Nikki DeRidder
Staff Writer
This Valentine’s Day there are many activities anyone can do for themselves or someone else.
“My plan is to Skype my boyfriend and maybe watch a movie with some friends,” said Amanda Branson, a sophomore marine biology major from Cape Coral, Fla.
“I’m ordering my wife gifts from Amazon,” said Chad Down, a junior marketing major from Santa Rose Beach, Fla.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do on Valentine’s Day,” said Thao Ho, a senior international business major from Vietnam, “I think I’ll just stay home, watch a movie and have some good food.”
Branson is in a long distance relationship, Downs is married and Ho is single. These three students represent the majority of the student relationship demographics at Troy University.
Here are some activities that anyone can enjoy regardless of their relationship status.
One of the most observed Valentine’s pastimes is watching a romantic movie, and there are a few coming out this Valentine’s Day.
“Winter’s Tale” is a romantic drama, including time travel, where a burglar falls in love with an heiress as she dies in his arms. Then he discovers his gift of reincarnation and tries everything to save her.
Then we have “Endless Love,” advertised as the “best love story of all time,” which is about a charismatic boy and a privileged girl who fall in love and start having an affair while their parents try to keep them apart.
For those who think movies are too cliché, there are other activities that can be done on Valentine’s Day, such as crafts and recipes for loved ones, friends or for the individual.
The sources for different crafting projects are endless. Pinterest, for example, has craft ideas for all ages. Some of which are the folding stick Valentine’s card, pink cereal bars, Valentine’s Day s’mores, Valentine’s Day cheer cookies, Valentine’s floats and many more.
Here are other clever ideas for anyone to do for Valentine’s Day.
A neat craft idea is personalizing jewelry or a cookie box with pictures of loved ones to hold a special gift or treat. Another cool idea is making customized photo stationary for a card or letter to a loved one.
For those whose loved ones live far away, there is a website called care2.com that is useful for sending humorous greetings.
Care2.com is a social networking website for activism and green living, and the e-cards on the site generate free donations to “great” organizations.
There are so many ways to spend Valentine’s Day. Keep in mind that it is a day of love, not only for others, but for the individual as well.
Just remember, after Valentine’s Day, all of the candy goes on discount at Wal-Mart.
Valentine’s Cheer Cookies Jar
For this recipe you will need:
a quart-sized wide mouth jar
1 1/3-cups flour
1-teaspoon baking powder
1-teaspoon baking soda
1/4-teaspoon salt
1-cup oats
3/4-cup Valentine’s colored M&M’s
3/4-cup chocolate chips
1/2-cup brown sugar
1/2-cup white sugar
Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl then add into the jar compacting it down. Then add the other ingredients in the order they are in on the list above making sure to compact them down.
Then attach a label or gift tag with the following information on how to prepare the cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir dry ingredients in a large bowl and add:
1/2-cup butter almost melted
1 slightly beaten egg
1-teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine thoroughly
Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls
Bake for 10-15 minutes
Then simply decorate the jar and it is ready to go.
Here is a recipe for cookies that can be baked on Valentine’s Day for a loved one. These cookies feature pink and red M&M’s, in the theme of Valentine’s Day. There are many ways to interpret this recipe, and many different ways to decorate a jar. The jar can be personalized to cater to whoever you give the gift to. This recipe is by blogger Lyndsay Johnson.
