Home NEWS

How to spend the perfect Valentine’s Day alone

Let's do this thing, single people.
Loading the player...

February 14. The day single people’s hopes and dreams fade away into the abyss. We’re kidding. When it comes to Valentine’s Day there are more than enough stereotypes about single women crying into their ice-cream, so we may as well have a little fun with it. But if you’re genuinely looking for advice on how to spend Valentine’s Day alone this year, you’ve come to the right place.

WATCH: Jess Mauboy on her “journey” to self-worth

Valentine’s Day can be a bit of a headache. Even if you’re the kind of single person who likes it that way, the sappy social media posts and gigantic flower deliveries are a lot to absorb. Not to mention the fact that every restaurant seems to surcharge? There should be a box you can tick that says “I’m not in love, I won’t be paying extra for my pizza.”

And if you’re one of the single people who wishes they had someone to be with, it can be even tougher. So please, be nice to yourself. This year, let’s try to find a way to make it about celebrating the love of your life: you. 

Scroll through for our guide to spending Valentine’s Day alone.

1. Make other plans

If you’ve recently gotten out of a relationship or find the day can be a bit emotionally triggering, sort out some plans with friends or family for February 14. It’s just a day, after all. If you know that you’re going to be feeling down about being alone, making plans will help you feel surrounded by love.

Getting outdoors is one of the best ways to reset yourself, a hike or scenic walk with a friend is sure to get your mind off any love hang-ups. Or if that’s not your thing, schedule some cocktails with friends after work or make a dinner reservation somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.

cocktails
Gather your girlfriends for some cocktails. (Credit: Girlfriends)

2. Speaking of food, eat something delicious

Nice dinners and boxes of chocolates are not just for the people who managed to find someone to talk about podcasts with. Congratulations to them, but the people spending a day alone also deserve to treat themselves for no other reason than it being a Monday in February. 

Order your favourite take-out, bake a cake, or go cheap and just devour an entire block of Mint Aero Chocolate. Think about the foods you love that will bring you joy and add them to your eatin’ list for the day.

3. Treat yourself to something new 

If you were in a relationship, you’d buy your partner a present. Why should it be any different if you’re single? We’re not saying drop all your cash on something silly, but take the time to indulge in a little retail therapy and buy yourself a gift that will really make you happy. 

That expensive serum you’ve been looking at? Treat yourself. Some sexy lingerie? Treat yourself. A brand new vibrator or sex toy? Definitely treat yourself.

satc
Let’s be honest, we’ll take any excuse to treat ourselves. (Credit: Getty Images)

4. Embrace the gooey day

Not all single people hate Valentine’s Day. If you love romantic movies, novels and the like, embrace it by leaning into the gooey, sappy day. Watch Bridget Jones’ Diary and feel some comradery with our unlucky-in-love heroine, binge the entire first season of Bridgerton, or read some “smut” (AKA sexy little stories).

5. Hibernate

Take things a step further and have a guilt-free hibernation day. Make the call that you’re going to swaddle yourself in blankets and lie on the couch for a lazy evening of relaxation. Light a candle, grab a glass of wine or cup of tea, and just hibernate your little self away into the night without feeling like you “should” be doing something. Rest and relaxation is very important for us single folk. 

6. Enter your villain era 

We’re just joking… or are we? There’s nothing wrong with some sinister shenanigans, like writing a list of all the reasons to be thankful you’re not with THAT toxic ex-boyfriend. Sing All Too Well (10 Minute Version) at the top of your lungs. Delete old photos from your phone. Block them on social media. To each villain era their own, but what we’re saying is that it’s also okay to be bitter for the day if that’s what you need.

i wanted to listen to taylor swift alone
You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. (Credit: New Girl)

7. Manifest love in your life

This is one for the people who are not happy about being single on V-Day. The ones who are on every single dating app and want to throw their phone across the room every time someone opens with just “hey” on Hinge. 

Manifesting is a great way to focus on what it is that you really want from life. To see what you want and actively take the steps towards it – that’s the key part, down the line. But if you spend a bit of time reflecting on what a life full of love would look like for you now, you’ll feel more positive spending the day by yourself knowing that the future holds endless possibilities. There are billions of people out there in the world, your love story is not over.

8. Buy yourself flowers (but not on V-Day)

We can’t help but be little fiends for a nice flower arrangement. To be quite honest, one of the most annoying things about being single on V-Day is that there’s no one to buy them for you. Nothing should stop you buying a fresh bouquet to make your home feel lovely, though we do have just one tip.

Blooms are usually more expensive on Valentine’s Day, so aim to buy them before or after the big event. But if you’ve got the cash to spare, by all means, treat yourself to the prettiest bouquet of the bunch on Feb 14.

flowers
Channel Matilda Djerf and buy yourself the prettiest bunch of flowers. (Credit: Instagram)

9. Set new goals

Let’s be honest and just admit that we’ve already fallen short of our New Year’s resolutions and we blame the month of January. It drags on forever and is quite possibly the worst month to be trying to create new habits and tick off goals.

Chances are, you haven’t done any of the things you set out to and either have we. The concept of a better sleep routine is out the window. DuoLingo remains unopened. We haven’t read a single book. January was bleak. But the rest of the year doesn’t have to be, so why not turn February 14 into the day of goal setting. 

It’s a day about love, and we can’t imagine a better way to show love for yourself than to reflect on your life. Celebrate the things you love and what you have achieved, and make a vision board – physically, mentally, on Pinterest, whatever floats your boat – of everything else that you want out of your life. 

goal setting
Channel Taylor Swift and write down all of your new goals for 2022. (Credit: Netflix)

Ready to put yourself out there to find someone new? Sign up to eHarmony today.

https://www.eharmony.com.au/

Related stories