Black Sunday is nearly upon us. All of you partnered people may call it Valentine’s Day, but we single ladies (and, come to think of it, most dudes) know better. It should really be called the Holiday of Unmet Romantic Expectations.

I found an email in my inbox this morning from a hotel chain I used to frequent with an ex-boyfriend. They were promoting some mushy Valentine’s special and the subject line proclaimed breathlessly: “All You Need Is Love!!”

Actually, all I need is to unsubscribe. From those email alerts and from all this Valentine’s propaganda.

Read He’s Having More Fun Than You

But take heart, lonelyhearts. We have a few things working in our favor this year. First, February 14 falls on a Sunday, which means the torture of office flower deliveries will be somewhat tempered by the calendar. If you don’t receive a bouquet at work on Friday the 12th, you can always tell that smug little snit in accounting your new amazing boyfriend is saving something really huge for the weekend. Or you can pick up a fragrant arrangement from Whole Foods on your way to work. Just smile mysteriously when your nosy co-worker demands to know who they’re from.

Secondly, with the Great Recession rolling on, we should also expect less blinged-out holiday hype and fewer expensive displays of affection this Valentine’s. (And if you see any, I grant you all permission to shout, “Have you no shame?!” at the top of your lungs.)

When all is said and done, Valentine’s is really just another day. You have the power to decide if it makes you happy or if it makes you want to burn Hallmark in effigy. It’s also supposed to be a day about love. So here are 10 ways to have a grand time – and love yourself – this Black Sunday:

1. Drag out the glitter sticks and glue gun and craft homemade valentines for your single girlfriends, elderly neighbors or service members. (ValentinesForTroops.com will play cupid and deliver them for you.) Busy hands make a light heart, for you and for your lucky “sweetheart(s).”

2. Four words: House Hunters International marathon. I just discovered this HGTV show and it’s pretty much porn for the domestically inclined.

3. Wine. See also: screw top.