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WRONG: Don't spend the day moping around

THE BEST Valentine’s Day I have ever had was as a single lady.

I went away with my three sisters and my aunt, and at the time, we were all single, apart from one older sister, who was happily married.

Sometime in mid-January, we had made plans to spend the time together. I thought, ‘let’s face it, I’ve got nothing better to do’, so spending time with my sisters was a good place to start.

By the time Valentine’s Day rolled around, we had arranged to go to Manchester for the weekend. Our cousin had booked us into a nice hotel, at a really cheap rate because she worked for the franchise and we got our gladrags and handbags ready for the drive up north.

I won’t deny that every one of us (apart from my married sister) thought about how depressing it was to be single on Valentine’s Day (a sentiment that is shared by millions), and at the beginning, we were all in a defeatist frame of mind.

But as the weekend began, I discovered that you can learn a lot of things on a four-hour journey. In my case, I found out that I come from a family of comedians and that my sisters were rubbish at I-spy.

When we got to Manchester, we had a quick lunch before we went to watch a football match in a box kindly arranged by a male cousin of ours as a Valentine’s treat.

A good day turned into a great evening when we went to a Michelin starred seafood restaurant and had some of the best food I have ever eaten. Our chauffeur (I forgot to mention we had a chauffeur for the night) then took us to a club were we were VIPs and drank champagne all night.

The best part about the night was having fun with my sisters, dancing and singing together. In fact, I actually forgot it was Valentine’s Day and the morning after, I didn’t mind that I had the hangover from hell, because it was one of the best weekends of my life.

But you don’t have to spend money on a lavish weekend away to enjoy Valentine’s Day as a single person. You and your girlfriends could get together for a cheap and cheerful night in, or an inexpensive night out.

Either way, Beyonce’s hit Single Ladies is the perfect anthem for the evening.

Alternatively, why not ride solo and enjoy some ‘me time’? Think about it: if you love going shopping or to the gym or a museum, this is a great time to do it, because everyone else will be waiting to be seated in a restaurant.

The pubs may not be too full and this year, Valentine’s Day falls on the first knockout round of the Champions League, with Barcelona playing at Leverkusen.

Speaking only for myself, I would rather stare at the feet of [Barcelona striker] Lionel Messi than into the glazed eyes of an overly romantic love interest, who is trying too hard.

You can also take the time to catch up on your soaps or novel of the week, knowing that you won’t get a call every 10 minutes from a friend or cousin who just wants to chat about the very same programme you’re watching.

Another benefit of being single will be seen in your purse or wallet. With many people’s budgets being tight at the moment, who really needs to spend the first full wage after Christmas on someone else?

Dine in for two meal deals are fabulous, but I’m sure there will be a lot of women (and men) out there that would be offended if their partner came home with a cheap eat on Valentine’s Day. It sounds like a lot of drama to go through for one evening.

But when you’re single, you can go to the supermarket, get the food, and go home and eat the meal for two, by yourself. Go on, be fabulously selfish – you’ve earned it.

More than anything, when you’re single you can make everyday seem like Valentine’s Day; something that many couples find hard to do.