Valentine’s Day is here yet again. While your friends are going to be dating and are excited for their dinner plans on the 14th, you might think that being single on this special day gives you an excuse to be lonely. But it does not.
Single or reason otherwise, Valentine’s Day is another for you to celebrate love: may it be love shared between you and a special someone or just love for yourself if you’re not ready to mingle at all; there are activities that you can certainly do and would enjoy on a Valentine’s Day. You can take that cooking lesson that you have long been planning to attend to or just do your place a favor and devote a couple of hours for home improvement by doing a design to your condo living room.
Valentine’s can be a day for you to take time to pamper yourself and get that well-deserved relaxation. After all, being single on Valentine’s Day gives you even more room for committing to those pamper-yourself ideas whether you’re on a budget or just want to indulge yourself in your own home.
Here are simple ideas on how to pamper yourself, plus some things to do alone on Valentine’s Day that you will surely enjoy:
1. Doze Off an Extra Hour
Sleeping an extra hour or two on the 14th won’t hurt you. Aside from the physical benefits of sleeping, getting more time for a nap gives you that extra energy to carry on throughout your itinerary for your city living. In addition to resting, it’s also a good way to burn calories.
To make it even more pampering and comfortable, lay down on freshly washed cotton sheets with your pajamas on and play some relaxing classics on the background. Even if you can’t sleep, this gives you a quiet and alone time for some thinking and breathing from a busy urban life.
2. Design Your Home
It’s always relaxing to come home to the comforts of your own house after a hard day’s work. To improve on the mood that your space brings you, you can add personalized condo improvement projects to the things you can do on Valentine’s Day.
Whether you are staying at a condo in the Philippines or living off your parents’ home, do a small make-over and add some details or pieces that say a lot about you. Work on elements such as colors and furniture arrangements and produce some thoughtful patterns including colors of green, yellow and white. You can also search the internet about condo design ideas that will not only look lovely on Valentine’s but for the upcoming days as well.
3. Make Time for a Neglected Hobby
Everybody has something that they always love to do. It may be playing video games or outdoor sports, watching a movie or cooking. These hobbies can calm your nerves down, but they usually are set aside when busy schedule rises. However, this Valentine’s Day can get you engrossed again to your favorite sport or give you the chance to beat that high score on the last video game you played.
Get back into running, watch that movie that you missed months ago or just read over a cup of good coffee. Do whatever makes you happy. Aside from giving you a time off from the occasion, it will also give a sense of fulfillment for having done something that you always wanted to do.
4. Indulge Yourself in the Gym
Exercise, as you know, is good for you physically. It maintains and reduces your waistline and it provides endurance, especially for those who are into sports. But, what others fail to be aware of is that exercise also gives your emotional and mental health a boost. It’s a venue for rel898easing stress and unwanted toxins that get piled up when you regularly eat fast food and get stressed.
While to some, regular exercise is non-negotiable: it’s something that is always written into planners and fitted into schedules like a fitness game plan while living in the city; for others, it’s on the end of their to-do list. So if you’ve missed a lot of working out due to your daily tasks at work or at school or because you’re just not into it, then this Valentine’s is a good way to head to your condo gym and lift some weights. It’s one of the amenities that you should utilize when you rent a condo, not to mention that those equipments are being payed for by you too.
5. Google Interests
“Use the internet to your advantage”, professors always say in class.
One of the things you can do while waiting for those nails to dry at home or while that toothpaste commercial is on the TV is search the internet for some of the things that interest you: may it be 10-minute food recipes that you can cook later, a condo architecture that you have been planning to apply to your unit or some real estate sites in the Philippines.
Reading articles and viewing photos of the things you like can have some psychological effect on you and can actually make you happy. It gives you an idea on what to save money for and what to call your real estate agent for. It is good for planning on your future spend-outs and makes you look forward for something new.
6. Go Out
Go somewhere new.
Valentine’s Day may be the perfect opportunity to do a little wandering and travelling. During this season, restaurants usually close later than the usual and some even have discounts on their items. You don’t necessarily have to go far, though. Going to that new place 3 blocks away would do. Add some exercising while you’re at it: walk, bring your iPod with you and listen to lovely instrumentals along the way. Another option would be to go and visit a friend that needs your company this Valentine’s Day.
7. Treat Yourself to DIY Spa Treatments
Treating yourself to a spa doesn’t have to be expensive. You can check for local spa centers and ask if there are available discounts and promos. But if there are none, you can pamper yourself at home and survive the Valentine’s Day without a hefty amount of money.
Apply salon-style services at home with some DIY treatments that can be done for both men and women such as applying coconut milk on the hair or by doing a mani-pedi spa pamper session using inexpensive and easily-bought manicure spa treatment items on the department stores. Treat yourself like a royalty this Valentine’s Day while still being on a budget. Such treatments will not only boost your relaxation meter on the day, but can also help you get back on that hygiene regime or track.
8. Cosset to Your Creative Side
One of the things you can add to your list this Valentine’s Day that you can totally do alone is by engaging into artwork or anything that will require your creative juices flowing. As Dr. Lombardo on Woman’s Day says, “Being creative and pursuing your own interests boosts your happiness, and when you’re happier, you’re a much better mother, wife, friend, worker—you name it!”. Think of a past time activity like knitting or drawing caricatures that you would like to try and just do it to survive Valentine’s Day.
9. Learn Something New
Who says learning can’t be fun? Don’t only pamper yourself with the usual things this Valentine’s Day, but also engage in discovering others. Read a chapter of a new book or about making a garden in the condo or attend to a cooking class. Do anything wherein you’ll learn. Not only will you exercise your mind and avoid the thought of loneliness this Valentine’s Day, but you may also discover that you can be great at something else.
10. Make That Condo Garden Happen
Times Union says that gardening helps relieve stress and soothes a troubled mind. Working on plants after being stuck at work or school for 8-12 hours is therapeutic and can release you from anxieties just by attending to a more natural scenery.
This Valentine’s Day is your chance to get away from city living and just attend to the comforts of a condo improvement by making yourself an indoor garden. Your condo garden will not only serve its purpose on the 14th, but will continue to be a comfort you come home to everyday after work or school. You can tend to it when you’re not doing anything or when you feel like just relaxing. It can also be an addition to your list of new hobbies and interests.
11. Eat Out
Because you don’t have to spend an exorbitant amount of money for buying Valentine’s gifts, flowers and chocolates, you can use a portion of your savings for treating yourself into eating your favorite dishes. Give in to that guilty pleasure on this occasion and just “Eat your heart out”. The city living will surely give you a lot of choices from fine restaurants to your favorite fast food chains.
12. Cook
If you just want to stay at home and keep the limits of your budget then cooking will do you the job. Make yourself these easy-to-do 10-minute food recipes that will not only make your life easier but will also give you a sense of fulfillment and experience. Not only can it satisfy you and your stomach, but it will save you money from deliveries and keep your mind busy throughout the day. It is also a creative hobby that you might want to pursue if it is not already in your list yet.
13. Sit and Have a Cup of a Delicious Drink
Lay back on your chair, sip a cup of hot chocolate, tea or iced coffee, and just breathe. To some, drinking these is already on their morning schedule, but do they really enjoy it?
You can and you should do this on Valentine’s Day. It’s not about getting your caffeine fix or about hydrating yourself, but just having that alone and quiet time with that good cup of your choice beverage. It can be a venue for tapping to your own needs without thinking about anybody else’s and clearing out the “mental junk” that’s been stuck on your head. Although this can be highlighted as one of the things you can do to pamper yourself at home this Valentine’s Day, you can make it a daily appointment for yourself.
14. Movie Marathon
Living a city life might get you so busy and tired that at the end of the day, there’s no other way to get rest but to just sleep. There’s no time for you to catch up on the shows that you missed and you might even have to miss on that movie you have been waiting on for so long because of overtime at work or an exam tomorrow.
This is a bonus when you’re single on Valentine’s Day: you don’t have to worry about another’s opinion on what to watch or not watch. You can go as much as 5 movies all day long, stay in bed with those chocolate and chips, skip the parts of the movies that you don’t like and sleep if you feel tired already.
15. Get A Mini-Makeover
How long ago was it when you last had your haircut? Or when you last bought clothes to update your wardrobe? If you have been stuck on a usual routine for quite some time now, break it this Valentine’s Day and give yourself a makeover.
You may already have done some home improvement, now do some self-improvement: Take that haircut to cut off those split ends and maybe get the hairstyle that better fits you, buy new clothes that does not have to be necessarily branded but those that are considered as good finds from thrift shops, and take a picture to document your “after self”.
Valentine’s Day is not just about lovers; moreover, it’s about celebrating love. Instead of getting sad because you have no one to cuddle with on the occasion, build yourself and celebrate your love for your individuality and independence. Do what makes you happy and what can make you happy. Valentine’s Day is just as ordinary as any day could be, but make it count.
