Like it or not, Valentine’s Day is coming in less than two weeks. Whether you’re dressing up for date night with your beau, gearing up for a night of dancing with your single ladies, or joining Ben & Jerry for a night with Blair and Serena, it’s the perfect excuse to buy something pretty. If you’re hoping to channel the color of love for your date, or the Chinese color for luck (because it is still Chinese New Year) you can don an attention-grabbing red item for the night. From an LRD to an eye-catching red pump, you’re sure to assert confidence when wearing cupid’s favorite color.

Not feeling the red?

Then how about channeling the other part (AKA my favorite part) of Valentine’s Day: chocolate! Red is not for everyone but wearing black on Single Awareness Day is cliche, making brown the perfect choice. It’s both festive and flattering, and if you find the right item it can be just as eye-catching as it’s in-your-face friend, red.

As I’ve learned more about Chinese culture (my family is pretty non-traditional), I’ve learned about the traditions other people practice for the most important holiday in the Chinese calender.  A lot of what Chinese New Year’s is about is setting precedence for the new year.  If you start the year with money, surrounded by friends and in a clean setting, you will be lucky, happy and have prosperity throughout the next year.

If you’re interested in other cultures or just looking for a reason to party, Here are some ways to celebrate the Year of the Tiger:

Clean House: What better way to start off the new year then with a clean house? It is said to rid your house of bad luck that you accumulated in the past year, so go through that closet and those piles around your room and get rid of all that bad luck. But wait a until the weekend to do so; tradition says that if you want to keep good luck in your house for the year you must refrain from cleaning for the first few days.

Decorate. While people often paint their doorways red, the lucky color, this probably isn’t an option for most college students. Instead, I like to get paper scrolls with inspirational sayings on them.  Gung Hay Fat Choy is probably a saying you’ve heard before; it wishes for wealth and prosperity in the new year. You can pick these up at any Chinese Market, in addition to paper lanterns and other fun decorations.

New Clothes. When I learned about this tradition I was ecstatic! People often buy new outfits to start the new year off fresh. Wearing red and/or gold is also considered lucky. Avoid wearing a lot of black throughout the new year, thought, as it is a symbol of bad luck.

Party! If you have a Chinatown near you, or there is a Chinese New Year’s celebration, check it out.  It’s a cultural experience and a lot of fun.  In my hometown, they have parades, presentations, vendors and so much more to do throughout the New Year, which is 15 days long. Lion Dances are a major part of the parade and setting off firecrackers, or even using noisemakers on Chinese New Year’s Eve (Feb. 14) will scare off bad spirits.

Eat. Dumplings, fish, noodles and oranges are some of the foods traditionally eaten in the new year.  Get together with your friends and go out for food, or make your own. (Fried Rice is super easy and feeds a lot of people.) Since New Year’s Eve falls on Valentine’s Day this year, it is the perfect excuse to get your single friends together and celebrate.

Watch and Learn. The Last Train Home is a documentary by Lixin Fan about the largest internal migration, which occurs just before the Chinese New Year.  Migrant factory workers only go home for the New Year, they travel primarily by train, making it a chaotic time of year.  This documentary won Best Feature at the IDFA International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam and is definitely a must-see.

There are plenty of reasons to love February: it’s Black History Month, American Heart Month, and even National Cherry Month! Not to mention it’s the month of the ever-so-lovely Valentine’s Day (or not-so-lovely, in this single girl’s case). So spit out those cherry pits and get ready for some February action:

1. Happy Year of the Ox! On January 26th, billions of people celebrated the beginning of the Lunar New Year with noisy firecrackers and traditional food, but the fun doesn’t end there! This celebration lasts a full week, well into February, and you can join in the festivities too! Make your own bubble tea, create your own lion dance, but most importantly, ask your parents for that lucky red hong bao filled with money they owe you in the name of all that is Asian.

2. It’s ok to start off this month a little on the meatier side, after a delightful (and delectable) holiday experience, not to mention all the V-day chocolate fondues. While grandma’s homemade chocolate-chip cookies were wonderful for your taste buds, they were not so friendly for your waist. It’s totally fine to embrace your curves, like Jessica Simpson does, but it’s important to stay healthy too! Here are a couple of new books that will help you stay on track and stick to your resolutions you so adamantly vowed to keep 31 days ago. So take some time this month to catch up on your light reading. (Haha, light, get it? Witty, I know.)

3. Speaking of resolutions, YAY for making them! And double YAY’s for keeping them too! Whatever you’ve promised in January transfers into this month as well, so open that new Twilight book your friends have been begging you to read, pull out that yoga mat you got yourself for Christmas, or just hibernate under your covers for a good 8 hours (which I haven’t done since…wow, well before college started in August. I blame it on Red Bull-induced cram sessions). For me, I plan to try out some new group fitness workouts; ever heard of Nia?

4. Sadly, beloved American author John Updike has passed away, but don’t let your passion for reading depart too. Perez Hilton (whose website is a daily Hollywood bible for me) has launched his scandalous new book on how to be fabulously famous. And my favorite author, John Grisham, just came out with the latest courtroom drama! The famous Steven King even read Charlie Huston’s new book (warning: do not read in front of others if you’re prone to laughing out loud). So many good books to read by the firelight with a mug of hot chocolate (or, for the broke college kid, a plastic Target lamp with a cheap cup of cafeteria instant coffee).

5. 13 is no longer the unluckiest number; 14 is way scarier for many single college kids out there. Specifically, February the 14th. This time around, though, celebrate your single-ness! Indulge yourself in a little chocolate (did you know there’s a Best Fine Chocolate Award?). Send yourself a virtual bouquet of flowers (pro for the non-green-thumbed like me: they can’t die), or spirtz on some yummy scents like Dots and Tootsie Rolls, and you’ll never even notice the missing man-candy!

February may be a short month, but it’s definitely gonna be a good one.

Anyways, this may be the biggest sporting event of the year, but that doesn’t mean it’s my biggest event of the year. Or yours. This week, I asked the CollegeCandy writers to tell us what their “Super Bowl” is every year; their big event, their day to sit around eating guacamole and 7 layer dip. Ok, maybe not the last part, but you get the idea.

What is your Super Bowl?

Amanda – Wagner: Any big celebrity scandal feels like the super bowl to me. When Britney went after the paparazzi with an umbrella… oh my god, I bought every tabloid and read them all in one sitting.

Ashley Elizabeth – CU Boulder: That one day when you get all dressed up and that boy finally notices!

Marissa – High School Senior: The first day of summer. Summer solstice kicks off the season of no school, my birthday, the beach, warm weather…did I mention no school?

K – GWU: Definitely going to a rave. Best flipping time of my entire life and I want to epically return once a year.

Madison – Puget Sound: The post-Christmas sale week. You know, when everywhere from Target to Nordstrom has everything that you wanted (but didn’t get) for Christmas, but for super cheap. Amazing.

Maddie – Tufts: For me (and this is embarrassing…) my “super bowl” is my birthday. I’ve been making a big deal out of it since I was young enough to care, and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon. Who doesn’t want to be the birthday princess??

Lauren – University of Michigan: The morning after I actually get some and can sit around with my girls and talk about it over and over again.

Donnette – Manhattanville College: My one big trip.  I love to travel and it usually takes me a year to save up enough money and time to plan for a really great trip.

Laura – St. Johns: The first warm day of spring when I can finally break out my flip flops!  After being stuck inside boots all winter long, my toes love some fresh air.

Brithny – Duke University: Definitely Chinese New Year! Yummy homemade food, noisy firecrackers, and little red hong bao’s with money inside…what could be better? Btw, Happy Year of the Ox!

John – UConn: The John Bowl begins around December 15 and lasts through New Years’ Day. Isn’t that just Christmas? Yes! It is! The food, the food, the friends and the food. And the presents! And the joy and laughter and sledding and mulled cider with brandy and the food. If I could find a way to inject the Charlie Brown Christmas special into my veins, I would.

Leah – Ryerson University: Calgary Stampede!  Means being at home, drinking obscenely without being considered an alcoholic and getting to dress western for 10 days straight and not looking like a fool.

Julia – UC Berkeley: Game Days!!!! Especially our rivalry game.  Drinking mimosas at 7 AM and dancing so much that you forget to go to the game?  Best day ever, if you ask me.

Kari – FSU: My Superbowl is HANDS DOWN March 17th, the day I pay thanks to St. Patrick for freeing my homeland of snakes by drinking beer that turns my mouth green.

Sarabeth – University of Texas: Austin City Limits Music Festival!!! Hooray for three day passes!

CJ – UConn: My annual 21st birthday party.

Alex – Lakehead University: Traveling! I make a point of going on at least one big trip every year! Two years ago was Mazatlan, Mexico a month tour of Europe in an RV (ya…I know), last year was Scotland and England. This year, I’m going to New York City in March and, political unrest permitting, Thailand for August!

Sara C- Fordham: This doesn’t happen every year, but I go into full-scale party mode during the Olympics. I am the world’s greatest Olympics superfan (freak alert, I know), and I have people over almost every night to watch and eat pizza. To me, two weeks of the world’s best athleticism is waaay more exciting than some football game. Sorry. boys.

If you can travel…

Hey, if you’ve got the funds, lucky you. Hit up another country and see how they do New Years. You don’t regret it. If you’re still underage, Canadian cities can be quite the hotspot (take it from someone who spent her last <21 New Years in Montreal, after a 10-hour road strip). If you’re loaded despite being in college during the recession, head on over to Europe. Hate the cold? Sing Auld Lang Syne in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic.

Okay, those are nice ideas in a fantasy world… but let’s move onto options for those of us who can’t cough up the money for airfare.

If you want to travel but can’t afford it…

Throw a Chinese New Year’s party. Okay, so technically the CNY kicks off February 1, but who cares? Cater your party with Egg Rolls and Fortune Cookies (way cheaper than many food options), decorate with paper dragons, and serve Sake till the last Geisha’s standing.

Create Your Own Times Square. NYC is pretty much insane on New Year’s anyway. Hang a disco ball from the ceiling and buy skyscraper cut-outs for the walls. Have everyone dress up (because in college, the land of hoodies and sweatshirts, you can never have too many fancy-dress parties), and broadcast the Manhattan festivities on your TV in the background. It’ll be warmer than Times Square, and you probably won’t have any bums hitting you up for spare change on the way home.

Throw a Hotel Party…in the Next Town Over. Grab a room at the Best Western or the HoJo, and pretend you’re at the Ritz Carlton. Nobody will have to drive, you won’t have to clean up, and maybe you can work it so you share a queen bed with your crush.

If you really don’t care about traveling, and just want to have a good time:

Throw a “My Tie” party. If you can make a large quantity of Mai Tais in a punch bowl, more power to you. But encourage everyone to dress business-casual, and when the men arrive, have them remove their ties and throw them in a basket. The ladies then choose a tie, and the man who belongs to that piece of neckwear is her date for the night. Takes the pressure off of finding a kiss at Midnight.

New Year’s Resolutions parties can also be fun, because we all have them, and none of us stick to them. Wear a necklace made of empty Marlboro boxes if you plan to quit smoking, or wear some hot spandex if you vow to go to the gym more regularly. Things can get pretty effing creative here. Not into costumes? Have everyone throw their resolution into a hat, and try to guess who is giving up what this year.

Have a Blind Date. They say the way you ring in the new year is a prediction of how the next 365 days will unfold. Plan a girl’s night and go Speed Dating as a group, or see if any bachelors have posted on CrazyBlindDate.com. The key is to get your friends involved, so that at the very least, you can have a laugh. New Year’s Eve is all about letting loose isn’t it?

If you really don’t care about getting smashed…

Check out your city’s First Night. There’s bound to be fireworks, free live music, and tons of street vendors. Many cities across the US host First Night celebrations, and they are quite lucrative.

Host a Best-Of 2008 Movie Marathon. Curl up with some take-out and a stash of DVDs – just be sure to press pause for the Ball Drop at midnight!

Make Some Money. I’ve had my share of insane NYE celebrations. So last year, I opted to wait tables, since every weekend for me is as crazy as the novice’s New Year. The tips were good, and I was still out by midnight. And I made up for missing the big party by having several “No Reason” celebrations. Scour Craigslist and you’ll see tons of opportunities to work at private parties on the 31st. You never know what kind of adventure will actually unravel.

This series is meant to provide advice for getting the most out of college, rather than just getting through it. So far we've already discussed having a professor as a BFF, checking out what's going on in your college town, and now we're going to talk about extracurriculars - the ones you never thought you'd join!]

This generation of college gals are smart, savvy, and driven. Do you want to be a CEO of your own company one day? You’re probably already president of your college’s Business Leaders of Tomorrow club. Are you an up-and-coming style maven? No doubt you’re involved with your school’s Passion for Fashion group.

Yeah, being involved in career-minded clubs are definitely a must these days if you want to make connections, but what about joining a club…just for fun? It may seem difficult, especially when it’s so hard to manage school, friends, guys, a job, and elusive “me” time. However, if you take the plunge and join a club you never thought you would, a lot of things could happen.

First of all, joining a club for fun might lead you onto a completely different career path. Not that everything you do in college has to be future-oriented, but there are plenty of roads to success that don’t follow a “traditional” educational route. Have you seen Tina Fey’s awesome impersonations of Sarah Palin on SNL lately? She didn’t get a degree in Hilarity Studies to snag that gig. If you’re the “funny one” of your group of friends, or just a big comedy fan, why not stop in on a meeting of your campus’ improv group? You may discover you’re just as good at scoring laughs as Ms. Fey.

By the same token, f you’re always the one busting a move at mixers, or glue yourself to the couch whenever So You Think You Can Dance comes on, look into joining the dance troupe. And if you were always good at Spanish in high school but chose to devote your undergrad years to chem labs, maybe drop in on Foreign Language Club meetings to rediscover an old passion.

Furthermore, joining a new club will get you out of your dorm and into a new social circle. Sure, we all have our core group of friends, but do you ever feel like you’re doing the same old things all the time? If you’re looking for excitement, joining a new club just might jumpstart your social life. Most clubs will not only meet on campus but host or sponsor events in the community. Poetry or literary clubs will often hold open mics throughout the year–something to look into if you’re an inner poet or rapper who wants some exposure. Cultural clubs like Hillel or the Asian Student Union will certainly throw parties on holidays like Rosh Hashanah and Chinese New Year (plus, who doesn’t love free food?). And the pals you make from joining a new club can connect you to other fun things going on around campus you may never have heard about.

And joining a club for fun means there’s no “political” pressure to run for treasurer or president just so it looks good on your resume. You can attend meetings when you like, socialize with who you like, and get involved at your own leisure. Best of all, college is a time when you have an enormous amount of opportunities to try new things at very little cost and without expectations of following up. If you want to take a dance class after graduation it’ll cost you at least $15 a pop. So what do you have to lose? Get out there and break a leg!

[Come back to find out the next must-do on my list: Live With Strangers!]