Joining John Holton’s Writer’s Workshop again this week.
Thanks for the opportunity, John!
Prompts:
- Write a post based on the word lying.
- Write a post in exactly 16 lines.
- Tell us about your favourite TV show as a kid.
- Did you watch the Super Bowl? If so, what were your most and least favourite commercials?
- Any big (or small) plans for Valentine’s Day? Please share.
- Tell us about an encounter with a bee or wasp (or hornet).
I went with 5: Any plans for Valentine’s Day? With a P.S. about 4: Super Bowl commercials.
VALENTINE’S DAY
THE QUESTION:
“Any big (or small) plans for Valentine’s Day?”
Warning:
My opinion of this holiday is generally unpopular,
and some have even been offended by it! But to each their own.😉
Wishing all those who celebrate, a lovely Valentine’s Day! 💕💐
My husband and I have been together since 1971 and married since 1973. Not once have we wasted any energy on this “Hallmark Holiday”. It’s an over-hyped marketing ploy that pressures people into spending money to “prove” their love.
We prefer to celebrate love in our own time, not when the retail industry dictates we should! Instead of choosing one day with overpriced chocolates, flowers, and crowded restaurants, we treat ourselves throughout the year, including birthdays and anniversaries. Those are truly meaningful!
And what of the negative aspects? Valentine’s Day breeds unrealistic expectations and unnecessary drama. Forget to plan something “special”? You’re in the doghouse. It’s emotional blackmail! 🫤
For singles, the holiday is even worse—a constant reminder from society that being single = failure. Why should your happiness or value be tied to someone else? 🙄
And what about the children? Back in the stone age, when I was in elementary school, the students would exchange Valentine’s Day cards with their classmates. It was basically a popularity contest. Pity the poor child who came up short! 😞 Do they still have that tradition in schools?
What’s your take on Valentine’s Day?
MY ANSWER:
Super Bowl Commercials
I’m not a fan of American football, and didn’t watch the Super Bowl. The clever ads are always fun to see, though! 😀
As a proud Canadian, and given the current state of affairs, I LOVE this one! 🥰
To view all participants’ entries, and/or join the workshop, visit John:
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
33 thoughts on “VALENTINE’S DAY 💘 | SUPER BOWL ADS 🏈 #WritersWorkshop ✍️”
I agree Valentine’s day is over commercialized, but it was a special day for me and my husband. Now it’s just another day. And loved the Thank You Canada vid. 🙂
It must be a rough day now, Deb. My sympathies! 🌹
Best commercial of the night. Canada Rocks! 🍁
Yes we do! <3
Agreed that Valentine’s Day is commercialized, but to me it’s just something fun to take the boredom out of a couple of months worth of dreary cold weather (Jan. & Feb.). … As for the Super Bowl, we watched the game, flipped the channel at all commercial breaks, and skipped the halftime which we had no interest in watching. 🙂
You can have fun on whatever day suits you, IMO, but I agree about the cold weather. It is definitely dreary. 😝 I used to watch the Super Bowl halftime shows only, not the game. They suck now, so it’s Netflix or something, instead. 😆 Thanks for coming by, Barbara.
LOL, it is commercial for sure, but so are most of the holidays, even Presidents day with all the sales. I can take it or leave, and can’t remember, ever, a time when it meant anything other than another day. Except that it was also the day I married my husband. BUT I did write a poem for Valentine’s Day. Couldn’t resist! 🙂
Well, if it’s your anniversary, that certainly makes Feb. 14 special! 🙂 And you (or your partner) will be less likely to forget the date. I’ll come by and check out your poem. Thanks, Reneé!
P.S. Happy Anniversary! 🎉
Valentine’s Day is another overhyped commercial ploy. I don’t need a special day set aside to show my love for my partner. I like the new look to your blog, Debbie.
Exactly, Eugi! 🙂 And thanks, it was time to refresh the website a bit.
You’re welcome, Debbie.
You have valid points, Debbie. You’ve had a long-lasting relationship with your partner, and that is a rich blessing.
Thanks, Mary! 🙂 We celebrate our relationship on our own terms.
I wholeheartedly agree with your take on Valentine’s Day. Yes, some schools still hold a valentine exchange which has a guideline to give every classmate one. I don’t agree with mandatory anything and would rather they have a letter writing party for seniors in nursing homes or something else that spreads “love”.
Good to know the schools have some guidelines for Valentine’s Day cards. 🙂 And I love your idea for seniors! Much better than a fake holiday manufactured by the retail industry. Thanks for coming by Susan.
Forgot to mention that I liked that commercial about Canada’s inventions.
Yes, me too! 😀 Thanks!
Here in the States they also have “Sweetest Day” in October, which is basically another Hallmark holiday. I know they don’t have it anywhere else but in the States and it is more of a Midwestern holiday. I think as a kid, our teacher was diplomatic and had every student bring in Valentine’s Day cards for everyone, so no one was left out and we had a big “mailbox” to drop them into and the teacher distributed them. But Valentine’s Day can be sad for those who have lost their significant other, or have no one. Think Janice Ian’s song “At Seventeen”. Here we have a lot of commercials right now for “Galentine’s Day” … you buy your girlfriends gifts. I’m not for that at all. I didn’t watch the Super Bowl and in the past I always watched the recap of all the commercials on the “Ad Age” website or on YouTube. I enjoyed doing that, having worked at an ad agency in the Creative Department right out of college. This year they gave some previews before the Super Bowl which I wasn’t crazy about. I watched the top 10 commercials on Monday and I liked the Budweiser commercial and that was it.
Interesting! I’ve never heard of “Sweetest Day”. Your teacher was good in making sure none of the children felt left out. Funny you should mention Janis Ian! Last night, NBC aired the very first Saturday Night Live episode (1975), as a run up to today’s 50th Anniversary Special. Janis performed that very song. 🙂 It is a good reminder that not everyone fits in. As for “Galentine’s Day”, MAJOR eye roll! 🙄 Some of those Super Bowl commercials are very clever. 😀 Dave Grohl ‘s thanking Canada, was my favourite, for obvious reasons. 🍁
That teacher was very kind – no one felt left out. I liked that Janice Ian song, always did. How interesting that she was on SNL’s original show too? I did see you mentioned George Carlin and I wanted to tell you I saw him in college. I was in student government and we brought him to our campus – it must have been around 1975, so the same time as SNL rolled out. He was asked nicely by the school’s higher ups not to unleash his famous “seven words you can’t say on TV or radio” but he did it anyway. He was actually very nice, not at all like the rather acerbic comedian you’re used to hearing in his routines.
I’d never heard of “Galentine’s Day” and thought I’d share that since I know you’re not a fan of Valentine’s Day – this commercial was to buy your gal pal a bracelet … none of my gal pals ever bought me a bracelet, just sayin’. Maybe I should go back and look at the commercials again. I always loved the Clydesdales and the Doritos commercials best.
I just Googled and in two second found that George Carlin was at HFCC in December 1974 … look at the ticket prices! I probably got in for free as I was in student government and we sponsored him to come to the campus.
https://theconcertdatabase.com/concerts/george-carlin-18
We celebrated our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple together, and that’s it.
I guess the first one was the important one. 🙂 Funny, neither one of us ever got into it.
I used to do some minor-league ValDay stuff. Not so much anymore. Unless I find sugar free on sale on the 15th…
Always better to wait until the 15th for stuff like that. It’s usually half price. 😉
No significant plans for Valentine’s Day. Too much life getting in the way… The Super Bowl was on here but no one paid it much attention.
Laugh if you will, but I enjoy viewing Hallmark shows. Most of the lead actors are Canadian. Many of the shows are filmed in Canada.
Lastly, I used to want to write verse on Hallmark Valentine’s cards, but just could not wrap my head around it. Valentine’s Day was far from my favorite holiday.
So nice to see you here, Michael! 😀 I know, life has been difficult for all of us lately. 😫 Those Hallmark shows all have the same basic plot. 😆 Great for some light escapism, though, and I’m glad the Canadian film industry is still thriving. You’re an excellent poet, and IMO, your talents would have been wasted on silly Valentine’s Day verses. Good call! 😉
We do exchange cards each Valentine’s Day, but that’s it. We don’t buy gifts or flowers, or go out to eat. It has all become far too commercialised. I know nothing about American Football, but I got the point of the advertisement.
Best wishes, Pete.
Definitely too commercialized! (I found your comment in the trash folder. What the hell? 🫤). Canada is being unjustly maligned by the Orange Menace and we are all very stressed out here. He’s going to trigger a severe continent-wide recession if these tariffs go through! This is what the American people voted for?! 🤬
Great perspective! Celebrating love on your own terms makes much more sense than following a commercialized script. Totally agree about the pressure and unrealistic expectations—love isn’t about just one day! 💕
Thank you, Veronica! 🙂 I’m glad to know other people feel the same way about it as I do.
I agree with your thoughts on Valentines Day lol 😆 I still think if people want to celebrate, ok, but showing off and stuff is completely unnecessary, especially if the relationship is trash behind closed doors. Ugh. Great post, Debbie! 😀
Thanks, Laura! 🙂 Yes, doing things “for show” is definitely unnecessary and something that bothers me. I had a dysfunctional childhood. My mother was obsessed with taking photos, showing us as the “picture-perfect” family. UGH is right! 😫 Glad you enjoyed the post.