image: weheartit

By @KimberleeVDW 

Friday is a dreaded holiday for many single women – Valentine’s Day. But it shouldn’t be. Like we discussed in #datechat this week being single on VDay doesn’t have to be a drag.  Admittedly I was the bitter single girl on Valentine’s Day in my early 20s (even went as far as wearing all black in high school – I know lol). But as I’ve gotten older and more comfortable with myself, the holiday doesn’t bother me.

In fact, I applaud the couples who make the effort to go out and dress up.

I remember when I was in relationships, we were always stressed out (which lead to fighting) on the big day. There’s a lot of pressure for couples to have such an amazing spectacular day that it ends up being a bust.

Here are some ideas that I’ve done in the past that make being single pretty awesome on Valentine’s Day:

  1. Say ‘I love you’ to yourself. It doesn’t have to be as corny as it sounds. Treat yourself to some pampering, buy that pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing for weeks, send yourself flowers, etc. Valentine’s Day is about love and that should definitely include yourself. I love sending myself chocolates.
  2. Exchange gifts with friends. Spread the love to your other single friends! I did this a lot in my younger years. In college, some of my friends would feel embarrassed they didn’t have a Valentine so we would be each other’s “secret admirer” and send each other overly elaborate gifts so that our co-workers would think someone was swooning over us. It was a lot of fun and it definitely reminded me of 3rd grade when we were required to get all our classmates Valentine’s day gifts.
  3. Make it a movie night. Binge watch your favorite RomComs on Netflix or Hulu with your favorite movie snack. Just because Ryan Gosling can’t be your actual Valentine doesn’t mean you can’t spend Valentine’s Day with him, right?
  4. Go out! No need to hide in fear at home – gather all your single friends for a fun night out. Hey, you never know, maybe you’ll find your Valentine that night.

I have class Friday nights so I won’t be going out that night, but I am planning to go to happy hour with some single friends before.

What are your plans this valentine’s day?

Kimberlee blogs about her love of fashion and beauty at I Have A Degree In This! and is currently studying marketing at NYU. She’s lived in Midtown Manhattan for 8 years and has tried it all when it comes to dating.