Valentine's day - does it have to be crap if you're single? NO! (Valentine's Day)

Member Name: Charliewhippet

Product:	Valentine's Day
Date:	18/02/09 (157 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Presents! Chocolates! Flowers! Hooray!

Disadvantages: It really is a rip off.... enter a restaurant at your peril.

Is Valentine's day just a load of commercial rubbish? Well, maybe. The hearts and balloons start creeping into the shops just after Christmas, gradually increasing until, by the 13th February, they have built up to a screaming crescendo. Unless you live on a remote Scottish island without a Tesco metro, it's unlikely you will be able to escape the onslaught.

If you are in a relationship, there is unavoidable pressure to be impossibly romantic with your partner, normally booking a table at a restaurant where you will pay twice as much as usual to sit in a room surrounded by other couples trying to our-romance each other. I once worked with a girl who received two dozen roses on Valentine's day, from the guy she'd started seeing at Christmas. (Delivered to her workplace.) I think I can speak for all the ladies present on that day when I say this is now the standard by which we measure the efforts of men we are involved with, poor suckers.

If you are single, you may feel pressure to find someone to date, resulting in an undignified scramble to attend every speed dating event in a 20 mile radius, of which there will be many. (One redeeming feature of Valenetine's day is that clubs have now caught on to the fact that there is a whole bunch of single people wanting to go out, so as to avoid the takeaway for one eaten in front of a Meg Ryan video. )

Having played both sides, I can't say I'm a particularly big fan of V day. On occasions when I've had a boyfriend, it always seems to coincide with a big argument. Any presents I've had have been, invariably, cuddly toys - normally bears holding little hearts. (If I were a more highly strung kind of girl, I might have some sort of "How could you think I would like this?!" tantrum, but being a more easy going type, I merely say thank you and then stuff it in a drawer, perhaps to be unearthed next time I'm doing a charity shop run. )

This year I was single, but came up with a sure-fire way to make Valentine's day an opportunity for fun rather than a grim 24 hours in which I must hibernate in case anyone asked me if I'd had any cards. I decided that, if I had a boyfriend, I would be spending money on him and hopefully receiving a few presents in return; in which case, why not just cut out the middle man and buy presents for myself? With this plan in place, I began to look forward to the 14th. I treated myself to some Lush products (which I have avoided for yonks, as they are expensive and I can buy shampoo from the pound shop.) I also bought a box of chocolates, and a bunch of flowers. So for once, I got exactly what I wanted on the big day. Self love is the way to go!

For the record, I did get a card, and a rose, from a "secret" admirer (ok, my friend's brother, whom I'd met at a party a week ago. I don't want to go out with him, but it reminded me that Valentine's day was originally intended for people to declare there hithero unspoken feelings, Now it's just a special occasion for "greedy women who are already in relationships" (to quote a grumpy male friend of mine). The only people who really enjoy it are the manufacturers of cards and teddy bears. Remind me to open a restaurant next year, ok?

Summary: It's the only festive occasion between Xmas and Easter - make the most of it!