It’s the season of love and the celebratory day is right around the corner —however, not everyone has someone to celebrate with.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the origin of Valentine’s Day goes back to the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was traditionally celebrated in mid-February. This festival honored spring, fertility rites and “the pairing off of women with men by lottery.”
Pope Gelasius I replaced the festival with Valentine’s Day at the end of the 5th century and has made it to what we know today, according to the encyclopedia. The name for the day, however, has many legends surrounding it, all involving a priest or bishop who was jailed or secretly married couples to keep husband from entering war.
Whether you’re #foreveralone or with a partner this year, here are some things to do on and around Valentine’s Day.
If you’re #foreveralone or “self dating,” there’s nothing better than some self care and “treat yo’ self” love:
Solo date — Although this sounds a little lonely, taking yourself out to dinner and/or for a movie can be pretty therapeutic and give you time to do some reflection about who you are and what you want. If you’re good being alone or just want to catch the newest flick, that’s great, too. El Dorado’s Stars Cinema 6 will have three new movies for the upcoming weekend, including “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island” and “The Photograph.” The theater will also show “Birds of Prey” and “Bad Boys for Life.” Tickets are $7 for a matinee, $7 for children under 12 or seniors (60+), $8 for adults with a military ID, $9 for adults and a $2 additional fee for all 3D movies. The theater also has $5 Wednesdays. Star Cinema 6 is located at 2620 W Hillsboro. For movie information, call 870-862-1919.
Get out of town — Maybe there’s somewhere you’ve wanted to go for a while. Valentine’s Day is a great time to go explore, whether it’s a hike through the Ozark National Forest, a day trip to the Felsenthal Wildlife Refuge or simply a walk through the Arboretum. Alternatively, take a weekend trip to Little Rock (2-ish hour drive), Fort Smith (4.5 - 5 hour drive), Hot Springs (2-ish hour drive) or even New Orleans (5.75 - 6 hour drive), Memphis (4 - 4.5 hour drive) or Nashville (7 - 8 hour drive).
A less people-y solo date — Alternatively, there’s nothing wrong with staying in. Make yourself that new dish you’ve wanted to try or order in (because, and this can’t be stressed enough, treat yo’ self). Do a face mask to give yourself a new glow, cozy up with your favorite blanket and go through movies on Netflix or Hulu. Here are some movies recently released or to be released this coming weekend:
On Netflix:
- “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Dear John,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Hancock” and “Purple Rain”
- “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You” - Feb. 12
- “Anna Karenina” - Feb. 12
- “Love is Blind” season 1, episode 1 - Feb. 12
- “A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” - Feb. 14
- “Cuddle Weather” - Feb. 14
- “Isi and Ossi” - Feb. 14
- “Taj Mahal 1989” - Feb. 14
- “Starship Troopers” - Feb. 15
For a complete list, visit whats-on-netflix.com
On Hulu:
- Bridget Jones: Diary, Baby and The Edge of Reason; National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation, Dirty Movie, Dorm Daze 2, European Vacation and Vacation; “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Spy Next Door,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “Where we go from Here” and “Into the Dark: My Valentine"
- “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” - Feb. 14
- “Mister American” - Feb. 14
- “American Ultra” - Feb. 15
- “Anchor and Hope” - Feb. 15
For a complete list, visit hulu.com
If you have a partner, you could do all the above together or:
Goodwill date — Go to Goodwill or another thrift store and pick outfits for each other to wear to go to dinner.
Let fate decide — With a square piece of paper, make a fortune teller (visit instructables.com for an easy how-to). On the four outside flaps, write four different colors. On the inside folds, write eight different numbers (could be 1-8 or any numbers you choose, although I’d stick with under 20). Open the inside four flaps and on the top halves, write eight different locations/activities you and your partner want to try. It should look something like the image below. Then close it all up (or decorate it further). Insert your index fingers and thumbs into the pockets on the outside and proceed to tell your partner’s “fortune” by opening and closing the fortune teller using the amount of letters in the color (once), the numbers on the inside folds (once or twice) and finally selecting a number to open a flap and go to/do that activity.
How we met — Go on another first date. Pretend to be strangers and go out for the first time. It could be the same first date or a different one, but try to impress each other.
Let’s paint — Fill up balloons with paint; grab a canvas, tarp/trash bags and darts and let loose. Pin the balloons to the canvas and see what you’ll create. If, however, there’s leftover paint that manages to get on a paint brush and be flicked at each other, would it be so bad?