Top Five Ways to Spread Love this Valentine’s Day
Top Five Ways to Spread Love this Valentine’s Day
Almost any place you shop this week, you’ll find yourself engulfed in a sea of reds and pinks, hearts and candies, flowers and cards. In honour of Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing the top five ways to spread a little love in your life. While February 14 is typically associated with romance, this list will help you celebrate all kinds of love.
In his book The Five Love Languages: The Secret To Love That Lasts, Gary Chapman outlines five main ways people give and receive love: words of affirmation, quality time, physical touch, gifts, and acts of service.
Each of us has a top “love language” for how we best receive love. For example, mine would be “words of affirmation.” I’m a sucker for handwritten notes or someone sharing words of encouragement with me. Think of yourself and the loved ones in your life and see if you can determine your own top love language and those of your significant other, family members, or friends. Then, read on to learn how you can spread a little love this Valentine’s Day based on the five different ways that people receive love.
Words of Affirmation
Seriously – don’t underestimate the power of a handwritten note. Whether you decide to pick out a card or make your own at home, be sure to include some kind words in your own handwriting that express how much someone means to you. This can be as simple as writing out a few different reasons why you’re grateful for that special someone in your life.
I can’t recommend homemade cards highly enough. During the height of the pandemic, my family found our way back to card-making rather than purchasing cards from a Hallmark store. Three years later, the habit has stuck and I can personally say that no gift ever tops my dad’s homemade construction-paper-and-black-Sharpie cards. It’s the extra bit of effort that counts when we don’t expect an adult to sit down and draw something meaningful for us. There’s a good chance the people in your life will appreciate it as much as my family and I do.
Don’t fancy yourself a writer? Pick up the phone and say a few words aloud or even shoot off a quick text to let someone know you’re thinking of them. This is a great option for the people in your life who you care about but perhaps don’t immediately come to mind when you think of Valentine’s Day. Think grandparents, your children’s nanny, your helpful neighbor, or parents who you don’t get to see as often as you’d like.
Quality Time
Whether you plan an elaborate date night or celebrate with a cozy night in, the quality of the time spent with your loved one is the key to this love language. Eliminate as many distractions as you can; this means leaving your phone in the other room. Set aside an amount of time and devote your full attention to your significant other, your children, or your friends. After you’ve committed to eliminating distractions, consider one of these activities for quality time filled with lots of fun, conversation, and connection.
Make dinner together: Try cooking a new recipe or buy ingredients for homemade pizzas and spend quality time in the kitchen.
Game night: Whether it’s playing cards or a classic board game, enjoy talking strategy together or getting a little competitive over Park Place.
Fun like you’re 10 again: Think bowling, ice skating, or laser tag. The fall-back date night or get-together tends to be going out to eat at a restaurant. Shake it up a bit and talk over strikes and spares instead of drinks and appetizers.
Physical Touch
Showing love through physical touch can be as simple as giving a hug, kissing a loved one’s forehead, or holding hands on the couch or in the car. If physical touch isn’t one of your own top love languages, this might take a little extra, intentional effort.
If you want to get creative, consider signing up for a dance class or playing some music with your own living room as the dance floor. Another idea is to purchase a couple’s massage. Despite the name, many spas offer “couple’s massage” set-ups for girls’ days, so ask your best friend, mom, or sister along for a little Galentine’s Day celebration.
Gifts
This love language is one most typically associated with Valentine’s Day, hence all the chocolate, flowers, and jewelry popping up in store aisles and on your Instagram feed. I will rarely turn down sweet treats or a bouquet of flowers, but there is something to be said for giving a more personalized gift. Let your loved one know you were thinking specifically of them when you purchase your Valentine’s Day gift this year.
This doesn’t always require extra expense. Perhaps this means lavender Epsom salts for the bath lover in your life, a new set of seasonings or specialty marinades for your favourite chef, or a gift card to a favourite restaurant or local shop your loved one frequently visits. Pick out a present with the idea of gifting it and being able to say, “This gift isn’t because it’s Valentine’s Day, it’s because you’re you.”
Acts of Service
Big or small, an act of service is all about spreading love through an extra bit of thoughtfulness and kindness. Some people feel especially seen and cared for when the people in their life show up with a helping hand. This love language will be as unique as the person you love.
In your loved one’s day-to-day life, what act of service can you perform that says, “I love you, let me do this for you”? Some act-of-service suggestions include the following:
- Do that one household chore that’s typically found on a loved one’s to-do list: vacuum, scrub the shower, shovel snow from the driveway, or do a load of laundry.
- Fill the gas tank in a loved one’s vehicle.
- Prepare a meal. Drop off the meal if you’re cooking for someone you don’t live with.
- Tick an errand off a loved one’s list: shop for groceries, pick up the kids from school, run to the post office or bank, take the car to the shop to get the oil changed.
This love language requires your time and energy and returns those very things to the recipient of your love-filled act. It’s one of the easiest ways of showing love that’s worth incorporating into your everyday life, not just on February 14.
How will you spread love this Valentine’s Day? If you have other suggestions for how to express one of these five love languages, let us know here!
Taylor Stawecki is a 20-something Michigander with a love for the great outdoors and written word. She spends her weekdays working for a digital marketing company and as a freelance copywriter. In her free time, you can find her reading, writing poetry, running, watching a Grey’s Anatomy rerun, or spending time with her family and friends. As an old soul, she enjoys collecting salt and pepper shakers and cuddling up in oversized sweaters.
