
Valentine's Day can be a wonderful time to celebrate love; it can also be a hellish disaster waiting to happen. Here's how to hack Valentine's Day to make it a night you'll actually want to remember—whether you've got someone to spend it with or not.
Note: We know some of you feel Valentine's Day is a crappy, commercialized, load of BS—and that's totally fine. While this guide is geared towards surviving V-Day, it's not about following the traditional path. It's also applicable to your next big date and a look at how to handle being alone. We don't dive into the subject of love too often here on Lifehacker, but today we're here to help you out regardless of what your romantic situation may be.
I've had just about every Valentine's Day experience you can imagine: I've been broken up with, had a first date, gotten sick, visited places you wouldn't speak of in polite company, and even had a great evening of romance. While Valentine's Day can be a lot of fun, it's prone to disaster. A lot of that potential disaster can easily be avoided, however, by just managing your expectations, preparing for problems, and planning your day a little differently.
Couples
Valentine's Day can be enjoyed by anyone under the right pretext, but it was designed for people in relationships. If you've been lucky enough to find yourself in love this Valentine's Day, here are some tips, tricks, and suggestions to help you make sure you don't screw it up.Don't Expect Romance After Dinner

Try Something Different
You don't have to buy gifts and go out for dinner for Valentine's Day. You can do whatever you want. While you're probably aware of that, there are two things potentially stopping you: the expectation of tradition and the absence of alternative ideas. If you talk to your significant other, however, you might be able to figure out a date you'd both enjoy that doesn't involve the same thing that pretty much everyone else is doing. Here are some alternative ideas:Be a Bad Valentine

Photo by Jill M.
Celebrate What You Love
Romance shouldn't necessarily be born out of gifts and food. It should be about expressing love and celebrating the love you have with somebody. Sit down with your significant other and make a list of things you both really enjoy together, then make the night about those things. These things can be food and gifts, but try to think about activities you enjoy together and the reasons you love/care about each other. Find ways to celebrate those things rather than simply going the traditional route.Try Something New

Reschedule

Prepare for Disaster
Sometimes there is nothing you can do to prevent disaster, so you have to prepare for it. Often times being able to quickly solve a problem can lead to something unexpectedly better. You may even find yourself feeling glad something went wrong because it turned out better in the end. Here are some suggestions:- Have a Backup Plan - If you've got a very specific evening planned out, consider how it might go wrong and what you can do about it. If you have a backup plan ready when/if your primary plan is met with failure, you can continue the night smoothly without too much hassle. This may mean making an extra reservation, picking a backup restaurant you know won't have a wait, thinking of two activities or places with emotional significance in case one doesn't work out, and even planning an alternative night at home should going out just turn into a huge disaster on its own.
- Use Your Smartphone - While you probably don't want to take out the smartphone if you don't have to, it can provide you with easy access to information about entertainment, restaurants, and other activities near you should something go wrong. Have a page or folder dedicated to Valentine's Day emergency apps so you can spring into action the moment disaster strikes.
- Anticipate Delays and Unexpected Problems - If you're going out, you need to leave early. How early? That's something you can plan for by checking your local traffic on Google Maps and looking for advisories on your local department of transportation web site. You can also check local event sites (or even local pages on Yelp and City Search) to see what's going on near the area you'll be so you can find a place to park your car (if you're driving). Figure out what could go wrong and account for enough time to endure it. You probably won't be able to avoid the inevitable traffic of vehicles and people, but you can at least figure out how much it's going to affect your night.
Singles
If you're single, Valentine's Day can seem especially obnoxious. Nonetheless, it doesn't mean you can't have a good time. Here are some tips for spending it alone and with other single friends so you can stave off loneliness and don't have to miss out on the party.Make It Your Day
We've talked about how many little things make you happier than a few big ones, and you have no better day than Valentine's Day to put that into practice. If you're alone this Valentine's Day, break out all your favorite things. Plan out a night where you get to do all the things you love to do that don't require other people. Grab your favorite foods, enjoy your favorite books, TV, movies, and games, make something you've always wanted to make, and just do what you want to do. Being alone is not a bad thing and it can be pretty great if you learn to embrace it. You just need to think of things that you like to do and learn to be happy when you're by yourself. Just because you're not with someone on Valentine's Day doesn't mean the holiday has to be horrible and sad. Some years you'll be with someone and some years you won't. That's how it works, and every one of those years can be fun if you allow it.Be Somebody's Entertainment

Organize a V-Day Group Outing

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