Valentines Day is rapidly approaching and we are not yet over the buzz and excitement of Christmas with the over-indulgences of sequins, glitter sparkles, vino, goose fat and mince pies. Then there's the dull, dreary, and awfully long January where we attempt at a judicious lifestyle, get a gym membership (or if like us, start by LOOKING for the darn membership card in the desk/shoe cabinet/laundry basket/dishwasher), and try to beat the Jan bloat 'n blues.

Then there's February! February the 14th to be precise. Particularly dastardly if single and/or in high school. I remember being in Year 7, 8, 9, 10...umm pretty much most of my high school years, where Valentine's Day turned into some sort of odd Popularity Pageant. You could buy two types of flowers from the school with proceeds going to a charitable cause:

Option 1: Plump, deep and dark, red roses. These were the Queen Bee's choice. The most popular, drop dead gorgeous Jessica-Alba look-alike girl got hordes of them, from EVERYONE - her boyfriend, her friends, her boyfriend's friends who wished she was their girlfriend, and crazy fan girls. Boyfriends got them for their girlfriends. Girlfriends got them for their girlfriends. They were very expensive (we were in sandy Kuwait - not quite their natural habitat), and very coveted.

Option 2: Awful pale carnations*. These were chosen for situations where you had someone lusting/pining/hankering after you and to whom you wanted to convey the F-word to - that you cherished them as a Friend. JUST as a friend. Sometimes, a gaggle of girls would buy each other carnations just to feel like a gaggle of girls with carnations. Sometimes you just bought them because they were the economy option on the order form.

So I got one plastic rose. That's it, all throughout high school. It's not like high school was like real life Mean Girls or anything (although I did get picked last in PE, but that could just be due to my lack of hand-leg co-ordination), I just did not see what the fuss was about. It seemed like a silly competition (2 points for a rose, -0.5 for a carnation) and for one day it was okay to poke people in the eyes with your prized stems. Oh also, I did not look like Jessica Alba.

That was high school. In grown-up-ville Valentine's Day is a lot more enjoyable. Every corner has a "Dinner for 2" offer, radio stations are playing Celine Dion (stop it!), magazines are full of heart-shaped ideas, and lots of pretty bouquets WITHOUT carnations brightening up grey London. And what if one is single? It's all a mean reminder that there's no one to buy these things, no one to go out with. How does one escape it? The answer is that there isn't an escape. Unless you're hiding in a bunker for 2 weeks till the 14th, the chances are you're going to get a V-day flyer through even with your online groceries. So the only way to beat it is to join it. Spoil someone. Spoil yourself. Take someone out, or stay in with friends and family. Enjoy being warm and cosy in this very cold and otherwise dull month. Be warm and cosy with a gorgeous box of our macarons. Gift it. Share it. Spread the love.