It’s almost that time again folks: Compulsory Love Day is next Thursday, so it’s time to stock up on the champagne, chocolates, and condoms. That is, if you have a partner. If not, tradition dictates you sit at home alone, preferably in a battered bathrobe, and eat a quart of ice cream out of the container. If you’re feeling somewhere in the middle of the champagne/battered bathrobe spectrum, here are some ideas to keep you and your beloved occupied for the next week and change.

If you want to start early, you can head out to Longwood Gardens for Sweetheart Week, running this Saturday to Sunday the 17th; highlights include strolling violinists, Feast of Love cooking demos, and for some inexplicable reason a program about growing bananas (wait, you don’t think… ohhhhhhhh). DiChiera's Cyrano presented by the Opera Company of Philadelphia opens at the Academy of Music on the 8th, and runs through the 17th. If you need to feel better about a recent breakup, or just want to gloat about how good your relationship is, check out the "Greatest Heartbreaks of Ancient Times" presented by the Young Friends at the Penn Museum this Thursday (you may want a reservation for that one: 215-898-5093). For some hot chocolate and reflections on one’s mortality, check out "The Love Stories of Laurel Hill: A Eulogy to Valentine" at Laurel Hill Cemetery (3822 Ridge Ave) on Saturday (get some reservations for that, too). And the night before the fateful day, treat yourself to a flute and guitar serenade at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia (2125 Chestnut), presented by Dolce Suono Chamber Music Concert Series and featuring Mimi Stillman and Allen Krantz—this has the added benefit of being free, which is really a boon in these times of moneyed professions of true affection.

All that, and we haven’t even gotten to the day proper yet. We promise we will… once we finish this ice cream.

Image Credit: Flickr user CarbonNYC