Editors’ Valentine’s Day Essentials

Whether you’re alone, with friends or with your bae, a good plan and the right items will prove vital to your success this Valentine’s Day. In my quest to set the vibe right — and hopefully figure out what to get my Valentine — I asked my fellow editors what their Valentine’s Day essentials are.

Amanda Fulton, Editor-in-Chief:

A Valentine's Day essential for me is my phone so I can call my friends and family to tell them I love them! I think Valentine's Day is a great time of year to celebrate all kinds of love. Reaching out and connecting with others in an intentional way is a wonderful way to do that. Statistically, the most flowers people will get in their life is at their funeral, so why wait to tell someone how much they mean to you?

Gus Yeager, Managing Editor:

Interstellar. One of the most heartbreaking movies of all time. "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space."

Olivia Hamill and Lela Haslup, Graphic Designers:

Our Valentine’s Day essential is Instagram. We like to stay up to date with all the happenings of the couples that post on their stories — and stalk them all, too.

Kelly Hammaren, Photo Editor:

For me, a Valentine's day essential is the movie “10 Things I Hate about you!” It's recently become a new tradition with me, my mom and my sisters. We all bake cookies and watch the movie together with my dog! (My dad typically gets us all chocolates as well). This will be my first Valentine's day without this tradition, so I am hoping to FaceTime them!

Will Malizia, Sports Editor:

For me it is Talenti raspberry sorbet. Not only is it my favorite treat, but it’s also a shared love between me and my girlfriend. Through thick and thin, we’ve always ended our Friday nights curled up watching a movie with some delicious raspberry sorbet.

Connor McLean, News Editor:

A Valentine essential for me is a happy stuffed animal that is holding a heart. As a kid when you were handing out Valentines, you knew the person that gave you a little loving stuffed animal was actually obsessed with you. Valentine’s Day is the one day where it is not just acceptable, but encouraged to obsess over someone you barely know. If you give me a puppy holding a heart, I’ll know you’re obsessed — and that’s what the day is all about.

Marquart Doty, Opinion Editor:

My essential is a book called "The End of the Affair." I picked it up at Country Bookshelf with our Editor-in-Chief Amanda a few weeks ago. I do have a Valentine, but anyone who knows me knows the real love of my life is dark psychological fiction. Plus, it's under 200 pages, so I can read it all in one day and still have time for a date.

Molly Houser, Culture Editor:

For me, a Valentine’s Day essential is remembering that this holiday has become less about expressions of love and more about the global issue of overconsumption. Of course, most holidays call for gift-giving, but I think there is something inherently wrong with the idea of obligatory consumerism. Real love is not determined by shiny objects or romantic gifts, it can look like hard conversations, patience and connection. So, maybe this Valentine’s Day, provide the people in your life with something irreplaceable: your time and energy.

Molly has a great point. Don’t fall for hyper-capitalism, but do use your favorite books, movies, snacks and apps to make this Valentine’s Day the best, most love-filled it can be.