A Valentine’s Post-Mortem

Celebrate+Valentines+Day+past+February+14%21+%28Courtesy+of+Prayitno+Hadinata+via+Flickr

Celebrate Valentine’s Day past February 14! (Courtesy of Prayitno Hadinata via Flickr

By ALEXIS CHAPIN

In case you missed it, Valentine’s Day is over, but there are still ways to celebrate this holiday past Feb. 14. Even if you don’t have a significant other, everyone can participate in this chocolate-filled holiday.

The best time to buy Valentine’s Day chocolate is Feb. 15, because it is all on sale at your local Duane Reade. You can go buy a bunch of really great discounted candy and send out belated Valentine’s cards, give your partner an excessive amount of candy because you forgot the original holiday or sit alone in your room and watch John Mulaney with a bag of Reese’s peanut butter hearts. Even if Valentine’s Day is not your favorite holiday, you still deserve to treat yourself with a lot of chocolatey goodness.

You could also get inspired by “Parks and Recreation” and take a page from Leslie Knope’s book by hosting a “Galentine’s Day” party. This party removes the typical focus by celebrating platonic love over romantic love. While the name “Galentine” implies that this holiday twist is exclusively for female friendships, guy friends can also let each other know that they care about one another. This party usually consists of having a brunch with your closest pals and just generally showing appreciation for your friends. You could make personalized Valentines for your friends, host a craft night, watch a movie together, hold a potluck or any other activity that you and your friends enjoy.

There are also plenty of free activities you can do in New York to spend time with the people you care about. Many museums, like the Museum of Modern Art, have free admission nights. At the Whitney, free admission is offered to those 18 and under. Looking at beautiful art with someone you care about is a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day or pass the time any day of the year.

If you find museums boring, you can enter to win the lotteries for a number of Broadway or Off-Broadway shows. Apps like TodayTix or the Hamilton lottery app allow you to easily enter the lottery for shows each day, and for new shows or shows that are not super popular, you can easily win two tickets after entering a few times. If you are impatient or don’t like to leave these things up to chance, you could also rush certain shows depending on which day you want to see them. Rushing means that you pay a cheaper price when you buy the ticket the day you want to see the show. You can do this through the TodayTix app or go to the TKTS booth in Times Square and buy your tickets in person.

If all else fails, you could start planning for Valentine’s Day 2019. If you feel like you’ve missed out on celebrating this year, you could make a Pinterest board of party ideas, heart-themed recipes and creative party favors that would make even the most talented Pinterest moms jealous. It is also important to remember that although this holiday is extremely  commercialized and celebrates romantic love, both romantic and platonic love can and should be celebrated any day of the year. Making time for your loved ones and treating them with kindness and respect is a way to celebrate Valentine’s Day 365 days of the year.