By Emily Mlynarek ’14 | Staff Writer

Whether you like it or not, Thursday Feb. 14 is a day full of hearts, candy, and ooey-gooey, mushy gushy love. Here are some ways for couples and singletons to make the best of the holiday.

Valentines’ Day festivities for couples:

5)  Go out to dinner in Grosse Pointe.  There are plenty of restaurants in the community where couples can have a nice meal, such as T.N. Thai and Blue Fin Sushi. For more formal dates, make reservations at The Hill or City Kitchen. For a unique Valentine’s Day dinner, have breakfast food at The Pancake House.

4)  Bake some sweets for your sweetie. Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to bake a sweet, decadent treat for your date, or even for your family and friends.

[info]
Recipe for savory red velvet cookies:
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 12 minutes Yield: 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
8-oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 box red velvet cake mix
1 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
1) In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the cream cheese and the butter. Beat in the egg, then the vanilla. Beat in the cake mix until completely combined.
2) Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3) Roll the chilled dough into tablespoon sized balls. Roll in confectioners’ sugar, and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

For more Valentine’s Day themed recipes, go here:[/info]

3)  Get flowers for your girl. Flowers are always a kind gesture that any girl would appreciate. Yes, they are cliché and typical, but romantic nonetheless. Along with flowers, chocolate candies are a great gift. However, it is advisable to stay away from the tacky Valentine’s aisle at CVS.

2)  Go ice skating. Ice skating is a romantic, yet fun date! There are several places to skate in the area: Campus Martius downtown or one of the various parks in Grosse Pointe.

1)  See ‘Safe Haven.” Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to see an ooey-gooey romantic movie. ‘Safe Haven’, the romantic drama based on the best-selling Nicholas Sparks novel hits theaters on Thursday, Feb. 14. Starring Julianne Hough and heartthrob Josh Duhamel, it is the story of a young woman’s escape from the law and a young widower’s struggle to love again.

And For the Singletons

5)  Get a sweet treat from the village. There are a variety, ranging from pastries from Sweet Little Sheila’s to ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery or TCBY. Or, to escape the cold, treat yourself to a coffee from Starbucks or Caribou. However, beware of the middle school aged “village rats” that may be all over the place.

4) Watch Valentine’s Day TV. Obviously, Valentine’s Day themed episodes of any and every show on TV will be aired all week long. The classic ‘Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown” is always fun to watch, and airs on ABC on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 8 p.m.

3) Make a homemade Valentine. Remember making valentine’s cards back in elementary school and delivering them to friends? Well, no one is too old for that. Making a Valentine for your friends, siblings or even parents is a sweet gesture that would make anyone’s day.

2) Indulge on Candy. Lastly, in the spirit of the holiday, indulge on candy. Conversation hearts, suckers, and of course chocolate are in order.

1) See a movie. The theater can also be an escape from the romance of Valentine’s Day. Unromantic movie-goers can find refuge seeing zombie flick “Warm Bodies.”  Also in theaters is “Identity Thief,” a comedy about an identity theft gone wrong, starring Jason Bateman and Melisa McCarthy.