9 Ways to Spread Love This Spring

Valentine’s Day is a beautiful day full of spreading love. Whether it’s with your family, friends, or significant other, there are so many ways to celebrate the special day—even after February 14th! Due to the current circumstances, a few traditional ways of celebrating such as eating at a fancy restaurant and going out for the night are out the window, so how can we celebrate safely? Here’s a few ideas I’ve found, that hopefully will help you continue to spread the love throughout the spring! Go outside: Spending the day doing this outside in nature with the people you love is an amazing way to bond. Consider going on a beautiful hike on a trail near you, a nice scenic drive with music blasting and the windows down, or even a classic picnic date at a neighborhood park. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy the natural world around you, while also being socially distanced. Arts and crafts: Even if you aren’t an artistic person, arts and crafts are so much fun, especially because there are so many to choose from! You can have an amazing time making ceramic pottery, painting with your favorite people, or teaching your friends how to sew. You can even make little knickknacks for each other in the process. Cook or bake a meal: Cooking and baking are great ways to bond. You could also learn or teach someone else new cooking or baking skills in the process. Plus, the reward is an amazing meal that you both created yourselves, with quality time included. I personally recommend Italian food, it’s my absolute favorite! Plan or go a “trip”: I discovered something over quarantine that I guarantee is worth trying! Google Earth has an amazing feature that allows you to create an adventure; you can pick destinations, hotels, restaurants, sightseeing destinations, and more all in one project, or “trip”. Then, you can save it to Google Drive where you will always have the “trip” saved for the day you finally get to book your tickets. Also, visiting YouTube and watching virtual tours of cities and tourist destinations is a great way to pass the time. If you are really into it, the tour ends up feeling like you’re actually there. Watching virtual tours can also inspire your next adventure. My favorite walking tours to watch are from ProWalk Tours. I also watch Rick Steves' Europe, since he gives historical and cultural insight about European countries and cities, which is my favorite part of the world. Write letters: If you are apart from your significant other, family, or friends, writing and sending them handwritten letters to them are a great way to spread love. Handwritten letters are sentimental, personal, and priceless—a beautiful way to express your feelings and share stories. You can also send letters to strangers who need a lot of love during these difficult times. If you check with your local nursing homes, hospitals, and orphanages, they may allow you to send letters of encouragement and kindness to those who need it most. Support small businesses and tour your own backyard: Walking around your own town and going into stores and restaurants you usually do not visit is a nice way to discover new places with someone special. You’ll be also supporting businesses along the way. Deliver sweets: Even though we are apart, you can still hand-deliver treats to your favorite people! Making chocolate-covered strawberries, heart-shaped cookies, and delivering them to your friends after Valentine’s Day is an extremely thoughtful gesture. Your special treat will be made with love! Video chat or go on a virtual date: Using FaceTime or Zoom to chatting with your best friends or significant other is a nice way to spend quality time with them, even though you are apart. To make it even more special, you can order food from the same place together and eat dinner over video. Afterwards, you can start a Netflix Party, Disney+ group watch, or Amazon Prime Video watch party, so you can watch movies and shows together at the same time! You can also do other activities together such as playing iMessage games, video or online games, and reading. It’ll be nice to have the company. Self-care: The best love to spread is self-love; so if school or work has been draining and you’re in dire need of a night to yourself, do it! Have a date with YOU. Take a relaxing bath, watch a movie marathon of your favorite movies, binge watch a TV show, exercise, cook a fancy meal, go to sleep early…do whatever you want to do. You cannot spread love to others without loving yourself first, give yourself that pamper night! No matter who you spent time with this Valentine’s Day, make sure to spread love wherever you go and in whatever you do—throughout the spring AND year. Remember you are loved!