5 Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day – Even During COVID-19

COVID-19 might have changed our lives the past several months, but part of living a healthy life is finding ways to celebrate and nurture those important relationships in your life – especially now that Valentine’s Day is approaching.

Life has a tendency of getting in the way of our relationships, and it’s easy to forget the importance of maintaining a connection to those we love, according to Lee Behavioral Health services.

With the passing of time it is natural to find ourselves growing both together and apart as we navigate through the many ups and downs that life presents.

So here are five activities you can try to make this Valentine’s Day one to remember.

Virtual Date

Admit it, you kind of expected this one. After all, most of us have already practiced celebrating the recent holidays in some virtual fashion.

If distance or health issues separate you and your special someone, a virtual date may be just the thing to help fill your hearts. Seeing the face of someone you love releases all kinds of happy chemicals (dopamine), even if it’s on a screen.

Reminisce, laugh, and talk as if you could feel the person there right next to you. For even more joy, share a favorite meal together. Best of all, you won’t have to pick up after the other person when the meal is over.

Love by Mail

Everyone likes finding a special package in the mailbox or on their front porch. Anticipation releases endorphins, which are chemicals that relieve stress and pain.

Endorphins trigger a positive feeling in the body. If you’ve ever challenged yourself with a hard workout, that great feeling afterward comes from endorphins. Find out what your special someone enjoys and pick a gift just for them that will put a smile on their face and flood their bodies with endorphins.

Visit the Islands

We live in Southwest Florida, whose Gulf waters teem with wondrous islands such as Captiva, Sanibel, and others that will take you back to “Old Florida.” Smaller islands like Cabbage Key, Useppa Island, San Carlos Island, and Cayo Costa offer an incredible encounter with aquatic nature in all its rich diversity.

You and your beloved can leave your footprints on white sand beaches that stretch for miles or let the sea foam spray your faces as you boat or kayak the surrounding blue-green waters. For you beachcombing lovebirds, bring a mesh shelling bag if you want to practice the “Sanibel stoop” while searching for heart-shaped shells, false angel wings and pastel coquinas.

Take a Virtual Class

Take an online course together to stoke your interests in a topic that sparks your mutual curiosity and creativity. From photography and art to wine appreciation and cocktail making, there are courses on almost every subject you can think of. 

What about taking a cooking class together in preparation for cooking your special Valentine’s meal? Find a curated list of online culinary classes to choose from here.

Write a Love Letter

In days of yore, hand-penned love letters made the hearts of countless recipients sing. But the digital age has rendered the such manual correspondence a quaint fancy, such that it’s rued as the lost art of letter-writing.

So, for one day, Valentine’s Day, let’s go old school. Instead of dropping that 2 a.m. text “What’s up?” as a form of one-thumbed romance, how about sitting down to a flat work surface and taking up pen and paper to share your thoughts with your beloved?

According to J. Willis Westlake, an English literature professor, "Good writing affects us sympathetically, giving us a higher appreciation both of what is written and of the person who wrote it.” In other words, knowing that someone has taken the time to put their feelings about their significant other down on paper means the world to some people. Anyone can text, but to write a love letter? Make your love for your someone special stand out this year.