Have a Great Anti Valentine's Day

Anti Valentine's Day is often a time for those who are not in the Valentine spirit to vent, deal with, or simply forget the popular lovers' holiday. Perhaps your Anti Valentine's day is a statement against the commercialization of an otherwise romantic time. Others celebrate Anti Valentine's day because they are not in a relationship or have just left a relationship and don't want to think about the loss. Regardless of your reasons for an Anti Valentine's day, here are ten ways to celebrate that won't leave you scanning LoL Cats or Youtube for amusement.

1. Rent an Anti Valentine's Day movie: The following movies are typically considered unromantic and therefore great for enjoying during your Anti Valentine's Day - Napolean Dynamite, War of the Roses, The South Park Movie, The Shining (and most other Stephen King Flicks), Most Kung Fu films, Kill Bill Series, an The Alien Series.

2. Have some Alone Time: Get yourself pampered with a hair cut and massage. Take a dip in a bubble bath. Read a great book. Eat a delicious dessert. Valentine's day is mostly about the commercialism. There's nothing wrong with spending a little me-time with yourself.

3. Read Amusing Personals Ads: Comb sites like Craigslist and read the personals. It really puts Valentine's day in perspective. Sometimes just seeing others who should be celebrating an Anti Valentine's day is enough to make you realize it's not so bad to be single. Though it is not recommended that you respond to the ads impulsively, you can learn alot from the fishing attempts of others.

4. Volunteer at an Animal Shelter: Open your heart to the less fortunate, namely homeless animals. Maybe you'll even find a friend.

5. Have a Past Purging Party: Invite all your Anti Valentine's day friends over to purge the past. Make a house cocktail, offer great finger food, and tell your friends to come as they are. The price of admission? All those little things from the past they have kept from the exes long gone. Loveletters, pictures, ticket stubs, and all those little things are fair game for the highlight of the evening - the Anti Valentine's day bonfire! Be sure to have a large box available for donating usable items to the local thrift store or Goodwill. Be sure to follow fire safety rules and have at least one non-intoxicated Anti Valentine's day partygoer to keep watch over the fire.

6. Clean your Closets: One of the worst things about favorite outfits is remembering when you last wore them and suddenly realizing they have a difficult past. Consider donating extra clothing or clothing with past baggage to a charity or thrift store. The room in your closet will give space for new duds and you'll be helping out at the same time.

7. Play a New MUD or Graphical Online Game: MUDs like slothmud.org or graphical games like Outspark's Secret of the Solstice are not only free, they are great ways to meet folks and enjoy an entertaining adventure. On Valentine's day when many folks will be out to dinner, at the movies, or enjoying a romantic evening, try an online game where folks who aren't dating can hang out and fight ferocious digital creatures!

8. Spend a Day With the Kids: If you have no Valentine but are blessed with little ones in your life, spending your Anti Valentine's day as either a caregiver for kids whose parents are out on a date or even having a fun night with your own children. Baking non-heart shaped cookies, coloring, watching non-romantic kids movies (avoid princess movies!), and even popping popcorn in a popcorn popper are all fun activities. Children's museums, zoos, and kid geared restaurants are often great bets, as they are typically not very busy during dating hours.

9. Watch Silly Soaps: Soap operas have silly plot lines that pop up on weird occasions. For your anti Valentine's day celebration, find someone who can loan you Marlena's possession, the alien abuction from the series SOAP, or one of the thousands of baby switching or coming back from the dead plots. I personally know plenty of places to get old Soap opera VHS recordings to relive the silliness of one of the oldest varieties of television programming.

10. Visit with the Elderly - Not having a Valentine for Valentine's day is not as crushing as losing your Valentine after years of being together. Spending an Anti Valentine's day as a nursing home volunteer is a rewarding and wonderful way to get through a difficult holiday. There will be Valentine cards, decorations, and flowers in most cases, but many who live at a managed care facility have Valentines they can't be with or that have passed away. You don't need to mention why you have volunteered, but it may mark the beginning of something that changes your life.

However you spend your Anti Valentine's day, have a wonderful February 14th!