Nerdifacts: Valentine's Day for the Non-Conformist

First off, let me say that this is not an anti-love post. I love love! I'm head over heels in the thrall of it right now and have been for the last 5 years. But Jim and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day. Why cram all of the big romantic gestures into one day when everyone else is doing it too and it's just getting shoved down your throat? I can't even count the number of couples I know who secretly dread the pressure of Valentine's Day and worry that some other couple is going to do something better and then make them look bad. A lot of my single friends loathe seeing all of the lovestruck couples, while the lovestruck couples grumble over the dirty looks those who haven't found love yet are shooting their way.

Jim and I don't celebrate because there are 364 other days in the year when being in love is way more fun than it is on February 14th. And we're the kind of people that relish the little things.

-Right after we both get comfy on the couch, I realize I've forgotten my drink and won't get up to get it because of the cozy factor, and Jim won't hesitate to get right back up and grab it for me.
-In the middle of the night I semi-consciously roll over and pull Jim's blankets up to cover his shoulders so that he doesn't wake up with a cramp.
-When I'm completely engrossed in learning something new or working on a project, Jim will check in on me to see if I need any tea, coffee, a blanket, slippers, a snack, or some music to help my productivity soar.
-Before scheduling my birthday dinner with my parents, I checked with Jim to see if any of the days in question coincided with a hockey game he was waiting to watch or if he's scheduled to play a hockey game in the Playstation league he's in with his brothers and friends.
-Not too long ago a friend hit us with the phrase, "I love your Love, man!" and that's when we discovered that if your romance is genuine, you don't have to go over the moon to show someone you love them. It just comes out naturally and that's when others can see it, connect with it, and appreciate it for the happy bit of magic that it is.

Sometimes, when we're feeling the Valentine's pressure, we'll jump on board and celebrate what we call "Fakentine's Day". All you have to do is come up with an amazing romantic adventure, plan out all of the details, live through it in your imagination and remember everything so that on the 15th you've got an awesome story to tell your co-workers and friends that will surely out-Valentine any of them, except that your tale is 100% fake, and 200% fun. If you like to put the kibosh on Valentine's Day but still have a sweetheart you spend it with, this is an awesome thing to do while you're cuddling on the couch watching your favourite movie for the zillionth time :)

Ideas for Non-Traditional V-Day Celebrations

- Horror movie marathon! The visuals aren't romantic, but being terrified with your honey on the couch sure is :)
- Lots of pizza places serve up heart-shaped pizza on Valentine's Day. It's a super cheesy way to celebrate. (See what I did there? Ha ha ha ha!)
- Pick up your favourite fancy drinks, crank up the heat, grab some board games and play them... naked.
- Head out into the Valentine's fray for a scavenger hunt. Make your own checklist of things like: couple making out in a corner, man running to or from a flower shop for emergency roses, couple in a restaurant sharing an entree, someone scowling at PDA's... you get the idea. Think of a fun prize for the winner.
- Go out for a romantic dinner at your favourite fast-food restaurant. Bring a red tablecloth and some plastic wine glasses from the dollar store to pour your pop into. I was going to say bring wine and some candles, but the establishments may frown on that ;)
- If you're in a snowy place, make a snowman, have a snowball fight, go sledding, then warm up with hot chocolate or a hot tub.

Unattached? Get some other singles or non-celebrants together for some fun:
-Have a watching marathon and play drinking games! You can do this with a favourite tv series or movie franchise and make your own themed drinking rules, or you could watch mushy love movies and base your drinking rules on things like on screen smooches, hand holding, slaps in the face, being dissed in love... that kind of thing.
- Have a friendship love circle! No, not that kind of love circle. Everyone gets a sheet of paper and writes their name on the top. Assemble yourselves in a circle and pass the sheet to your right. Write something that you love about the person named on the sheet, and pass it to the right. By the time you get your sheet back it will be filled with things that your friends love about you.
- Get some inexpensive boxes of Valentine's cards (the kind kids give out at school) and go visit some busy consumer areas like a mall and give them out to people who look like they need a smile.

Do you have any fun ideas for non-traditional ways to celebrate Valentine's? I'd love to read them in the comments!

I leave you with a sample of handmade items from an Etsy treasury I made titled "Forget the Mushy Yucky Love Stuff". Enjoy!