Is valentine's day "just for kids"?

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Whenever I mention Valentine's day some people scoff and say "silly kids stuff" or "Valentine's day is a high school thing".

Is this true?

I know where I come from, many people have an attitude that Christmas, Easter, Valentine's and Halloween are all for children too.

Sounds more like they are a bunch of cynical buzzkills.

i don't know, but the older i get the less of a deal it seems to become. unless you're running a greeting card or candy company. i honestly forgot it existed until i saw threads on here about it.

Not as far as I know... I did make a bigger deal out of it as a kid than I do now, but isn't that the case with most people and most holidays? In general, kids get excited easier than adults. If you want to celebrate itas an adult, then celebrate it.

To be honest I think It's a good excuse to get a date although It's an unnecessary event.

It does seem to get less important with age but it certainly isn't just kid stuff. Anecdotally, most of my late teen/early 20s friends seem to care and try to do something special. Older couples my parents' age don't seem to care much, though I'm sure there's some exceptions.

This probably varies by country and region, I would guess. I don't think it's the case here in New York City.

Personally I'm averse to commercialized holiday rituals of any kind. Just too much stress, too much running around.

Valentine’s Day is a (small) thing in this house, we get each other a card and a small gift: no more than £10.
But that’s it: no going out or any of that malarkey.

I love valentine's treats and all the fun things you can do as an adult outside of dating

1. Being your own best friend and loving on yourself - treating yourself to things that you and your own friend enjoys
2. Getting together with a family member who you are close to - going out to eat, bowling, going to a movie, museum, etc.
3. Going to visits animals at a no-kill shelter or a cat's cafe because they need love to

I did number 3 a couple of times on Valentine's day - A close female friend and I drifted apart one year so I paid a no-kill shelter a visit and gave their cats some love and took my cat to the vet there at the same time. Then later, I went out and bought myself some dinner and took a bubble bath. Finally, I discovered the song "Let it go," for the first time which made me feel empowered.

I would say it's mostly for teens, yes. I've never come across anyone aged older than 20's who were preoccupied with Valentine's.


Then again, like you said, people also say that other holidays are for kids; well, I'm a 'big kid' who still loves Christmas and likes Easter, and would've loved Halloween if we had horror marathons on TV here so there is that.... Valentine's only mattered to me when we had our dog because he came to us on all hearts day.


@ Summer_Twilight: I like your third idea there!

I would have thought the opposite. The true meaning for Valentines is illegal for kids. But of course you have to lie to kids and twist it into something else so that they don't have to be excluded. So if the Valentine-Substitute becomes the most common meaning for Valentines, it would be quite ironic.

There are lots of adults who do things for Valentine's day, in terms of dating and marriage and lots of restaurants have special dinners for couples. Other couples often go out for a special dinner on their own, without the reservations.

However, I learned on the news that a big trend is going on right now with women and their gal pals where they skip the dating thing and do a "Galentine's day," and do a big dinner together.

I once went out a valentine's event for a Catholic singles ministry, years ago to a Hibachi grill and buffet. We were required to bring a card and then turn those into the hostess, who put our names on each card. Then, the cards were rotated around and we were asked to say something nice about the person. It was so much fun.

Another year, I threw Valentine's theme party with v-day treats and a few things for dinner. We also watched "Guardians of the Galaxy together.

Not by a longshot. My parents are in their 60s, and celebrate it.