Valentines is around the corner and to say I dislike it is an understatement. It is the least creative holiday and since I have a preference for certain colors and not others, the whole red and pink color scheme irritates me.
It also feels as if it's the one holiday we're marketing and design departments updated nothing in a century. The same trite be mine. Candy that tastes like baking soda and sugar in shades of pastel pink. Every year it looks the same as if there is some giant warehouse that carries decades old stock.
The whole concept is forced romance to me and since adolescence is already a confusing time listening to repetitive stories of romantic getaways with dinner and rose petals wasn't my idea of love.
At some point caring about friends became part of valentines and socially acceptable. One of my friends had gone through a bad breakup and no matter how I tried I couldn't get him to go out. Until valentines. It took me three hours until I convinced him. We'll go celebrate our friendship you can be depressed afterwards, I promised. I took him to a great place. we ate and by dessert and coffee he was happy. A great meal can do wonders even if it's just one evening.
Among my friends we did surprise care packages when someone was going through a rough time. A few years ago I walked by a high-school pre-final exams that had countless posters all over with Cheer messages on them. You can do this addressed to specific students. How neat.
Several years ago, on Pinterest I think, the trend of very creative cheer clothespins appeared. You surprise pin them on a backpack with words of encouragement. The creative trend of caring continues.
If kids and teens can figure out what people need and how to care about eachother, why can't adults?
To be honest the only color I don't care for more than pink and red is orange. And of course my daughter loves pink and I was a great mom because I let her paint her room pink. She wanted hot pink so we compromised and did the baseboards and window trim hot pink.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, we don't do Valentine's Day here any more than any other holiday which is to say not at all. Another forced marketing day preying on people's insecurities. Anyway the bookmark and card are for a giveaway for an event for people who would (hopefully) like it.
Codex: in my generation there were a lot of pink rooms and postered rooms for boys. Don't like it either. Don't like painting with it. How did it look?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it'll sell. Just wish there was more creativity.
It's a door prize, so a giveaway. The room looked fine if you like pink. She was happy with it.
DeleteCodex pink rooms for teenage girls
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young Valentine's Day wasn't a thing in Australia and didn't really take off here until long after I was married. I'm not a fan.
ReplyDeleteCodex: is it a big thing now? It was a big deal when I was young. Last minute roses chocolate. Hardly romantic. Did it once for my mom. She didn't like it either.mothers day was the big one.
DeleteStill not as big as in the US, but more people buy flowers and chocolates than in the past.
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