Valentine’s day has arrived, and many single people out there may have been anticipating it with a sense of dread, or anxiety. I’d personally just rather ignore it. Not because it’s a tacky cash-cow of Hallmark, but because I don’t think that people should wait for an excuse to celebrate love – it should be embraced constantly, without the cheap ceremony of love-hearts and cupids.

Top 5 Reasons Why Singles Should be Happy on Valentine’s Day

If you’re single, the pressure to join in on the florid festivities is less so than that on our committed counterparts, so joining in on or avoiding the celebrations is, at least, a matter of choice. Here are some other reasons why it’s better to be single on Valentine’s Day, without wanting to sound like a begrudging grump:

1) Watch what you want to watch.

You don’t have to go to the cinema to watch the latest simpering romance, surrounded by sickeningly loved-up couples you’ll want to throw popcorn at. Instead, you can go to see the latest Tarantino – nothing says ‘love’ quite like a sadistic romp in the Wild West.

2) Save pen and paper.

How often have you run out to the store, last minute, desperately searching for the ‘perfect’ card to give your loved one? You see all the unwanted cards, but have you ever thought of the amount of paper gone into those cards that will have been wasted? Count your coins (saved from NOT buying a card) since you don’t have to write an essay on the inside of on one of those giant Valentine’s cards.

3) Throw a party for other single friends.

You can throw a party in your house for all of your single friends and acquaintances who want to avoid the cheese. Don’t wear red, give guests chocolate, or permit anything remotely romantic to come through the door. Choose a wholly unromantic and ludicrous theme, like Cricketers-and-Heavy-Metallers, or Anglers-and-Accountants; if you’re going to celebrate Valentine’s Day, you might as well act as nonsensically as the rest of the world.

4) Clear out the unecessary clutter.

You don’t have to worry about receiving stuffed animals and figuring out what you’re supposed to do with them, as an adult old enough to be in a sexual relationship and so presumably with no use for a teddy bear in a red jumper, or, worse still, this – http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uojoBHjZohI – imagine having to figure out what to do with that thing?

5) Selectively searching for ‘the one.’

Finally, being single on Valentine’s day means that, if you want to, you can always try nab yourself a Valentine, which is pretty exciting. Why not ask out that co-worker you’ve been flirting with, or that ‘friend’ you’ve always had? Someone you’d never dream of asking out under any other circumstances?

Be bold, ladies. Apparently the day warrants it. The worst thing that can happen is that you’re shot down, and you end up on your couch, under a duvet, with a box of self-gifted chocolates and a solo bottle of wine all to yourself. Which still sounds like a pretty sweet deal.