A Different Kind of Valentine’s Day

By Maria Martinez
Blog Content Contributor

Valentine’s Day might not be long distance couples’ favorite holiday; I know for a fact that mine isn’t. Since last month, everywhere we go, its filled with hearts, stuffed animals, chocolates and happy couples. Just making us want to have our special someone closer. But we signed up for this, didn’t we? We knew that our love for our bf/gf will have to be stronger than everyone else’s.

We are college students, it’s understandable that it’s hard to buy plane or bus tickets often. That aside, moving our busy schedules, just because it’s Valentine’s Day, might not be the greatest excuse for our boss or professors. Besides, this year it falls on a Tuesday, which makes it more complicated to miss school or work.

Thanks to all technology resources we have, we can show our significant other how much you care about him or her, even when you are miles away. Just because we are not physically together, doesn’t mean we have to miss on all the fun of being over romantic for one day.

Here are some date ideas that I have tried, and that we both love:

Facetime/Skype Dinner

Order or cook the same dish; something you both love and agree to eat. The agreeing part is so important because in this way, you won’t miss the times when you can’t decide where to go to eat when you are together. You can be on Skype or Facetime during the whole time, or just set up in front of the camera and have a dinner date. This year we are planning to order each other a pizza, since it is our favorite thing to eat together.

Watch a Movie Together At the Same Time

My friends always make fun of me for doing this, but hey, we needed to get creative with our dates since we have been separated for almost four years. Watching a movie together, It’s almost as good as going to the movies; you can even make popcorn and have snacks to have the whole movie theater experience. Plus, the coolest thing about this, is that you can be lying in your bed, in your pajamas and no one will judge you. So choose something to watch a movie or series, and press play at the same. Don’t forget to comment about it afterwards.

Send Him/Her a Surprise Package

Last year I sent my boyfriend a surprise gift to his apartment. I was a little stressed because I didn’t know if he was going to get it on time, but fortunately he did. His roommate helped me by giving me their address, and when he got it, he loved it. However, this can be kind of expensive, compared to the other options above. Since my boyfriend lives in Mexico, I had to do an international shipping and it wasn’t cheap, but it was worth it! He also sent me flowers, which I totally didn’t expect (and it’s the cutest thing a guy can do.) You can get artsy with this one, I got a lot of inspiration from Pinterest and did a lot of DIY. In a mailbox I sent him Hershey Kisses with a note saying “A kiss a day. The less kisses, the sooner you are to being with me.”

Have Your Own Valentine’s Day

Who said Valentine’s Day, could only be celebrated on the 14th!? Plan a V-Day celebration a little-off season. I am visiting my boyfriend during Spring Break, so we are totally going to celebrate it then. I don’t know how yet, maybe a romantic dinner or a fun adventurous day.

According to The Center for the Study of Long Distance Relationships, in 2011 there were an estimated 4 to 4.5 million college couples in the United States that are involved in a long distance relationship. So you are not the only one who is going to be separated from your loved one this year. Don’t get sad, one day you’ll be able to celebrate this special day together again. I just try not to go out a lot on that day, to avoid seeing happy couples all around.

Featured image by Maria Martinez.