Celebrating Valentine's Day as a Single with Your "Coupled" Friends

Valentine's Day is hard enough for single people to get through without having a constant reminder that they are ALONE. Polite co-workers or friends will offer the single person to accompany them and their date on Valentine's Day or to accompany them and their date to a Valentine's Day party. Being a third wheel can make the single person feel even less appreciated. So, how can a single person go out with "coupled" friends?

First, the single person needs to decide if he or she really WANTS to go out. The single person needs to weigh the pros and cons of going out on Valentine's Day by themselves with a couple. Would it be better to stay at home alone or go out with a couple who may forget about you? Single people also have to consider that they might actually have fun. Also, there could be another single person there.

Friends and co-workers are well meaning when they invite a single person to go with them and their significant other. The couple is so happy in love that they just want the single person to be as happy. They usually think the only way the single person can be happy is if he or she is in a relationship. The single person needs to try to figure the motives of the couple and whether or not the single person wants to be part of the celebration when replying to the invitation.

The single person should ask who is going to be where they are going. Sometimes well meaning couples will pair two singles together without telling the single people and the single people will have a horrid night because unbeknownst to the couple, the single people despise each other. It is always a good idea for the single person to pry the couple to see if he or she is being "set up".

Single people should ask themselves if the couple is going out to celebrate Valentine's Day or if the couple is going out to enjoy each other's company. The single person needs to consider whether or not he or she has ever been out with the couple before, as a couple plus one. The couple may just be hanging out like any other day and including the single person as they always have. If that is the case, the single person should go out and enjoy themselves without a care.

A single person who is going with a couple should always have a back up plan. It is always best for the single person to drive or meet the couple at the place they are going. A single person may want to leave if he or she feels like a third wheel. The single person also may want to leave if he or she is not having a good time.

If a single person does accept the invitation of the couple the single person should lay ground rules. The single person needs to know what is expected of him or her and the couple need to know what the single person wants to get out of the evening. If everyone knows what the other's needs and wants are, then, everyone can cooperate and have a good time.