Walking into third grade on Valentine’s Day was always electric. Each classmate had a handmade mailbox, sprinkled with glitter and stickers barely hanging on from the overload of goop and goo that was trying to keep the freshly made paper heart on. You’d take time the night before to write each classmate’s name, reading from the class list to make sure that you had all 27 names scrawled onto the boxes of the heart shaped candies you bought to hand out.
Yes, Valentine’s Day in elementary school was peak. You got loads of candy and small trinkets that you’d likely never use. But who said we had to grow out of our corny traditions of making little gift bags, getting chocolate kisses, stuffed bears and a cringy card starting with the infamous “roses are red, violets are blue.”
If you feel a lost sense of childhood whimsy, I am here to remind you that there is absolutely no reason we should not be celebrating Valentine’s Day with friends. Here are some ways you can celebrate on the 14th.
Do secret valentines with some of your closest friends. Put your names in a hat, preferably written on heart shaped pieces of paper. Maybe write a small suggestion or two as to what you’d like to receive and discuss with your friends about a reasonable budget. If you don’t want to do secret valentines, everyone can exchange gift bags similar to the ones you would’ve received in elementary school. Either way, a small gift exchange is like a throw back to fourth grade without the pressure of going overboard.
Bake a Hear-Me-Out cake. There is nothing funnier than looking at your friend while they admit they find Mr. Clean attractive. A hear-me-out cake is the perfect way for you and your friends to expose your most creative and unconventionally attractive celebrity crushes. Bake a cake from scratch, from a box, or buy one premade. Print out pictures of some of your most questionable “hear-me-outs” and attach them to toothpicks. Go around and place your hear-me-outs on the cake, then watch as your friends admit some crushes they maybe should’ve kept to themselves.
Make a playlist. Galentines is the perfect excuse to cue up sappy love songs, and maybe listen to Taylor Swift’s “Lover” album. I will admit, Valentine’s day is the only day that I listen to Taylor Swift, but not once have I regretted it. Add in crowd pleasers like No Doubt’s “Just a Girl”, Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” and Queen’s “Somebody to Love”. Maybe even do some blind karaoke and test how well your friends really know their “favorite artists”.
The fun needs to be brought back to Valentine’s day. The only reason we don’t have as much fun on Valentines day is because we don’t let ourselves. All of these activities have become traditions that my friends and I plan every year. They are unserious and sweet. I genuinely believe that Valentine’s Day was meant to be celebrated this way. So, make the gift bags and chant love songs. Who ever said we had to throw out our sloppy, glitter-dusted mailboxes?
