Whether you’re in a relationship or single, disabled or able bodied, youthful and innocent or old and cynical, here are some dos and don’ts for getting through Valentine’s Day in one piece!
Do
Celebrate Valentine’s Day
Whatever it may be – a day on which to celebrate the nature and meaning of love and compassion or a cynical opportunity to give an economic boost to the greeting card, chocolate, florist, sex toy and overpriced soft toy industries- Valentine’s Day is here and here to stay. You may as well embrace it and throw yourself into celebrating it.
Don’t
Believe your partner when they say they don’t feel like doing Valentine’s this year.
A bit like saying “no offence, but…” or “does anybody else want the last piece of chocolate”, nobody has actually ever said “don’t worry about me being cold and alone this Valentine’s day, you go out and have fun” without it being laced with passive aggression.
Nobody who ever said this meant it and how many arguments have started because someone took their partner’s announcement that they weren’t bothered about Valentine’s Day too seriously? People may well say this but they secretly still want or expect you to do something. Don’t ruin Valentine’s before it even begins – who doesn’t want to be treated anyway?
Do
Make an effort to do something original.
Don’t fall into the trap, mentioned above, of believing anyone truly doesn’t care about Valentine’s. Girls and guys all want to be treated so go for it, but also try not to be boring. Think of something original – anyone can go buy cheesy gifts from Hallmark. A fun present with personal meaning works best and it doesn’t have to be too expensive.
However, if you can’t think of anything significant or creative then breaking your bank is always a good safe fall back option.
Do
Make a reservation for dinner at one of our Blue Badge Style recommended restaurants
Anywhere with two or three BBS Ticks is pretty good; anywhere that doesn’t take reservations is normally pretty bad. You really don’t want to be going door to door looking for somewhere to eat – especially if one or both of you is disabled. The worst possible scenario would sitting outside in your wheelchair, queueing in the middle of February.
Don’t
Let the facilities ruin your day.
Avoid going anywhere with a ridiculous ramp, ludicrous loo or quasi khazi. If you can’t fully access a restaurant or bar, you’re not going to be able to fully enjoy spending time there either, Find somewhere to go with good disabled access.
Don’t
Go to see Fifty Shades Of Grey.
Sorry, but even if one of the things that brought you and your Valentine together was a shared love of soft, trashy, erotic fiction, this is still not an acceptable Valentine’s Day journey. Going to cinema is great for a date night but Fifty Shades?…. Just too weird.
Don’t
Drown your sorrows about being single.
Drinking never finds the answers and, although it may help you forget the questions, it’s not a good look to get blasted out of all consciousness and reason. So now’s the time to remember that Valentine’s Day is just an arbitrarily assigned day for expensive romance…right?
And anyway, if you’re single this Valentine’s Day, hopefully you won’t be this time next year. Or next week. Or even tomorrow!
