February 14 inspires a warm gushy feeling in some and a bubbling hatred in others. For those with a general disdain for the romance themed holiday or someone without a special someone to spend it with, the day can be hard to swallow. For others, its just any other slightly wet (this is Britain so its likely to be raining) day. But this Valentine’s, spend the day looking after yourself with our rundown of the best ways to spend the day whether you hate it, don’t notice it or love the holiday.
- An oldie but a goodie: self care. Valentine’s day is the perfect day (especially falling on a Sunday this year) to whip out a sheet mask, draw a bath, light some candles and maybe even open a glass of your favourite wine. Love also applies to oneself and their is no better way to show yourself you care than to look after your mental and physical health.
- Take the day as an opportunity to binge every rom com or every film you love. Get in some snacks, dump every blanket you can get your hands on on the sofa and lose yourself in life pre-Covid. We recommend anything film with Chris Evans in (for the eye candy).
- A cosy Sunday is basically the epitome of baking. Try out a new recipe, make some cookies you know your friends love or stick to your old favourite: there’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked biscuits. And it gives you an excuse to eat your body weight in cake if the mood strikes you
- Do something for the mind, possibly reading a few chapters (or the entirety) of the book you started a month ago or even a puzzle or two. Just something that kicks some of the ‘dusty’ corners of the mind into action since they may not have been used to capacity this past lockdown
- Valentines day can be lonely for anyone, if you’re missing coms companionship, call up an old friend or relative. Spend the afternoon drinking far too much tea and catch up with someone who maybe feeling just as lonely as you or someone you lost touch with in recent months or years
- A quiet night in can also be the perfect time to cook yourself a fancy three course meal. Supermarkets have ‘dine-in’ offers, or you could pull a Gordon Ramsey and cook yourself something from scratch. Who knows, if you try a new recipe, it may even be saved for use when we finally are able to return to having dinner parties…
- This valentines day could be the perfect day to flex your creative muscle. Do some painting, drawing or just general arts and crafts. Our personal favourite is re-painting some furniture or even diy-ing some of my old clothes. There’s thousands of clothes upcycling videos on YouTube for whatever your skill set. Or you may prefer just to stick with some good old fashion colouring
- Self gifting (or just an afternoon spent online shopping) is probably how I’ll be spending my valentines. Take your time to scroll through all your favourite online stores and maybe even venture into unknown territory. Just remember to set yourself a budget or write a list of the kind of things you want to get before you open up ASOS as you might end up getting a bit carried away
- Playing dress up with your own wardrobe is a surprisingly fun way to spend an afternoon. And to top it off, you can even have a little photo shoot in the outfits you put together. All you need is some good lighting, a white sheet to hang up and a phone camera on timer
- Self love can also be about improving and growing as a person. This valentines day, trying learning a new skill. Sunday afternoon could be the perfect time to pick up mixology, knitting or even a musical instrument (even if it is just the triangle)
Most importantly, take time for yourself and don’t forget to tell the people in your life that you love them.
