Not sure why but this is one holiday that makes me feel sad an left out. With no husband or significasnt other in my life, there are no surprises for me. Both of my husbands were great and Valentines Day was always a big deal at our house. I was spoiled and loved it....boo-hoo!

I'm alone as well, Chatty. We can boo-hoo together.

I always do something for myself. Like buy something, get a pedicure, eat chocolate, etc etc etc. I'm usually fine.

One year Valentines Day fell on a Saturday and I was meeting a gf for dinner at a good restaurant. She was very late and I was standing there waiting for over an hour with all these lovey dovey couples all around me. That was bad. I ended up leaving and caught up with my bad friend later. I adopted the policy of not waiting longer than 1/2 hour. That cured her of that little bad habit.

I've scheduled my daughter and I to go out on Feb 14th to do a play and dinner that I won.

I just sense that valentines day is going to be hard this year....so I have a plan!

Valentines was NEVER a big thing for my ex and I, but being alone this year makes it worse.

I always loved Valentine's Day, years ago. But, I agree, now it's just another "Hallmark Holiday" that makes us feel left out when we don't have a special someone.

Last year I sent myself flowers @ the cost of $50, which could have easily been purchased for $7 @ the local Bi-Lo! I felt there was a stigma as I know co-workers wonder why I don't have a b-friend, being the only 40 something DWF in our division!

Every year for Valentine's day, I make it a point to send cards and messages to people I care about to let them know I'm thinking of them and how much their being in my life means to me. My SO isn't a 'romantic' by any stretch of the imagination, and sometimes that rankles. But I have found that reaching out to others makes me feel better.

I'm alone too. It's okay. I've felt sad and left out on "special holidays" in the past but most of the time I don't buy into the propaganda that I'm not special just because I'm alone. Some of us have chosen to be single. Maybe it's okay and it's healthier for us right now. We'll be with someone when we're ready and that person appears in our life...or not. My friends know I love them and I know they love me. We can have Valentine Days every day if we share how we feel. And I can eat chocolate any time I want to!

Valentines Day will be nice for me this year. I can count on being spoiled. Last year my relationship was quite new but he did get me something nice. This year he will be out for a visit on February 17th so we will celebrate then. The 10 years on my own were really tough. Holidays like this are really over rated. When I was married, for most of it I got a card and maybe some flowers but was always sad because my marriage was an unhappy one. My daughter was born on Feb 10th so we always stretch her birthday out. I make sure to give my kids cute little cards. Both my daughter and I love cinnamon hearts so we eat those like crazy. My ex bought me a huge box of them when my daughter was born so it's sort of a tradition to eat them on this holiday.
The first year I was on my own some really nice friends did something I will never forget. I came home from work on Valentines Day and found a large heart shaped box of chocolates (and a small one for the kids) tied to the front door with a big red ribbon. I was so thrilled, it made my day. It taught me that it is better to give than to receive, (although I already knew that :-) and that friends can make you feel just as good as a romantic mate. (well almost)
The moral is....cherish your friends!
Kate

My hubby and I exchange cards, and maybe go out to dinner. But this year he's heading out of town that day, and I'm heading to Vegas to go to a clothing show and meet Chatty on Thursday. See Chatty, it WILL be special - can I bring you a heart-shaped box of chocolates and we can eat them all together??

We don't normally do the gift exchange thing for Valentines, Anniversary, Mother's Day, etc. For one thing, I'm not a "diamonds are a girls best friend" kind of person, so I'd kill him if he spent a couple of thousand on jewelry for me. Plus, we have so much stuff as it is that we don't see a reason to buy a gift just because the stores say we should.

I'm usually happy with a silly card and dinner out. Not having to cook is a nice treat for me.