Whether you're coupled up, a solo warrior, or celebrating with friends, February 14th can be a day filled with love, laughter, and unique experiences. From meaningful momentos to heartwarming activities for all types of lovebirds, this article presents to you ten different ways by which you can make this February 14th the best it’s ever been!
This Valentine’s day, ditch the conventional and instead celebrate love in all of it’s unconventional and uniquely diverse forms!
The Time Capsule of Love
Time capsules are originally a symbol of a long lasting bond, with both shared and individual memories boxed inside for safe keeping. In popular media, we usually see friends groups throwing in their treasure troves into an antique box and proceeding to bury it within the shallowest hole ever seen. A time capsule can be a great way to indicate to your friend group or significant other that you’re in this for the long-run.
The possibilities of what could go inside your time capsule box are endless. The more the variety, the better. Journal entries, mementos of your first date or hangout, dried flowers from a special bouquet, engraved jewellery are all fair game.
To go the extra mile, consider including:
- tickets from concerts movies, or other on-screen performances you’ve been to together
- postcards, stamps or keychains from your travel explorations
- a fortune cookie with a shared inside joke to open in the future
A Couple’s Spa
If both of you, or your friend group all lead extremely hectic lives, then a couple’s or group spa can be the perfect remedy! An antidote to the daily grind, tandem body scrubs, facials or hot stone therapy can act as some great starters. The best part about a spa is the enhanced closeness of the experience, which makes it both light-hearted and sentimental at the same time.
Aromatherapy is key in many spas and you’ll find that indulging in aromatherapy together can be a great way to re-kindle the spark between both of you. In a friendship setting, a girls’ spa can be both a confidence boost and an opportunity to indulge in themes. Themes can inspire both your mood and your spa attire, making it a fun bonding activity.
Image Credit : Corentin HENRY on Pexels
Volunteering Together
What better way to serve both your relationship and the community by volunteering?
In the context of a friend group, each member should take a piece of paper and write down a cause close to their heart. This could range anywhere from a beach clean up to a simple donation at your local orphanage. Once the chits are all written down, call in a third party and ask them to pick a chit of paper.
The cause written down in the chit of paper will symbolise your activity! Have fun!
As a couple, pick an activity and a cause that both of you are passionate about. If you both bond in the kitchen, consider preparing dishes for an old-age-home or a homeless shelter. If enjoying nature together is something both of you like to relish in, then consider pitching in through a beach clean up, planting trees or maintaining trails by cleaning debris and repairing bridges.
To go the extra mile, consider volunteering with a group of like-minded individuals for a cause like habitat restoration!
Take a Pottery Class Together
While the previous tip was a re-creation, you can also create new memories by taking a pottery class. ( That is, if you didn’t take one for your first date! ) A good way to challenge yourself and think out of the box, taking a pottery class can help unleash your inner creative! Don’t be afraid to experiment! Take time to pick out a pottery studio together and dwell upon what types of designs you both would be open to creating.
Learning a skill together can strengthen the bond between the both of you and splashes of clay here and there will undoubtedly create shared memories. It’s also time to let your inner perfectionist go. Embrace the process and the fact that making mistakes is inevitable, even for a pottery expert.
Don’t forget to take home your pottery artworks as a reminder of your meaningful and special date!
Image Credit : Regiane Tosatti on Pexels
Pro Tip : Relive your First Date
Remember the butterflies in your stomach? Or perhaps the stolen glances?
By stepping into the shoes of your past selves, both you and your partner can rediscover the shared interests and topics that brought you both together. While staying true to the first date is the key theme here, create some room for flexibility. If the park you went to is closed for some reason, or the weather decides to rain down, pick another alternative. Here, you can choose the amount of detail you want to go into while scripting the date.
Do you want to keep the place as it was or do you want to go all the way out, to even the outfits? Discuss and communicate with each other so that you can account for both of your personal preferences.
You can make the date more enjoyable by discussing about your feelings back then. Were you initially hesitant, or more forthcoming and straightforward? Share what you’ve come to learn and admire about each other, thus showcasing the growth of your relationships and of you, an individual yourself.
The Last One: A 2000’s Movie Marathon!
Have you been craving a movie marathon lately? Coupled with a sleepover, a movie marathon is the best way to bring together both friend groups and couples! You can choose to make a list of the movies beforehand, taking in all opinions. Or opt for spontaneity, marathon-ing the movies as they pop up in the recommended sections!
Suggestions of movies you could watch together : “Mean Girls,” “Ten Things I Hate About You,” Charlie's Angels," and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”
You can step up your movie marathon a notch by settling on a dress code! Reliving the Y2K is not all about the movies and having a dress code makes the experience all the more immersive and exciting. Along with movies, consider including iconic TV Shows and having a singalong session to the beats of the 2000’s.
TV Shows would be incomplete without classics like “Gossip Girl,” and "She's All That.”
It’s also important to let go of control and remember to simply, have fun. So grab your popcorn, dim your lights and get ready to be transported into an absolute whirlwind of an era.
Image Credits : Jens Kreuter on Unsplash
Conclusion
Whichever of these activities you choose to undertake, embrace it as an opportunity to be together with your significant other or your group of friends. Make sure to cherish your moments together and consider going for a round of “We’re Not Really Strangers” if you’re all up for it.
Enjoy your Valentines (or Galentines) !!
