Whether you’re taken, single or have strings attached, we’ve got the DL on how to make this V-Day the best ever. BYO cupid arrows.
V-DAY STATUS: IN A RELATIONSHIP
Idea #1: Message in a, er, balloon!
If you’re looking for a cheap and creative little something for your lover, all you need is a pin + post-its + some helium.
1. Grab a bunch of post-it’s and write down all the things you love about him on each one. For example, “I love… how you try to cook. Burnt steak is my new fave dish.”
2. Cut out some pics of the two of you together.
3. Hit up your local party shop and grab some helium balloons.
4. Before you blow them up, fold the post–its and pictures into tiny little scrolls and put a few inside a couple of helium balloons.
5. Blow the balloons up with helium and tie with some pretty ribbon.
6. Give him a box with a little pin in it. Now you two can have fun popping the balloons and reading the messages to each other!
Idea #2: Covergirl [and guy!]
Recreate your favourite magazine cover by super-imposing the two of your faces onto the cover models. Not only is it hilarious, but is spells effort with a capital E.
1. Simply pick a photo of two celebs that you like and print it out on a full A4 page.
2. Cut out the masthead of your fave mag (ahem, DOLLY!) and paste it onto the top of the page. (Alternatively you can find a font that is similar on Microsoft word and paste that on instead).
3. The next step is cover lines. Think of some personal quirky phrases that you can place around the photo. For example “Real Life: We didn’t Kiss on Our First Date!” or “Rule #246: Never play Xbox while on the phone to your GF.” Print on different coloured pieces of paper and stick around the photo.
4. Use some tracing paper to trace around the celebrity’s heads (not including their hair) and cut it out. Find photos of your heads that can be trimmed to this size and stick them on top of the celebrity’s heads.
5. Grab some cardboard, paste the photo onto it cut it so it makes a greeting card.
V-DAY STATUS: IT’S COMPLICATED (AKA YOU’VE GOT A CRUSH)
Idea #3: Heart-shaped cookies
“I was scared my BF wouldn’t like the heart shaped cookies I baked him for Valentine’s Day, but he polished them all off before I could even say ‘I love you,’ “ Leni, Online Editor.
Ingredients:
2 cups plain flour
1 egg yolk
125g butter
2/3 cup of icing sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
Method:
Turn the oven onto 160 degrees Celsius (325 degrees F). Put the butter, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for a few minutes. Sift the flour into the bowl and mix until it makes a soft dough. Lightly flour a cutting board and start kneading the dough. Put the dough between two sheets of baking paper and roll it out with a rolling pin. Put the mixture into the fridge for 20 minutes and then cut out some heart shapes with a knife. Place in the oven for 20 minutes and ice with pink icing. Makes 12 biscuits.
Idea #4: The secret crush
So he doesn’t quite yet know you’ve got a crush on him. How do you tell him you like him without seeming like a stalker? Here’s a few toned-down suggestions to try.
• Give him a simple card and a couple of heart shaped chocolates. It’s uncomplicated but lets him know you’ve thought about him. Warning: Make sure the card doesn’t say “I Love You” to avoid him running in the opposite direction!
• On your walk from Science to Maths class with him, drop little hints that you’d secretly love to get a flower from someone on V-day.
• Put a heart shaped chocolate on his desk with a tag ‘from your secret admirer’ and the let the mystery eat away at him!
• Ask him out on a date with you. If you’re worried, he’ll say no, tell him to being his mates along. Maybe ice cream after school, a swim in your pool or movies on the weekend.
• Go straight up to him and say “Happy Valentine’s Day”. Trust us, he’ll think about it for the rest of the day!
• “One of my friends went to lunch with her crush and as she arrived she was carrying a huge sign saying ‘Happy Valentine’s Day.’ It was super-cute.” Yas, Chief Sub Editor
V-DAY STATUS: SINGLE
Idea #5: Love letters
If boys aren’t hitting your radar this Valentine’s day, spend it with your girlfriends. Pen her a letter telling her what your really look forward to this year, what you love most about her and what she means to you. We never take the time to tell our friends how much we really care about them so use V-day as an excuse! Decorate your letter with glitter, stars and stickers and don’t forget to sign off with “Love your Valentine!” Giggles guaranteed.
Idea #6: Chicks night in
“Nothing beats spending Valentines Day with your bestie! One year, my friend and I thought it would be hilarious to buy each other a rose and some heart chocolates. We ended up going to dinner together and just chatted for hours. It was seriously the best V-day ever BECAUSE there were no boys!” Natalie, DOLLY Intern.
Idea #7: Share the love
Valentine ’s Day is about appreciating the ones you love and who said that had to be a boy? Show your friends your big heart!
1. Grab some red or pink cardboard and cut out some love hearts.
2. On each one, write a story about your relationship with your best friend. It might be a story about uncontrollably giggling during English or the time when her bikini top slipped sideways. Whoops!
3. String the hearts together and stick them across her bedroom window or string them individually and hang them from the ceiling.
Idea #8: Wish upon a jar
Write lots of friendships wishes on post-its. For example, “I wish we could always sit together at lunchtimes” or “I wish Melanie and I were closer”. Get your friends to sit in a circle and place their wishes in the jar. One by one, the wishes are randomly read out aloud and must be granted on Valentine’s Day.
Have you got any awesome plans for Valentine's Day? Let us know in the comments below!
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