YORK VISIONTuesday February 9th, 2010

LIFESTYLE19

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VISION 'BUDGETS' VALENTINESDesperate House-wives are back on screens! Wednes-day 10pm C4

- don't miss it!

Is it just me, or is Valentines Day one of the most annoying of the year? If you’re single you can’t leave the

house for weeks without soppy adver-tisements rubbing your singleness in your face, and when you’re with some-one you’re guilted into buying presents for your other half. I mean who actually wants a teddy bear holding a heart? And in all seriousness, what do you buy boys on Valentines Day? Surely this takes all the romance out of a day that is sup-posed to be all about exactly that. Valen-tines has become so impersonal; it just seems like an excuse for restaurants and florists to bump up their prices.

That’s why this year my housemates and I have decided to celebrate Anti-Valentines Day. We all have boyfriends; this isn’t some sort of single liberation thing. We won’t be using voodoo dolls, burning bras and doing anti-men ritu-als (Vision certainly does not endorse sacrificing young male virgins to em-power single women). We’re not send-ing ex-boyfriends bouquets of dead roses like some weird Anti- Valentines websites suggest, we’ve just decided to shun romantic set menus, heart shaped helium balloons and expensive candlelit dinners. We’re sick of spending hours in Clinton Cards trying to find a card that’s pretty but isn’t too soppy. In first year we were tortured by trying to find a card for Alice’s boyfriend that didn’t

say ‘I love you’ and didn’t have any thing that might imply ‘I love you’ (do you realise how hard it is to find a Valentines card that doesn’t have hearts on?). We don’t want our poor student boyfriends to have to fork out for expensive meals in fancy restau-rants just because it’s Valentines Day and that’s ‘what you do’.

Instead we’re doing Valentines our own way; who says you can’t go to The Duchess or stay in and watch a scary film? Why should we let Clinton cards force us to be romantic; after all shouldn’t romance be spontaneous? I realise Anti-Valen-tines sounds very bitter and depressing, that’s certainly what I thought when I stumbled across the term, but it’s really not. You do find the odd crazy website wishing everyone a ‘happy unimagina-tive, consumerist orientated and entire-ly arbitrary, manipulative and shallow interpretation of romance day’ but it’s best to just ignore those (before you find yourself looking for that virgin to sacri-fice). Anti-Valentines is really just about trying to enjoy a day that generally de-presses singles and stresses out couples.

F o r singles its about realising that what makes you happy for the rest of the year shouldn’t make you feel alone and depressed just because it’s Valentines Day. Send a funny Anti-Valentines E-Card and spend the day celebrating with other single friends. And if you’re in a relationship don’t bother spend-ing a lot of time and money making sure that this Valentines is absolutely the most special and romantic night ever; take the pressure off and do some-thing you both actually enjoy; don’t let all of the commercial hype around Valentines ruin yours completely.

NOT

The new Khao

San Road

restaurant in

York - it is

delicious.

HOT

Rachel Knox decides to opt out of soppy romantic sentiments and join the anti-Valentines trend this year…

Valentine's Day is a celebration which divides opinion across the board. For many, it isn't a celebra-

tion, merely a reminder of their lack of relationship, which on the upside elimi-nates the tedious chore of having to buy each other gifts whilst overtly express-ing the sentiment: I LOVE YOU. Being a person who this year falls into the "I hate Valentine's Day" category, I wasn't particularly looking forward to brows-ing the shops to see what was on offer for all those loved up ones. However, the na-ture of consumerism means that there is something marketed for every group out there. Valentine's Day isn't just for the "in a relationships" anymore; everyone from the single lady to the recently divorced can find the perfect gift this Valentine's.

For those lucky in love this year, shops are literally bursting with gift ideas for those who have found "the one". As is the case with Valentine's Day (and most other celebrations...), it's always best to encourage your man to play it safe with the gift ideas. Simply explain that as much as you enjoy paintballing, it would be better if you saved any outdoor activities for the summer months. Hotel Chocolat, on the other hand, has some gorgeous gifts that, despite the some-what extortionate price tag, are a safe giftoption as most girls will appreciate a lux-ury box of chocolates. The sales assistant described a particular 'Sleekster Love Se-lection' as being 'Smooth, seductive and utterly devoted to love...' if you and your partner can relate to these aptly chosen adjectives, this box of treats is for you. Flavours include 'prosecco and raspber-

ry', 'champagne and amaretto 'and 'mac-adamia' meaning that they're are a cut above your average box of Quality Street. Restaurants are often packed on Val-entine's Day with couples searching for tasty food and an intimate dining expe-rience. Most restaurants have deals on at the moment, offering the ultimate wine and dine experience and perfect romantic ambience. Cafe Rouge, located in Lower Petergate, is offering 'buy one main meal get the other for just a £1' vouchers, which are available at my-vouchers.com, (the pound even goes to the Great Ormond Street Hospital fund.) This means that however unromanticit feels asking the waiter if your voucher is valid, the sense of philan-thropy will outshine any disapproval your partner voices about the fact that you didn't pay full price for the meal.

During my research for gift ideas for the single girl, I came across an atroc-ity; a Match.com subscription. This may seem perfect for your best mate who's been complaining about being single for over a year, but despite her GSOH, it's unlikely that this will go d o w n well. As much as she hates being single, encouraging her to create an online dat-ing profile for a subscription fee of £53 is both harsh and financially crippling. Alternatively, encourage her to make a little self investment to give her a boost; make-up masters MAC have launched their recent collection 'MAC in Lilly-land', containing an array of pop bright lip glosses and eye shadow palettes. A stand out product is the new

nail liqueur in 'steamy' which is a gor-geous cerise and Mac nail varnishes last for ages without chipping and thus defi-nately worth the investment. The single lady is sure to appreciate these products as much as any elaborate Valentine's Day gift, especially as men don't really under-stand women's love of a new lipgloss. For those who are especially man hating this year, the' voodoo knife block' available from Amazon is perfect. This may seem a little extreme, but it's practicality as a storage solution cannot be overlooked.

As much as one enjoys being cynical about Valentine's Day, there are some lovely things out there but some really tacky ones too. Gorgeous window dis-plays in shops are sure to lure you in but lets be honest, a good bit of heavy hint-ing to the one buying you your gift is al-w a y s t h e best way. You don't

really want to end up the owner

of a personal-ised apron or

thong!

Zoe Pinder takes a look at whats on offer for the loved up couples...

WILL YOU BE MY ANTI-VALENTINE?

Booking our sum-

mer hoilays even

though we know

we really can't

afford it!

Our empty wallets,

we're at the midpoint

in term and our

student loans seem to

have dissapeared!

Pop-Star to Opera

Star - this programme is so

awful!