Today is my favorite holiday, Valentine’s Day! When I was young, Valentine’s Day was always filled with boxes of chocolate from my grandma, cute little gifts from my mom, and flowers from my dad. For me, Valentine’s Day has always been a day of celebrating the special people in your life and all beautiful relationships that continue to be nurtured day after day, year after year. It has always been so much more than just going out to dinner with a boo thang, but rather a day of showing intentional appreciation for the people God found fit for this season in your life. So ever since then, I have loved spoiling my friends and family with lots of special gifts, treats, and kind words to remind them of how much I love and appreciate them.
Like so many others, I will be spending this Valentine’s Day alone in my apartment to practice social distancing and safety precautions during the pandemic. One of the best ways you can show love towards your community this weekend is taking the necessary precautions to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus by taking the CDC guidelines seriously.
Though most of us can’t throw our beloved Galentine’s day party or go out for dinner and drinks with our significant other, there are still some ways you can celebrate yourself and others this Valentine’s Day safely. This blog post focuses more on how you can show yourself a little self-love this Valentine’s Day based on your love language. If you are anything like me, sometimes you forget how important it is to be your own first best friend. Believe me, I love caring for other people and want to dedicate my whole life to serving other people. However, as I get older, I realize that I can not pour from an empty cup. When I fill my cup, I can give and serve others more than I ever could when it is down to the last drop. This Valentine’s Day, I hope I can encourage you to fill up your cup so that you can pour out your love on others. I pray that you tap into taking care of that person on the inside that sometimes gets neglected. I want you to remind them that no matter the social climate, what is going on at work, if you are spending this holiday with someone you love or alone, if you have lacked in the self-care area for a while, no matter the situation, they are blessed, brilliant, and beautiful.
Words of Affirmation
- Write a love letter to yourself
- Journal about how far you have grown since this time last year
- Listen to an uplifting and motivating podcast
- Write a list of all the things you are grateful for today
- Watch a Ted Talk
- Write out your favorite scriptures on sticky notes and place them around your room
- Send your friends a heartfelt text to remind them of how much you appreciate them
- Speak out loud some self-love affirmations
Acts of Service
- Make or treat yourself to a cup of coffee
- Clean up your apartment and light your favorite scented candle
- Clean and fold all your laundry
- Tidy up your desk/workspace and decorate it in a way that makes you happy
- Stock your fridge with health snacks
- Focus on staying hydrated all day long
- Do something for yourself that requires you to be brave
- Water your plants
- Meal prep your lunch
- Enroll in a free class that piques your interest
- Send someone you love a funny TikTok
- Take a nap
- Give your eyes a break and dedicate an hour to no screen time
- Do something that will make you less stressed out in the upcoming week
Quality Time
- Pray and spend some time with God
- Binge-watch your favorite TV series
- Do a puzzle (online or in real life)
- Watch a movie…or moviesssss with your favorite movie snacks
- Read a romance novel. Here are some of my favorites (Get a Life, Chloe Brown, How to Fail at Flirting, Any book by Jasmine Guillory, Happily Ever Afters)
- Cook yourself a meal
- Spend some time outside by going on a walk
- Do a valentine’s day workout or yoga session
- Make a fun, dancing-friendly, empowering of 20 songs that make you feel good about yourself
- Do a 24-hour social media cleanse
- Watch the sunrise or the sunset
- Do a mini DIY project for your house or apartment
- Pick back up one of your favorite hobbies from your childhood and do it for 20 minutes without distraction
- Call your family or friends
- Try making your favorite cocktail (or non-alcoholic mocktail) at home
- Have dinner with someone you love or care about over zoom
Giving Gifts
- Buy yourself some cute Valentine’s day sweets from your local bakery
- Treat yourself to a new pair of earrings
- Buy yourself flowers at the grocery store
- Invest in one of your hobbies
- Create a mini valentine’s day gift basket for yourself
- Send your friends (or yourself) a card/e-card
- Do a virtual service project
- Create a travel bucket list
- Make your friends/family a valentine’s day gift package and send it to them
- Gift yourself a book, course, or experience that will help you grow personally
Physical Touch
- Stay in your favorite pair of comfy, warm pajamas all day long
- Cuddle up in your favorite blanket
- Do your complete morning and night skincare routine. Don’t have one? Make one up and spend extra time on it.
- Have a spa day (manis and pedis)
- Take a bubble bath and read
- Enjoy a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate
- Wash, moisturize, and style your hair
- Stretch your body
- Do an at-home workout
- Cuddle your pets
- Groom your eyebrows
- Give yourself a hug
