Single Girl's Guide to Valentine's Day!

Single Girl’s Guide To Valentine’s Day

With a whopping 49% of the U.S. flying solo this V-Day, Cupid is getting equal amounts of hate mail and love letters. If you’re dateless on the 14th, follow our guide to having an awesome single girl’s holiday. We talked to relationship experts so that you won’t just feel great this Valentine’s Day, but may even score yourself a guy for next year!

Go Out!

According to Dr. Helen Fisher, who works with Match.com, there are 96 million single people in the U.S. So, get out there; don't stay home! Want to feel like your most confident self? "Do flirty gestures like swishing your hair, don't slouch and smile," says Dr. Fisher. "When you smile, people naturally mimic you, which triggers a release of dopamine (the feel-good hormone) in the brain."

Send flowers to yourself

Some may see this as desperate. Those people are being small-minded (and are probably NOT single, so who are they to judge?). If you can't bring yourself to send flowers to yourself at the office, send them to your house. There is something about a bouquet of flowers that brings sunshine and hope into your world. If flowers can be that beautiful in the first couple weeks of February, which is still cold and miserable in most parts of the country, then maybe your love life has half a chance too. It's all in how you look at things.

Boycott

You can take a stand against Valentine's Day. Form a coalition with other singles and come up with a catchy name for your group -- "Single-by-Choice," or something of that nature. Host your first meeting on Valentine's Day in a lounge and vent about all your failed relationships. There's half a chance you'll come away feeling hostile and depressed, but there is also half a chance you'll come away feeling glad you are single. There's even a remote chance you'll meet someone while you are out pretending it's your choice you are alone on Valentine's Day. Whatever the outcome, at least you're not at home, in your thread-bare pajamas, pegging out the pity meter.

Make dinner plans with kids, your sister or a friend

Valentine's Day is about love. You love lots of people, right? Does it have to be about celebrating a romantic relationship? Of course not. This year, just think of Valentine's Day as a way to express your love for your kids, a friend or your sister. Go out to dinner with your chosen guest. And never forget this one simple rule when it comes to Valentine's Day: It comes around EVERY year. Just because you're not caught up in a passionate love affair this year doesn't mean you can't be by this time next year.

Be grateful

How valid of a "holiday" is Valentine's Day? It's a little bit made up. There's talk of some dude named Saint Valentine, and from there things get a bit cloudy. It's just one day. In the name of an attitude adjustment, focus on what you have, rather than what you don't. So what have you got? Great kids? That makes you the envy of at least half of the women out there. A job? Again, in this economy, that gives you something to celebrate. Your health? There you go. There is no greater gift. And at the risk of sounding cynical, remember there are lots of women in relationships this Valentine's Day who are completely miserable. Think about it. Review the relationships of the women in your immediate circle. Sad though it may be (and we would never encourage rejoicing in the misery of others), are they really better off than you are? Even good relationships take work and have occasional drama. Maybe it's okay that you have a year off from all that.