How to Celebrate an Anti-Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and not all of us have a special someone in our lives to share this holiday with. Even some people who do have a significant other choose not to celebrate this holiday because it is a "Hallmark holiday". So whether you are boycotting Valentine's Day because you are single or because you don't think that you need to participate in this ritual to show your love for someone else, I am going to give you some ideas on how to celebrate Anti-Valentine's Day instead! Most of these things are going to help you look out for number one, but some of them will help you brighten up your single friends' Anti-Valentine's Day as well.

Treat yourself
There's nothing like Valentine's Day to help derail your New Year's resolution to lose weight. Help keep your spirits high and stick to your New Year's resolution by treating yourself to something nice and new. So you don't have a special someone to bring you chocolates and candies and take you out to a fattening dinner? Good! Go buy something you really wanted for Christmas and didn't get, but normally wouldn't buy for yourself. Get a hot new outfit to wear to your Anti-Valentine's Day party (which I'll discuss more shortly). Go get a massage, get your nails done.

Throw an Anti-Valentine's Day Party
Do not include any of your exes or those of anyone else you are inviting. Invite other single people and make sure they know how to have a good time and handle their alcohol. The idea is to boost your mood, not bring over people who are going to be party poopers or get drunk and trash your house. Dance... Even if you aren't comfortable doing so, give it a try to boost your mood. Start your party off with some dinner because no one wants to try to fight through the crowds to get into restaurants.

Sleepover with Your Other Single Friends
Maybe you don't want to have a lot of people over or even have a co-ed get together. You can invite some of your closest friends over for dinner and a sleepover. Get some wine, amazing food (for dinner and late night snacks), and some funny movies. Remember what sleepovers were like when you were a kid? Make it a point to re-create that, couch cushion fort and all.

Cards for Your Friends
Remember back when you were in elementary school and you had to buy the boxes of Valentine's Day cards and give one to everyone in your class? Did the fact that everyone got a card from everyone else ever make it any less nice? No. Go get a box or two of cheap Valentine's Day cards and give them out to your single friends who are feeling neglected. If you don't like the idea of even using those cutesie, already made children's cards, my suggestion is to buy a pack of plain index cards, a jar of Mod Podge, and a paintbrush. You can collage a unique card for each of your friends based on what they like and write a poem or nice short note on the back for them.

For The Bitter/Angry
One suggestion that I got from Acacia of SuicideGirls.com was to send corrupted Valentine's Day cards found online (I personally love SomeECards.com for this idea) and send them out to boys that won't leave you alone or who have scorned you in the past. I know this isn't keeping with the positive attitude, but sometimes it is hard to resist! Maybe you can write an anti-love note to an ex and rip it to shreds instead if you are afraid of the consequences of your actions.

I know it can be a depressing holiday if you are single, but it doesn't have to be that way. Try to keep a positive attitude, they are really infectious so your other single friends will be thankful when you are all having a good time together instead of huddling up under a blanket alone eating chocolate cake, watching sappy chick flicks, and feeling sorry for yourself. If you feel yourself starting to slip into some sadness, think about how lucky you are to be single and not dating someone who doesn't have a job/car/drivers license/personality/nice thing to say to you/life of their own and get right back to enjoying yourself and the company of your friends.