When I was in elementary school, my mother would host these tea parties for my girlfriends. Each Valentine’s Day, about a dozen girls in my class at St. Mary’s Elementary School would come to my house after school and we’d sit down to tea and cookies. Real tea with cubes of sugar.

My mother would use pink tulle to tie huge pink bows in our hair and then we would sit at the dining room table; dressed in plaid jumpers and wrapped up like presents.

The table itself was set beautifully with a tablecloth and big pink balloons. We made valentines out of construction paper and glitter. We drank tea and ate sweets.

On Valentine’s Day years later, during my junior year of college, I found myself sitting at a large table in an Italian restaurant with several of my girlfriends. We weren’t drinking tea and my mother hadn’t tied bows in our hair, but we were wearing dresses and using our big-girl manners. We shared each other’s food, ordered dessert, and later that evening exchanged cards and little gifts.

I received a few hearts made out of construction paper and glitter. One read, “Lexi, I am so glad we met! You are a great friend!” It was an awesome Valentine’s Day.

Being single on Valentine’s Day has not been an issue, but only because I have not allowed it to be one. Through a lot of trial and error, I have narrowed it down to a few simple do's and don'ts for this holiday: 

Do not

• Watch He’s Just Not That Into You by yourself.
• Refer to Ben and Jerry as the “only two men you really need.” You don’t.
• Cry or get angry about being single.
• Call, text, tweet, e-mail, etc. any male in your contacts out of loneliness.
• Make any rash decisions on this holiday, single girls—especially on matters of the heart.

Do

• Treat yourself to a spa day. Ridgely Retreat is offering The Sweetheart for $75 that includes a one-hour individual massage or facial with a sweet sugar scrub hand treatment. The Chocolate Strawberry facials for $65 include a one-hour facial with an organic chocolate mask and a sweet strawberry lip treatment. Delicious!

• Slip on your highest heels and head out. Each Monday, The Whiskey on West Street holds a blue’s jam and this Monday is a little different in honor of the big day.

• Grab your fellow single gals and go to Rams Head Tavern for their “Cupid Stupid” party. There will be a live fortune-teller from 8-10 and drink specials all night.

• Remember your girlfriends and share the love with them. Don’t rule out bows made out of pink tulle and tea with cookies. Blow up a few balloons for posterity and pull out the construction paper and doilies. Cut out big heart shapes and tell your friends how glad you are to have them in your life. Be generous with the glitter.