Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, girlfriends. One way to survive this “celebration of love” is to turn it into a day of appreciation that leaves everyone feeling loved—romantically attached or not! What can you do to make Valentine’s Day a positive experience? Take a lesson from our girlfriend Carmen. Carmen belongs to our Facebook group and she wrote to us about “Lucky Reds” —her girlfriend group’s fun Valentine underwear tradition. Why not use her idea as a starting point to start a fun valentine tradition with your gal pals?

Carmen writes, “I have an amazing group of friends! In January we draw names from a hat and in February we exchange lucky red underpants with each other. One girl met Rod Stewart while wearing her Lucky Reds; I got a job after I wore mine to the job interview! They are truly lucky, but the best luck is having such fun friends in the first place!” Carmen and the Lucky Reds remind us of another set of girlfriends—the devoted gal pals in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, Book 1). (Except of course, that they aren’t SHARING the underwear. Let’s be clear about this. Buy new underwear to give your girlfriend!)  Do you have a Valentine tradition with your girlfriends, or have an idea for one? Share it in the comments!

We’ve got Valentine girls night ideas here, including an easy chocolate-themed party plan. There’s still time to put one together, so check it out! Remember to enter our Valentine giveaway, which ends TODAY (Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009) by clicking here and sharing a Valentine story or greeting. You just might win, and wouldn’t that be sweet!

Finally, we’ve been hearing loud and clear from our girlfriends on Twitter and Facebook that YES, it’s important to remember your girlfriends on Valentines Day, especially those who are newly single, widowed, divorced, or feeling down. Remember to make or buy a card for those important women in your life, and with that simple gesture let them know they are loved, valued and appreciated.

We ♥ Our Girlfriends!

Photo by C.P.Storm via Flickr