Five ways to spend Valentines Day.
I remember last Valentine’s Day was the first Valentine’s I’d had with a formal evening with fancy dinner at a nice place down in Palm Springs with my boyfriend. We booked a dinner at a place by the pool on a sort of chilly evening, and had the absolute worst service for paying $150 for two. We laugh about it now, and it has become a fond memory for the both of us. The year before that, I spent Valentine’s in a Cambodian hospital alone, crying while dealing with a rounds of different medication while the hospital tried to figure out what was wrong with me. The nice man from accounting came up (who didn’t speak english) and sat with me so I didn’t have to be alone on Valentine’s Day, and I called my close friend back home who talked to me for hours to keep me company and let me speak to someone in English. I have the fond memory of laughing and crying, but I am thankful for the way I felt connected and loved.
No matter the way you spend Valentine’s Day, whether its eating the most expensive meal all year, or spending it in a 3rd world country with a close friend, I think the best way to spend the day is surrounded by love, and reminding others that you love them. In high school, I used to buy flowers and give a stem to all of my friends. Part of it likely comes from a place where I didn’t have a significant other, and would never have expected a surprise declaration of love (damn you 90’s films that convinced me otherwise). However, I loved showing my friends how I felt about them, and that continued into years after in university, and many Galentine’s celebrations later.
Even though we are currently under restriction, and where I live we will likely be unable to go sit down at dinner anywhere, I think there are some great ways to celebration Valentines at home with your loved one or your bubble. I’ve found that having something to look forward to, and something to plan really helps to make each day more exciting. Here are a few ideas for this Valentine’s!
Book a trip for two, and stay indoors
For Christmas, I gifted my partner with a trip for two to Lake Louise for the two of us on Valentines weekend. No matter whether we have to stay in the room while we’re at the hotel and only have room service, what I’m gifting is a weekend for the two of us to have with each other, and spend quality time hopefully skating and going on walks around the lake. The Fairmont has great food, and since we wouldn’t be eating with anyone anyways, we are okay eating it together in the room and sharing a bottle of wine together on the day.
There are great vacation packages that you can get for a night or two at a nice hotel, and they’ll likely give you a great rate since its hard to get travellers to visit. The tourism industry is being hit hard, and take it from me, it’s nice to get a break away from the apartment or house you’ve been living in for the last year straight and get away from it all. There are some great places you can go stay at, and if you can, you should see what’s available!
Host an online Galentine’s Party
Picture this, having pizza, rose and candy with your girlfriends, maybe watching a chick-flick together and playing games. It’s easy to do, just do it virtually! Arrange to order pizza from the same place, or similar places around the same time so you can eat together. If you are feeling like an event planner, coordinate buy those small (or large) bottles of rose, and Sugarfina has adorable candy bento boxes to send to your friends. Teleparty has a way to watch a move together at the same time with a chat beside the video, and you can marathon great rom-com’s all evening, and Jackbox has great online games that you can take part in as well, but is best to be done with a smaller group of people.
Take a Cooking Class
Whether you do it with your significant other or your roommate, try taking a cooking class online and making it together. Open a bottle of wine, or pour yourself some sparkling water and laugh together. Even though we’ve been stuck in this quarantine/lockdown for almost a year now, sometimes its great to dedicate a day to trying something new and exciting. There are formal classes, or Youtube tutorials, but make an effort to shop together for the ingredients, clean the kitchen, prepare your space, and set up a dinner table to enjoy your food afterward,
Create a terrarium with your pals
My favourite plant shop is putting on a terrarium workshop on the Saturday before Valentines, but you don’t need a official class to do it together over Zoom. Make a trip to your local plant shop and pick up the 3” tropicals, gravel, dirt and peat moss. You can also buy the vessel from the plant shop, but if you’re open, go to your local thrift shop and pick it up there. They have tons of glass vessels that are perfect, and only cost a few dollars rather than $30-40. There are lots of great guidelines on how to put together terrariums online, and what plants go well together. Do a bit of research and then hop on Zoom and put them together with your friends. Just make sure not to overload your terrarium with plants, and pay attention to proper drainage!
Get comfy and order in.
I have always wanted to create a pillow fort as an adult and hang out in there while watching movies. I used to build these when I was younger for me and my brother, and when I was a babysitter/nanny I loved to build these for the kids and then make it a game to create the biggest, largest and most complex forts. As soon as the parents would leave, we would build it, and then make sure by the end of the night to take it down so the parents didn’t get panicked about the mess. I would love to create a fort specifically for movies and make it just a little more special than the other days we order dinner and stay in.
I hope that you all have a great Valentine’s Day ahead filled with lots of love. Let me know what you’re doing below!
Love, E