By Victoria Mims
Who said you needed Valentine’s Day when you have Palentine’s Day? Palentine’s Day is on the same day as Valentine’s Day, but instead it’s spent hanging out with some good friends. Valentine’s Day is known as the day of love, and that love doesn’t just have to be toward a significant other.
“I think it’s awesome because everyone’s not in love. All forms of love deserve to be celebrated,” said Khalil Thompkins, a junior at William Peace University.
It can be different and new to some to celebrate Valentine’s Day with friends, but it just takes some warming up. Of course it won’t be the same as if it were with a significant other, but memories can still be created. For Palentine’s Day, you can do stuff as some people would do on Valentine’s Day. It doesn’t have to be anything too spectacular.
Palentine’s Day could especially be beneficial for those friends who don’t get the opportunity to see each other as often. It could be seen as another annual holiday, such as Christmas or Thanksgiving for some friends. Even for those who do see their friends often, Palentine’s Day is a good day to come together and enjoy each other’s presence.
“I feel like Palentine’s Day is a good way to connect more with your friends and truly share your appreciation for them,” said Tom Soden, a freshman at WPU.
There’s many cool and fun things that you can do with friends on Palentine’s Day, a few are listed below:
Watch a movie. This may seem boring, but if a good movie is agreed upon within the friend group then it can turn into a good Palentine’s Day celebration. Either going to the movies or gathering together at someone’s place would be a fun experience. Having each person bring some snacks too could definitely top it off. Also, who says you just have to watch one movie? There’s plenty of movies to go around and binge-watching is totally approved, especially on love day.
Go out to eat. Who doesn’t love some good food? Gather around a table and enjoy some food and time with your friends. This could be at a fast food place or a restaurant, but if it is a restaurant just make sure to put in a reservation before-hand so your friends’ hopes won’t be up. Going out to eat not only fills the stomach up, but it’ll also fill the heart up.
Cook together. This is a good way to bond together and put together a meal that will really be enjoyed in the end or could eventually lead you and your friends to going out to eat depending on how the meal turns out. Either way, memories will definitely be created through cooking together and working together to prepare something everyone can eat. Not only is this more personable, but also more of a creative way of spending Palentine’s Day together.
Go to a painting or pottery class. Put your artistic abilities together and head over to a painting, pottery, or any other class that you think you and your friends would enjoy. This is a good way to get the creative juices flowing while also giving you the opportunity to take home a souvenir. So whenever you look at that painting you can remember that you created that for Palentine’s Day one year. The only downside to this could be not being able to communicate as much throughout the class. But, it’s always possible to do another activity afterward or grab a bite to eat.
Secret Palentine’s. Why keep secret Santa for Christmas? For those that don’t know how secret Santa/Palentine’s works, it’s a way of not having to spend money on each friend while also ensuring that everyone gets something. Each person draws or gets another person’s name and that person would’ve written down things they would want to have. Depending on the group, that depends on the budget, but normally a reasonable budget for this type of thing would be $15-$20. This would not only make your Palentine’s Day even more fun, but it will make your friends potentially feel more special.
Valentine’s Day is a great holiday to celebrate and it’s okay to not have a significant other on the day. Some people do get lonely and others actually prefer to spend the day by themselves. But that’s where Palentine’s day comes in to let people know it’s okay to spend the day with some close friends. As a whole though, when you show love to the people you love every day, then Valentine’s Day is just another day.
“I think Valentine’s Day is cool, but I really like just everyday moments to show love,” said Shiloh Justice, a sophomore at WPU.