Valentine's Day. Two words that strike fear into the hearts of single girls everywhere. How will you survive? How will you keep pride intact? How will you ever make it through such a horrible day, specifically created for the sole purpose of making single girls feel like losers because they have no special guy to pamper and adore them?

Well, fear no more! As a member of the Single Valentine's Day survivor club many times over, I have created a little list of helpful hints on surviving Valentine's Day when you're going solo. Through my high school and junior high school years, my longest boyfriend lasted one month, so I had many solo V-Days. Oh, sure, I had lots of dates, but none of them lasted: his feet were too small, he smelled like sausages (I swear this is true!), his sister frightened me (she was really tall and totally gorgeous and it completely mutilated my ego to be around her), his hair was too neat (ya gotta have a guy with a little bit of ruggedness) and the real winner, the one who got drunk at a party and decided to drive me home. Yeah, right! I left him to rot.

Oh, right. Sorry! You're wanting my V-Day Survivor's List. Mucho apologies for digressing.

Okay, here we go:

1. Don't get a stand-in date.
   Been there, done that, doesn't work. I wanted a date for Valentine's Day one year, so I asked this guy I knew to go play pool. He was decently cute, so I figured why not? Wrong. He was totally annoying, and at the next pool table was a bunch of really cute guys there together. This one guy kept checking me out, but I couldn't go hang with him because I was on a date with a stand-in! So there was the table full of cute guys, and I could do nothing. Total waste of a night.
2. Buy yourself a present.
   This has two purposes: 1) To make your friends think you have a secret admirer and 2) to honor yourself. If you had a guy on Valentine's Day, he'd buy you something because you're worth it. Well, just because you're single doesn't mean you're any less worthy, does it? You bet your booty it doesn't. So pick out a perfect present for you and enjoy it without guilt. Think of it this way: if you had a guy, then you'd have to get him a present, right? So, spend the money on yourself and be proud. You deserve it, and this way, you get what you really want. The "get what you really want" is key, and in the long run, it may be better to be single so you can get what you want. I was dating this guy once (a three weeker) and Valentine's Day arose. I specifically told him not to get me flowers because they are a waste of money because they die in three days. If he wants to spend that much money on me, then he should get something that I will get ongoing enjoyment out of. What does he get me? Flowers. And then when I was polite and cooed over them, he looked at me smugly and said, "I knew you really wanted the flowers." No, you dork! I didn't! Needless to say, he was history soon after. Why don't guys listen to us? We do know what we're talking about, you know?!?!
3. Grab some gals and go out to pick up some guys.
   A great place to go is a ball game or some other male kind of place. For all those single guys who don't have girls, they're not going to want to go out to dinner and have to be around a bunch of soppy couples. They're going to go somewhere so they can be "guys" and ridicule the holiday, even though each of them secretly wishes he had a special someone. Remember when I went to play pool? Table-o-guys five feet away. Whatever you do, when you go out with your girlfriends, do NOT go to a nice dinner because you'll be surrounded by couples who you will want to throw ice at.
4. Volunteer
   There is no better way to feel good about yourself than to see how much better you have it than other people. Of course, sometimes you feel like a real schmuck because you've been whining and complaining when you actually have it pretty good, but that's okay. In the end, you really do feel better. And, think of how excited you feel when you buy a really cool gift for someone you care about. They're unwrapping the paper, and you're bouncing on your chair because you can't wait to see their expression. And then when they open it and their eyes light up and they scream with delight, then you feel like jumping up and down because they liked it. How good does that make you feel? Well, volunteering is the same way. You make someone else feel good, and there's no possible way not to feel good yourself. It's automatic. So give it a try! P.S. Even doing something nice for your mom or a friend who just got dumped has the same effect of making you feel good!
5. Get puppy kisses
   I'm a sucker for those big brown eyes, soft ears and wagging tails. Unconditional love. No matter what you look like, no matter what you feel like, no matter what you've done, a dog will still make you feel like royalty. Every girl needs a dog to give them love. You can even really do some interesting things to your reputation: "I had the best Valentine's Day! I had two boys fighting over me last night when we rented a movie. In the end, they sat on either side of me and I got double snuggling." Then you don't have to go into detail that they each had four legs and a tail. People will be agog at what a diva you are. And then, because guys always want what other guys have, all the cute boys will start trailing after you, the Double-Boy-Diva.
6. If all else fails, make an "I Rock" list.
   Actually, I Rock lists come in handy any time you're having a bad day. Keep an ongoing list about all the ways you rock. No qualifiers allowed. For example:
   Right: I folded the laundry for my mom and made her happy.
   Wrong: I folded laundry, but was because my boyfriend dumped me so I had to sit home alone on a Friday night.
   So, there's the start of a Valentine's Day Survivors List. I'd love to hear any other suggestions you have, so shoot me an email at stephie@stephiedavis.com. If I get enough responses, I'll start a section on my website and post your suggestions! May this be your best Valentine's Day ever!

Check out Stephie’s new book, Putting Boys on the Ledge.