While the rest of the world circles 14 February on their calendars, do you find yourself rolling your eyes at the thought of being forced to acknowledge yet another Valentine’s Day as a singleton?
Whether you are newly solo, happily single or a strong believer that Valentine’s Day is repackaged consumerism, there’s still a way to celebrate without surrendering your cynicism. Anti-Valentine’s Day is the perfect way to celebrate singledom or bask in bitterness. If you’re looking for a little inspiration, we’ve rounded up a list of our favourite ways to partake – in the most unromantic way possible, of course:
Anti-love tiki party
Drown your sorrows or celebrate all things anti-love at Wahtiki Island Lounge’s O Come All Ye Single Anti-Valentine’s Day party. Enjoy rum cocktails and delectable Tiki Tidbits – including chilli and pepper salted squid and Hokkaido cheese scalenes – while mingling with like-minded singles on Valentine’s Day with absolutely no judgment. Entry is priced from HK$500 and includes three cocktails and a free-flow buffet.
Escape to Ophelia’s celebration of freedom
Ophelia introduces its second annual Anti-Valentine’s Day Party with The Trouble with Paradise – a celebration of freedom and singletons. Escape into Ophelia’s paradise of beauty, courage and tragedy where you can rule as mythological creations Lilith and the Serpent while sipping on a special antidote or love cocktail. Entry is free, but be sure to RSVP to secure a spot on the guest list.
Satisfy your soul with a feast and free drinks
Order like no one cares and feast like nobody’s watching at Big Sur, a newly opened restro-pub in Central. Their anti-V Day menu features soul-satisfying dishes like grilled scallop tacos (HK$65 each), “Hearts Galore”, charcoal grilled duck hearts, served with house-made flour tortilla (HK$45 each) and the Heart Attack Burger (HK$190), served with beef patty, house-smoked bacon, cheddar and pepper jack cheese with jalapenos. If there’s room for more, you can also head to Brazilian Japanese restaurant, Uma Nota, where they are offering free drinks for singles only this Valentine’s Day.
Toast to being single and fabulous
Avoid any awkward displays of affection by planning a night on the couch. Indulge in the Anti-Valentine’s Day Box from Wine Moments, complete with three bottles of wine, including the quite fittingly named Rotten Rosé to celebrate being single and fabulous. Alternatively, opt for the Netflix and Chill Wine Box and invite your friends over for a binge.
Flatter yourself with flowers
There’s nothing quite like a vaseful of flowers to brighten up your living room and your mood at the same time! If you’re disinclined to leave the comforts of home, that’s not a problem. Bydeau‘s newly launched online flower shop offers a plethora of floral products from classic red roses to beautifully arranged bouquets that can be delivered to your doorstep with just a few clicks of a button. They even offer a selection of succulents for those lacking the green touch!
Anti-romantic movie binge
To round it off, here’s a list of anti-romantic movies:
- The Shining – Where marriage finds a family moving into a house of horrors and the wife watches as her husband slowly goes insane.
- Frances Ha – The reality of a girl who wants so much more from life but continues to live with unaccounted joy and lightness along the way.
- Basic Instinct – Witness destructive relationships and twisted affairs in this sexy but sinister thriller.
If all of this has made you feel rather bitter, read on for an alternative. Valentine’s Day should be a day to celebrate love in all its many forms, so shift the focus away from your own status by doing a good deed for your single friends or taking your parents or grandparents out for dinner. It’s all in the spirit of love, and on the bright side, granny probably won’t be expecting a 7-carat diamond ring.
Text: Hira Desai and Suchetana Mukhopadhyay