V-Day Plans

John Hritz

I’m going to skip right over the part where you pretend you have plans for Valentine’s Day. You probably got some chocolate hearts – from your mom – but instead of making this either a mooshy love-fest or a singles’ awareness day, here are a few suggestions to make this your best V-day yet.

1. If you want romance, ask for it.

Neither men nor women are mind-readers. And yes, this holiday does tell us to be romantic, but someone else’s idea of romantic might not be the same as yours. So if you want roses and chocolate, say it. If you want to stay home and watch Saw over popcorn and Kool-Aid, rent the movie and tell your date (or roommate or…whoever) to bring the popcorn.
Whatever your preference, if you tell your special-someone what you have in mind, nothing will be lost in communication and your V-Day won’t disappoint.

2. Watch an animated movie.

I love a romantic flick as much as the next girl, but here are several reasons to avoid them on V-Day.

Cartoon romances put no pressure on whatever tenuous relationship you might be in, and don’t give your date any false hopes.
If you’re celebrating with the “lonely hearts club,” an animated flick isn’t going to leave you wondering why you haven’t met your Harry yet, or when your James Bond is going to show up.
They’re also easier to watch with just friends. While some might feel this is the day for a LOTR marathon, no one can object to the clumsy, robotic romance of Wall-E, or Gnomeo and Juliet if you’re going out.

3. Go ahead, buy into the chocolate obsession.

It’s Valentine’s Day! And even if you have no other reason to celebrate this somewhat useless holiday, you can at least celebrate the abundance of chocolate goodies (chalk hearts are not real candy) to be had.