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"Alright, haters, I get it: You&amp;amp;#8217;re not into Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day. It&amp;amp;#8217;s plastered on your Facebook status, you&amp;amp;#8217;re tweeting about it, and you&amp;amp;#8217;re filling your friends&amp;amp;#8217; feeds with anti-V-Day messages. This year, instead of dreading February 14th (just 9 days away, BTW), why don&amp;amp;#8217;t you take it into your own hands to make V-Day freakin&amp;amp;#8217; awesome? Yea, that sounds a lot better to me, too. You know, I used to be very anti-Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day. Right after breaking up with my ex in college I was not feeling particularly lovey dovey (OK, I admit it, I was a mopey downer most of the time). Even these past three years dating J I&amp;amp;#8217;ve never been a crazy-enthusiastic V-Day celebrator. I&amp;amp;#8217;m romantic, but I&amp;amp;#8217;m a homebody and prefer to avoid the craziness (and sky-high prices) the day tends to bring with it. But this year, it kind of hit me: Why can&amp;amp;#8217;t I take Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day into my own hands and make it exactly what I want it to be? Every year, it&amp;amp;#8217;s been J&amp;amp;#8217;s &amp;amp;#8220;responsibility&amp;amp;#8221; to plan Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day. It&amp;amp;#8217;s always been fantastic but this year I really wanted to go out to dinner in Manhattan to this particular restaurant we&amp;amp;#8217;ve been dying to try. Why should he have to guess that? So I told him that I&amp;amp;#8217;m taking the reigns and all he has to do is show up. Win-win. I mean he did just plan me that amazing night out in October. I think I should return the favor and surprise him a little. So that&amp;amp;#8217;s what we&amp;amp;#8217;re doing this year. Here are seven other ways you can totally make the best of Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day: 1. Go Low-Key. Cook dinner at home and watch a romantic (or funny or scary or whatever) movie together on the couch. It&amp;amp;#8217;s a great way to save money, stick to your diet (or splurge a little), and stay on a budget. Or you can order in dinner and make dessert together. Red velvet cupcakes and fondue are great options. Just don&amp;amp;#8217;t burn the chocolate. Not that I&amp;amp;#8217;ve ever done that before... 2. Go BIG. Want a huge, expensive night out? Make reservations early and pick out a new dress. How often do you have a really fancy schmancy date night? Sometimes it&amp;amp;#8217;s okay to do the totally standard V-Day date with your new guy, long-term guy, or best friend. 3. Pretend it&amp;amp;#8217;s any other day&amp;amp;#133; and then celebrate a week later. So you want to go out to dinner but you don&amp;amp;#8217;t want to pay Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day prices? Why not wait a week? J and I actually did this one year. This is especially helpful when V-Day falls on a weeknight. Make plans for a Saturday two weeks away when restaurants might not be as busy and the night really will just be about you guys. 4. Have a girls&amp;amp;#8217; night. Whether you have a guy or not, take some time to appreciate the other loves of your life: your best friends. Does anything sound better than Cosmos, a Katy Perry/Miley Cyrus dance party, and red lipstick all around? I think not. (I am so doing this with my bridesmaids!) 5. Do something sexy. Even if you forgo dinner and gifts and are avoiding anything &amp;amp;#8220;Be Mine&amp;amp;#8221;, take advantage of the romantic day just a little with lingerie and a hot romp. But skip the bedroom&amp;amp;mdash;try a new position in a new location. Be a little spontaneous! 6. Wear red for V-Day and for a good cause. February 1st may have been National Wear Red Day, but why not wear red again on the 14th to bring awareness to heart disease and support American Heart Month? 7. Binge on sweets. If you&amp;amp;#8217;re still feeling grumpy about the 14th, buy yourself a treat. Whether it&amp;amp;#8217;s a box of chocolates or a decadent cupcake, take some time to show yourself a little love. While you&amp;amp;#8217;re at it, spoil one other person. At the very least, you&amp;amp;#8217;ll make someone else&amp;amp;#8217;s day. How sweet is that? How do you feel about Valentine&amp;amp;#8217;s Day? Are you a fan? Do you have any big plans with your significant other or friends? And what do you think about my other V-Day suggestions? I&amp;amp;#8217;m a big ole sap and I&amp;amp;#8217;m excited about the 14th! Photo: Thinkstock. Christina Ko."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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