Craft some valentine gifts for each other or for school buddies.. It’s a great way to help kids think of others and express kind thoughts. Not going to happen with your wild boys? Encourage them to create their own Valentine’s Day comic book.
4) Give your kids little creativity gifts. Cute erasers, pencils, sidewalk chalk. They’re all about trying new things and expressing themselves.
5) Watch Lady and the Tramp, a Disney classic. With Dogs. Need I say more?
6) Baking. Go make some heartshaped cookies and decorate them the way you like, with whipped cream and sprinkles.
7) Family Talent Show. From singing to dancing and quirky talents, let everyone shine and celebrate each other's skills.
8) Go get some seeds, seedlings or flowers from the local garden centre and create a little love garden together.
9) Balloon Pop Bingo. Have your kids write some activities down that they would love to do for Valentines and put them randomly into love themed balloons. Whenever you are ready for an activity let them pop one of the balloons to see what’s up next!
10) Have a Heart Shaped Pizza Night! Get your own pizza dough and decorate your pizzas together. Everyone gets to choose their favourite toppings and sharing is caring!
Let’s do it!
Let’s throw the rulebook out the window this Valentine’s day. Wether you’re celebrating Singletine, Palatine or Valentine, or you want to do the whole darn list. Make it a day you’d want to put on repeat. I hope this will inpire you to celebrate V-day, but most of all, to do it your way. I’d love to hear what you end up doing, so we can all inspire eachother next year!
Happy V-day!