Once again, February has come, and with it the pressure to fulfill every single rom-com, clichéd, romantic gesture that has ever existed for Valentine’s Day. For a normal couple, this would most likely include dinner at some over-priced restaurant and boxes of chocolate shaped like hearts. This year however, I find myself in the unique situation of being in a long distance relationship for Valentine’s Day. I obviously, can’t be with my girlfriend for V-Day, so I’ve come up with some ideas that will hopefully get me through the day without any disappointment on her end.
In this type of scenario, it’s obvious that technology is your friend. One great way to survive the day is to plan a romantic movie night, using a service such as showgoers.tv, to sync what you and your date watch on Netflix. Unfortunately, there is no app to stop your girlfriend from making you watch “10 Things I Hate About you” for the 50th time.
Another idea for creating some long distance V-Day magic is the classic move of sending a gift basket. An amazing option for this is to send a basket from the Pennsylvania General Store, located right here in Philly. Flowers are ok too, but the last time I did that, I was met with a disappointed, “I can’t eat these.” Trust me, you can’t go wrong with a literal tower of junk food.
Finally, it’s easy to forget that there is also an invaluable resource on-campus for gifts, the bookstore. No one can ever truly have enough pairs of comfy sweatpants, and buying something from the bookstore is a great way to give a gift that will make your significant other think of you every time they wear it. Your date will love this gift, even if your bank account doesn’t love a $70 pair of sweatpants.
-Keith Banquer
