Why I think Valentine’s day is dumb
I love the holidays. Any excuse to get together with family and celebrate – I’m in. Even the Super Bowl is considered a holiday for most, and although I don’t know a single thing about football, I’m always at a Super Bowl party, just so I can get together with friends and family.
The one holiday I don’t celebrate, however, is Valentine’s Day. Never has there been a holiday so commercialized as that one, and I just won’t participate in something like that.
Valentine’s Day is supposed to be the day you celebrate your partner. Your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend. Love on them extra hard and buy them all sorts of crap they don’t need, like chocolate, flowers, and jewelry.
Now, Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers, but for kids, as well. Kids are expected to bring Valentine’s Day cards to their friends at school and are usually accompanied by a treat or toy of some kind. And I’m pretty sure we’re expected to buy Valentine’s Day gifts for our own kids, as well.
But shouldn’t we be celebrating the ones we love every day – not just on February 14th – the day that was chosen for us? And why do we need to buy a gift, just to say ‘I love you’?
I’ve never understood when friends of mine would go crazy trying to find the “perfect” Valentine’s Day gift for their partner, often spending hundreds of dollars on something they think might fit the bill.
It’s Ludacris, I say.
Love the ones you’re with, daily. Don’t go all out just one day a year and that’s it. People want to feel loved all the time. Surprise your partner with a random (inexpensive!) gift sometimes. Write them a love note on a Wednesday in March. Go out for dinner on a Saturday night in June.
Celebrate each other ALL THE TIME. Don’t give in to this commercialized holiday and spend gobs of money to show your partner how much you love them on ONE day.
My husband and I have never celebrated Valentine’s Day. We don’t need more crap coming into our house, and we don’t need to wait for someone else to tell us when it’s time to say ‘I love you’ to each other. Instead, we celebrate each other year-round, with regular surprise gifts, love notes, and date nights.
We don’t give Valentine’s Day gifts to our kids, either, and they know not to expect any. We do let them give cards to their friends at school, but that’s only so that they can feel involved with their classes (since pretty much all of the kids give Valentine’s). I always buy cards after Valentine’s Day, so I pay next to nothing for them.
How do you feel about Valentine’s Day? Do you celebrate?
Comments
I agree that Valentine’s day is over commercialized but that doesn’t you mean you have to throw it out the window and completely ignore it. There are lots of fun and easy things you can do to celebrate love with everyone you love without giving in to the stores and spending tons of money. And yes, you should be showering love all year round but what’s wrong with showering love all year long and a little extra on Valentine’s day. Before we got engaged I snuck into my then-boyfriends apartment and covered it in construction paper hearts that each had a reason why I loved him on it. It cost me a dollar and some time and he put those hearts into one of his ‘to-save’ boxes and still has them.
When I was with my boyfriend, we never did anything for Valentine’s Day. We did things all year round and it was always a special surprise to find (or give) a little something, or make a special meal. We felt Valentine’s Day was too commercial and too forced. I do like chocolates though. lol
I’m with you on this one Vicki. We don’t spend a lot of money on each other but we do recognize it as a “different special day” just like our anniversaries and our birthdays. “My husband and I have never celebrated Valentine’s Day. We don’t need more crap coming into our house”……No one said you have to spend money on crap that goes into the house. Perhaps go skating, cuddle up in front of the fireplace and watch a good movie, etc. I love my husband more and more every passing day and I tell him I love him every single day but it doesn’t hurt to spend that day a little differently than others.
I don’t get it. You think Valentine’s Day is “dumb” and yet your post is full of “Valentine” projects. It costs nothing to show someone that they are loved and appreciated and while we should be doing this daily, it doesn’t hurt to have a date that reminds us to exert a little extra effort. Much like Christmas, it only becomes as commercialized in your life as you let it become. Do you “not celebrate” by ignoring your loved ones for the day?
Seriously, this is everything, I love you and your words!!!!