Outdated Valentine's Day Trends We've Fallen Out Of Love With In 2026

There's a bit of speculation surrounding the origins of Valentine's Day, but most historians think it's a mix of an ancient Roman festival where men whipped young women to supposedly improve their fertility (no joke), and Christian traditions honoring Saint Valentine. Then of course there's Hallmark and its entry onto the scene in 1913, hocking cards to share with loved ones on February 14th. Over the years, the holiday has evolved into red and pink everything, chocolates, flowers (here's the reason why red roses became the symbol of Valentine's Day), rom-coms starring Meg Ryan, Galentine's Day, and buying V-Day treats for your fur babies.

Valentine's Day has become so muddled that in some ways, it's lost its significance: celebrating love. Not that we're advocating a return to Roman traditions, but there are certain trends we've fallen out of love with lately. As February 14th looms, these are the traditions we're embracing and the outdated ones we're saying goodbye to.

We get it: for so long we've thought of heart prints as childish or cheesy, but outfits with hearts on them are having a major moment right now if TikTok and the street style at recent fashion weeks are anything to go by. People were wearing heart-print dresses, carrying countless heart-shaped bags, and wearing belts with buckle hearts. If you feel the trend calling to you, don't skip a beat and embrace it on the 14th.

In terms of fashion and beauty for 2026, maximalism is back in a big way, and we're going to extend the trend to the way we celebrate love. We might take a sec to think about why Valentine's Day is important — if it's because society is telling us it should be, then we'll explore that. But right now the idea of leaning into love feels incredibly important, and we're ready to max out starting with heart-shaped pancakes in bed.

Thankfully, there are easy options for Valentine's Day makeup looks if you hate red lips. For us, it's not that we hate red lips; they just feel too predictable in 2026. Instead, we're planning to dive into the big makeup trends of the season, including draped blush, vibrant eye makeup, and iridescent touches. Of course, red and pink lips are still in, with stains feeling particularly fresh and of-the-moment.

Just because the calendar reads February 14th doesn't mean we need to join the throngs of people heading out to celebrate Valentine's Day. Crowded restaurants, long waits, high prices, stressed waitstaff, high emotions all around — we'll pass on this outdated trend, thanks. We're just as happy to order in or cook at home, and save the special dinner out for another night. We're over the idea that we have to leave the house to somehow prove something just because it's Valentine's Day.

We can't help it — there have been times when we've really wanted those typical tokens of Valentine's Day, like flowers or chocolates. But we've decided to follow the wise words of Miley Cyrus' anthem "Flowers," and remember that we can buy ourselves flowers. And if there's a specific 86% free-trade dark chocolate that we know will fill our love bucket, then we will go buy it. Waiting for someone else to give us what we want and feeling disappointed when it doesn't arrive feels very passé.

Aren't we all getting a bit tired of giving and receiving gifts that clearly have no meaning just because of some unspoken rule that tells us we should be exchanging heart-themed presents? It's that cheesy junk that ends up in the landfill or shows how little someone actually knows you. We've heard repeatedly that there's a lot of pressure to find the right gift, but why? Why not have a conversation with your loved ones about what will or won't mean something? And then we'll avoid ending up with a stuffed animal holding a heart.

Yes, "Bridgerton" Season 4 is available to binge and "Wuthering Heights" is on our must-see list, but do we need to watch them specifically on Valentine's Day? It feels a bit forced, no? Don't get us wrong, anything from Nora Ephron's oeuvre or John Hughes' filmography from the '80s (like "Sixteen Candles"), will fill our nostalgia love cup 'til it runneth over. But there are also non rom-com or steamy romance options available, and we think if "Scream 7" is more your love language, then you do you.

Here are 40 fun things to do on Valentine's Day if you're single, but also, it seems outdated to feel the need to do anything at all. We're reflecting on how we actually want to spend Saturday the 14th. Maybe it'll be cuddled up reading a great novel, sweating it out at the gym, doing some volunteer work, shopping, or cooking for family and friends with no heart-themed anything in sight. The point is, in 2026, we don't need to acknowledge that this day is different from any other if we don't want to.

Life, the world, everything — it all feels pretty hard and anger-fueled lately. And frankly, we're tired of feeling that way. For 2026, we're going to be love activists. This Valentine's Day, we're shifting our mindset away from ourselves and our significant others, and thinking bigger picture. We want to show love on a bigger scale and not get caught up in the minutiae of what box of assorted chocolates to buy someone. This is our take on the new maximalism –- showing love, kindness, and appreciation in a big way.