I don’t get why people hate Valentine’s Day. There is something to be said about people giving each other cheesy cards and showing their love in the most public way possible. I love it. The pink and red color palette brings me joy, especially when it’s directed at me.
For years, even when I was single, I celebrated Valentine’s Day. My friends and I would have a secret Santa-esque gift giving escapade. We would find lovey-dovey gifts from the dollar store and write joking love notes to each other to place in the glittery bags.
Even without proclaiming my love to my ten closest friends, Valentine’s Day still has its perks. The sweets are abundant. Pastries, cupcakes, cookies, candy and too much chocolate to handle. What’s not to like?
Candy is a staple of the Valentine’s Day diet. The skittles with To: and From: on their individual pouches. The Fun-Dip that only comes in red, with white hearts on the hard-to-open packaging. My personal favorites are red and white M&M’s and aluminum-wrapped Hershey’s kisses. M&M’s are always customizable, but there is something nostalgic about unwrapping a Hershey’s kiss and making an aluminum foil ball out of the wrappers.
This year is my first V-day in a relationship, and it is safe to say, I’m excited! My girlfriend and I share the same enthusiasm, and even though there is some pressure around making sure everything goes well, we’re both just excited to spend a day gushing over each other.
To me, Valentine’s Day is more about being authentic about love and all the ways it can be expressed rather than the actual act of gift giving. It’s important to tell the people you care about that you love them as often as you can, but I feel that Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to embarrass them while letting them know exactly how much they mean to you.
