Does anyone really like Valentine’s Day? 

Other than florists, I mean.  Does anyone really look forward to it?  If you’re not in a relationship, it’s simply a day to remind you of the fact that you are all alone and no one will ever love you and you’ll wind up hoarding cats.  If you’re in a relationship, the pressure to have some sort of memorable experience almost guarantees that someone will wind up dissatisfied at best, in tears at worst.

Adding to my complaints about Valentine’s Day is the fact that it is absolutely the worst night to go out.  As someone who has worked in more than my share of restaurants, I urge everyone to make their reservations for the day before, the day after, a week later—any day except February 14th.  Couples eating out on Valentine’s Day proper are almost guaranteed a less than ideal experience.  The hordes of people desperate for a romantic experience will ensure that you wait at the bar for an hour drinking overpriced specialty cocktails.  When a table is ready it will be in a less than ideal location but you and your significant other will grudgingly take it as the hostess warns you that it may be half an hour before anything else open up.  You’ll choose from a limited and “special” Valentine’s Menu which is code for “less choices, higher prices.”  Your order will be taken (eventually) by an overworked and stressed server saddled with too many tables.  The food, when it arrives, will be adequate but not stellar, as it has been prepared by a kitchen overwhelmed by the number of orders coming in and when the bill comes you will choke a little on the flourless-chocolate-cake-for-two as you realize you just paid top dollar for a less than top-dollar experience.

Valentine’s Day preys upon our fears of being alone and unloved and upon our unrealistic expectations of romance.  Like most holidays, it has become an industry and we as consumers have been trained to think that we can purchase love and romance with a swipe of our credit card and we wind up in debt, financially and emotionally.  Go ahead, celebrate Valentine’s Day—just try and celebrate love, or friendship or whatever means something to you without getting caught up in all the “shoulds” from movies, commercials, and whatever Reels populate your feed.  And if you go for the standard of a romantic dinner for two, be prepared for the February 14th mark-up.  Prices will be slashed on the 15th.  If only the Valentine’s experience was like Christmas wrapping paper—able to be bought the day after the holiday and stored for next year. 

Call me a romantic.