Happy Valentine’s Day, Woods Media Family!

I have celebrated this holiday so many different ways!  Growing up, my parents always celebrated Valentine’s Day with me with chocolate or flowers.  In college, I celebrated with my sorority sisters by decorating festive cookies.  During student teaching, I celebrated with middle school students teaching them to love math.  During my first year of teaching, I celebrated with my students by teaching them to love books and reading.  And once I met Connor, I began celebrating with him too (our very first time eating out at a restaurant together was actually Valentine’s Day in 2021… and we had already been dating for four months by that point… meeting and dating during a global pandemic was pretty wild haha).  Over the course of many years, I have learned there is so much more to Valentine’s Day than it appears.  It’s an opportunity to celebrate many different types of love, from your family to your friends to different activities.  What I love about Valentine's Day is that it gives me one very particular time to reach out and remind others of how thankful I am to have them in my life.


Today on the blog, I’m giving you a list of ideas to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year outside of the stereotypical dinner and a movie with your significant other.  While the special dinner date out may be fun too, there’s so much more to this holiday than just celebrating romantic love!  Maybe you’re the person who usually opts to skip past this holiday, but I’m hoping that this year may be the one that reminds you there is so much to celebrate in life this month!


A fun Tik Tok inspired Valentine's Day themed self portrait session is always a good idea, right?

MAIL VALENTINES TO YOUR FRIENDS

I loved going to school on Valentine’s Day when I was young!  After spending a week leading up to the day crafting your perfect Valentine mailbox, you finally got to give and receive so many fun notes from friends!  Once we reach a certain age, we stop doing this though.  Let this be the year you bring it back!  Take an evening to make a list of a few friends and write them a note letting them know how much you love your friendship and how grateful you are for them.  This was the first year I did this and it was so fun thinking about how unique each friendship is to me and how each one of them blesses my life and makes it even better.

BAKE SOME VALENTINES GOODIES AND DELIVER THEM TO PEOPLE

I have a friend who is an absolute genius in the kitchen!  She can truly bake like no other!  Every so often, I’ll get a text from her saying something along the lines of “Hi!  I have some fun treats to bring you!  Let me know when you’re home!”  It’s such a simple act, but it means so much to me each time.  This year she brought some cute Valentine’s Day themed goodies.  She drove to multiple people’s houses and spent a few minutes catching up with each friend.  What a fun excuse to go see your friends!

FIND SOMEBODY WHO NEEDS TO BE REMINDED OF HOW LOVED THEY ARE

Someone you know in your life needs to be reminded of how loved they are.  Maybe they’re going through a rough patch in life and things have just been flat-out hard.  Maybe they could use a meal dropped off or just some time to spend with someone.

SEND FLOWERS TO YOUR GRANDMA

Or your mom or your sister or your cousin or whoever!  Everyone loves getting flowers and they don’t just have to go to your significant other on Valentine’s Day!  You can even make a trip to Trader Joe’s and put together a fun arrangement yourself to keep it budget-friendly.

HOST A VALENTINE PARTY WITH YOUR FRIENDS

I love hosting people at our house!  While I may not always be the best cook, I love putting on a fun and festive event!  Invite your friends over and celebrate with your galentines this year!  You can have heart-shaped treats and cute decorations and just spend time with some friends you love.

TAKE YOURSELF ON A SOLO DATE

Sometimes to feel refreshed you need to spend some time with just yourself!  Maybe for Valentine’s Day this year, you take yourself on a date.  Maybe you start with your favorite coffee shop, then a massage followed by a walk around your favorite bookstore, and end your night with dinner and your favorite rom-com.  Days like this every now and then have definitely helped me feel rejuvenated!

WATCH YOUR FAVORITE ROMANCE MOVIE

Of course, the go-to is the movie Valentine’s Day… can you really make it through February without watching this star-studded film??!  Or maybe you’re a Titanic girl or How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days or The Princess Diaries 2… there’s just something about an old movie that makes me feel so warm and nostalgic!

SCHEDULE A COFFEE DATE WITH A FRIEND YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IN A WHILE

Adult friendships are hard and they take intentional time to help them continue to flourish.  Who haven’t you seen in a while?  Send them a text and schedule a time to catch up!

There are so many ways to celebrate this fun holiday!  Throughout the month of February, I am always reminded of how thankful I am to have so many people in my life who I love so dearly.  Let this be the year you try something new and celebrate your loved ones in a special way.  Celebrating your people is always something to get on board with, and Valentine’s Day just gives us another chance to do that! Happy Valentine’s Day!

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