Sarah Dimpengi has been single for the past four years. But on Feb. 14, she plans to decorate her apartment with pink, red and white balloons and invite friends over for cherry margaritas and heart-shaped pizzas.

Though Ms. Dimpengi, 25, used to get dispirited about being single around the holiday, her feelings have evolved since ending a yearlong relationship.

“I just kind of started appreciating people around me more and appreciating myself for showing up every day for me,” she said.

Ms. Dimpengi, a marketing and communications coordinator in Ottawa, reframed her perspective on Valentine’s Day as a time to display such gratitude. This year, she also plans to take herself to a pottery class and meet up with her three sisters to gift them tops that she crocheted.

Not all singles spend Valentine’s Day in despair while scrolling through social media posts of couples showering each other with roses and affection. While television and films often depict the holiday as a dreaded day for some of the uncoupled, others have embraced the day with hopefulness about future romantic prospects, while also celebrating other forms of love in their life.

Cahleb Derry has spent only one Valentine’s Day with a romantic partner, and he has naturally dissociated the holiday from its romantic associations.