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Are you in a long-distance relationship this Valentine’s Day? Are you looking for ideas to enjoy the holiday in a non-traditional way?

Long-distance straight up stinks. Being away from your significant other is hard enough, but Valentine’s Day makes it 100 times worse. Not only are you missing your partner, but you also have to watch everyone else be happy. Flowers, chocolates, and pretty red things cover the stores and you feel so lonely.

Your friends in relationships pity you. Your single friends tell you that you’re lucky to have someone. No one understands.

It just plain sucks.

My husband and I did long distance for a year while we were dating. It was extremely difficult being away from him and I spent a lot of time being miserable. I forgot to enjoy the “fun” aspects of it!

I can’t promise to make Valentine’s Day the best day ever. It will still hurt to be away from your loved one, BUT we can make it less miserable with these fun activities.

Long-distance relationships are STILL relationships, and they need attention too. Let’s give Valentine’s Day a brand new look: a Long-Distance Look.

10 Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day in a Long-Distance Relationship:

1. Dinner Date Via Skype

Go get takeout from your favorite restaurants OR choose similar restaurants (both steak or both Chinese). Bring the food back to your house and Skype/FaceTime each other while you eat. Skip all the couples at the restaurants and have a private dinner. I did this in my long-distance relationship and it was very fun! It felt like a real date and it was more special than our usual video chats.

You could also surprise your love with a delivery of their favorite food in their area!

2. Snail Mail

Nothing beats receiving ACTUAL mail (not bills)! Send your love letters or postcards the days leading up to Valentine’s Day. There is a fun app called Touchnote where you can create postcards from your photos, and this can be a surefire way to make them excited to check their mail!

3. Care Package

Tangible gifts are a great way to lift spirits around Valentine’s Day. Include all their favorite things: candies, books, movies, and a little note with your cologne/perfume. You can even decorate the inside of the box with hearts or pictures of the two of you!

Not sure what to include in the box? Check out this list of great gift ideas for him for inspiration!

4. “Open When Letters”

This is a great gift for birthdays, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, any and all holidays! It is a staple for long-distance couples. Write several letters to your loved one for different moods or times.

For example, write a letter to them for them to open “when you miss me” or “when you are sad”. Fill these letters with sweet memories or encouraging words and stick them in envelopes filled with their favorite things. They can open them whenever they want!

5. Favorite Things Jar

Fill a jar with slips of paper that say all your favorite things about him/her. Or write song lyrics on them that describe your feelings. These slips can say anything!

Fill the jar with enough slips for a year or enough slips until your next visit (like a countdown). This is a cute gift that keeps on giving in a long-distance relationship.

6. Plan a surprise with your loved one’s friends, coworkers, or roommates.

Do you know what you miss the most in long-distance (besides hugs and kisses)? The spontaneity! The surprise factor, because they are not there to do things with you.

Maybe you surprise them with a new dress or a meal or a note. Any surprise will brighten their day, I promise. Getting others involved will help your loved one feel less lonely.

My husband (when we were dating long-distance) asked my sister to go to the store to get a bottle of sparkling grape juice for a Valentine’s Day surprise. I loved it! It made me smile and I had some face-to-face contact with someone I loved that day.

It made our relationship feel more tangible with a third party involved. It was like our relationship came out of the phone and someone else saw it for the first time in a while. It’s a hard feeling to describe, but very important that your loved one is surrounded by people.

7. Send Videos Every Hour of the Day

Surprise your love with a video every hour on Valentine’s Day! They can be via texting or via Snapchat. Just short videos about your love for them. They will look forward to them!

8. Send them a Personalized Playlist

Thanks to the ease of Spotify, you can create a whole Playlist in your love’s honor. Fill this folder with songs about them, your love for them. Include some of “your” songs together and don’t forget their favorites! They’ll love it and probably cry.

9. Call Them in the Morning

Many couples love their “good morning” texts but Valentine’s day is Special. Make sure your loved one feels special today and hears your voice. Call them to wake them up or leave a sweet voicemail.

10. Plan or Talk About Your Next Visit to See Each Other

It is not in your plans to see each other on February 14th or you wouldn’t be reading this. Do yourself a favor and make yourself excited about the next time you’ll see each other.

Talk about where you will go, what you will eat, and all of the things you are excited about. I have found it takes the edge off of the ache in your heart when you miss them.

It’s a reminder that you’ll see them soon and gives you the strength to keep going!

Love is all around. It is real. Even when you feel alone or like your relationship is less than a “normal” one. How lucky you are to have found each other! Bask in that love, and remember that this is not forever.

I want to hug you and tell you to keep fighting. Keep going! True love is not hindered by distance. You can and you WILL have a happy Valentine’s Day. We all deserve it!

With love,

Madison

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