How to Enjoy Valentine's Day for Singles

Almost everyone has spent at least one Valentine's Day alone. On this day meant for lovers, it can be lonely and depressing to spend your time by yourself, without anyone to send you flowers or chocolates. There's no reason that anyone should have to be lonely on Valentine's Day, however, even if they are alone. So what do you do to solve your problem of loneliness? You celebrate self-love instead! This is a wonderful occasion to remind yourself of all the things that you love about yourself and what makes you a valuable person. Who needs somebody else to affirm them? Begin by affirming yourself!

This hub will give you a list of ways to affirm and love yourself this Valentine's Day, regardless of whether or not you're spending the day with a loved one, with single friends or by yourself. Remember the greatest love of all and make sure that you're doing enough to keep yourself from falling into loneliness this year.

• A fine journal and pen set
• Nice stationary for writing
• Craft supplies for crafters

Everybody deserves to be loved all the year round, but on Valentine's Day it's easy to feel left out. If you're worried about standing out in a crowd among those who've received roses on Valentine's Day (at work or school), you can always opt to send yourself a bouquet through 1-800-FLOWERS. Chocolate covered strawberries or chocolates (to share, of course!) are also good options for those who are looking to ease the sting of being the only one left out on a romantic holiday. Be warned, however, that some people may suspect such a thing and if you're found out, it could be terribly embarrassing.

So why not give yourself a real gift this Valentine's Day? Do something for yourself that encourages you to get to know yourself better and to grow more accustomed to spending time in your own company. If you're looking for some examples, there are a few listed to the right so that you can choose what you'd like to do for yourself this February 14th. Make sure that whatever you choose to do for yourself is something that means something to you and that will help to encourage you to continue in a vein of gratitude and self-love (though to use a pun, you don't want to be vain about it).

As a color, pink is calming and makes people seeing it or wearing it feel comforted and loved. Because of this, it makes a powerful tool for keeping your mood good during a day when you might otherwise be feeling lonely. Try to avoid colors that will make you feel angry or blue (cool colors are completely out: Try not to surround yourself with blues or greens on Valentine's Day). Red, the color of passion, is probably best avoided as well. Your goal is to surround yourself with things, colors, and music that will make you feel comfortable and will remind you that you're being loved.

Wear pink (even if you're a guy!), decorate with pink, cook your steak so that there's pink in the middle of it, eat pink candies. Enjoy pink wherever you can get it, and don't be afraid to go out into public places where there's a lot of pink and red and hearts around. Use these things to remind yourself that your own love for yourself is more important than love from a romantic partner, and that you can't truly allow another person to love you unless you first believe that you are worth loving.

Most of us don't take the time necessary to remind ourselves of our good qualities. We rely on other people to tell us what we should love about ourselves, or we ask them to tell us what they love about us. At the end of the day, however, it's our responsibility to first love ourselves, because we often love others in the same way that we love ourselves. A reminder of the things that make you special may help to improve your mood any time that you're lonely, and Valentine's Day is a perfect time to sit down to remind yourself of all those wonderful things that make you stand out in the crowd.

A nice way to make this work is to take the time to write down these things that you love about yourself on slips of white, pink and red paper and then put them into a rainy-day jar. Like your stash of rainy-day money for times that you need a bit of extra for something to do on a dreary day, this stash of reminders may help you to make it through the lonelier periods of your life, or times when you're struggling with low self-esteem, depression or other issues. This makes a powerful gift that you can give to yourself this Valentine's Day!

(You could also use this as a gift for your sweetie this February 14th! It won't cost you a dime to make and will have a similar effect on him or her as it will on you!)

Everybody knows about writing romantic love letters to an absent sweetheart, but have you ever thought about writing yourself a love letter? As above (when listing your positive traits) have you ever thought of sitting down to focus on yourself? What is it about you that makes you special? What's your best physical attribute? How much do you do for other people? Name something that you're most proud of in yourself. Tell yourself the things that make you stand out in a crowd, and write your love letter as though writing to a sweetheart or to a dear friend. You deserve to know how much you matter, even if you're the one writing the letter!

Spend some time meditating, and remind yourself that you deserve good things. You know the Clairol motto, surely? "Because I'm worth it." You're worth it, and spending some time in reflection reminding yourself that you're worth it and that you deserve good things. Nobody needs to be in a relationship in order to validate themselves: All you really need is "the greatest love of all" and nothing else. Learn to spend time with yourself and enjoy the time that you get to have being by yourself. This is where journal-keeping comes into play as well. Spend some of your time on Valentine's Day enjoying your own company.

Dressing well makes you feel good. If you've never tried this, you really need to. Most women feel better when they have dressed themselves for the day and have done their hair and makeup, and men generally feel more presentable when they are freshly showered and shaven.

This is Valentine's Day: People will be getting dressed up (or in some cases down) for a romantic evening. There's no reason why, even if you're single, you can't get yourself a nice dress or that you can't put on a suit and tie and take yourself out to dinner. Dressing nicely for the occasion will make you feel better and will remind you that you deserve all the good things that life has to offer.

So make sure to dress the part this Valentine's Day! Get yourself decked out, put your makeup on (for women) and wear a tie. You'll feel better and give yourself a feeling of purpose.