With Valentine's Day just around the corner, and with the current coronavirus restrictions in place, it's more important than ever to continue to do our part by staying safe and staying at home -- but this doesn’t mean we can’t make time for love. 

Whether you're spending this Valentine's Day single, or socially-distanced with a significant other, here's a list of eight, fun ideas you can do to survive your first Valentine's Day during a global pandemic. 

Things to do on your own: 

1. Treat yourself to a self-care day

Valentine's Day is a holiday to celebrate love, so why not show yourself some love by having a self care day. Grab your favourite LUSH bath bomb and enjoy a bubble bath, have a dance party, splurge on yourself, or take shots while your face mask dries and just use this time to pamper yourself.

2. Wine and dine yourself

Now's the perfect time to enjoy perfect dinner out just for one or just make a meal for one and you may as well grab your favourite bottle of wine and enjoy the night. Make it fancy and order yourself flowers or chocolates. 

Kalala is a local BC winery, owned by South Asians!

3. Virtual Paint Night 

Painting nights are a fun and stress-free activity for the perfect Valentine's day date! Enjoy a 1.5 hour virtual painting session led by an expert artist to guide you through the creation of a Valentine’s Day themed painting. 

Things you can do with a significant other:

4. Meal Kit Services

If you and your significant other enjoy cooking together or would like to brush up on your cooking skills while practicing social distancing, check out some local restaurants in Vancouver that are providing at home meal kits, where you're in charge of cooking and assembling. La Taqueria, Joey's and many other restaurants in Vancouver provide a variety of take-home meal kit services to enjoy between February 12th - 14th. 

5. Twilight Drive in Theatre 

The Twilight Drive-In Theatre is a classic drive-in movie theatre located in Aldergrove that strictly follows COVID protocols, watch a movie outdoors from your car. Enjoy a night under the stars with your significant other while watching a good movie with some good food. 

6. Happy Hour Games Night

Gather your friends for a happy hour virtual game or trivia night. Grab your bottle of wine (or drink of choice) and play a game that requires minimal equipment — something like Charades, Pictionary, or Heads Up, the possibilities are endless!

7. Virtual Bake off! 

One activity my friends and I enjoy is baking and since we aren't able to do it together we decided to have a bake off over Facetime. We really just assemble and bake as we chat, showing off our goods before they go in the oven, taking a break for wine and sharing the final treats when timers go off. At the end, it really is more about the time spent together than the bake-off. Check out this super easy and super delicious Valentine’s day themed  pink velvet cake. 

8. Send your gal’s some tasty treats by supporting local businesses. 

This year's most trendy sweets have been smash cakes and cake jars making them the perfect gift to send over to friends. Check out @smashcakesyvr for their delectable cakes or @justcakesbakeshop for some delicious and uniquely flavoured cake jars. Something for you and your loved ones to enjoy!

More importantly, remember to just relax and enjoy a stress-free and fun day whether it's by yourself or with loved ones. 

Fact: If Valentine's day is just not for you, and you'd rather avoid it at all costs, just remember you can come out of hiding on February 15th and enjoy all of that half priced candy afterwards. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

About the author: Navneet holds a bachelor’s degree focused in Health Science - Population and Quantitative Studies from Simon Fraser University, cultivating a passion for health promotion, policy and social justice. She has recently found a passion in writing about pop-culture, mental health and living in a South Asian diaspora. Her passion for feminism, diversity and progress lights a fire beneath everything she does. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, travelling and baking