I have a tendency to let holidays sneak up on me. Yesterday as I was out shopping I noticed the plethora of red, white and pink candy and décor and realized that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. I was reminded of the many years spent with little ones making Valentine’s boxes and watching as they carefully addressed Valentine’s Day cards for their classmates. Now the kids are older and the Valentine’s Day Boxes are gone but there are still plenty of simple and fun things we can do with our children as well as with our husbands this time of year. After all, what better thing to celebrate than love for our family members!
I was inspired by what Saren had to say in her recent post (Six Family Activities to Fill February with Love) about her family’s approach:
“While my husband and I do some special couple-oriented things around Valentine’s Day, we’ve decided to focus Valentine’s Day itself, and really all of February, on celebrating FAMILY love, not just romantic love.”
The things we choose to do to celebrate love in our families don’t have to be grand. Small and simple things can be beautiful. (I know my own children are pleased with a note and their favorite treat.) However, it’s fun to also plan some special activities to do as a family this time of year.
Whether it’s big or small taking some time to bring out a little extra lof this time of year builds relationships and creates lasting memories. And that’s what family is all about!
Please share your answers to this week’s question in the comments below: What Do You Do For Valentine’s Day?
My family hangs a ribbon for each family member on that family members door at the beginning of the month. Then all month long we use mini clothespins to attach
little “love notes” to each other onto the ribbons. It’s a fun, cheap, and easy way to celebrate the love we have for all the members of our family. And the kids can see good qualities about their siblings that they may overlook sometimes.
I love that it’s so simple yet so thoughtful! What a fun tradition!
My daughter makes a mail drop box each February and asks us to leave notes for each other there in the drop box. Then each evening she takes the notes around and drops them off on the recipients pillow. The boys aren’t as into it as the girls are but we all do our best to participate.
How cute is that??? I guarantee when they are all adults this will be a fun memory they relive.
We LOVE all holidays…for Valentine’s we have the girls make their own valentines- but crazy easy. White printer paper, folded into four rectangles and then draw/color. I color copy them and they tape on whatever we decide for the year, crazy straw, pencil, candy….We also love having little tin mailboxes out and my husband puts a note and a suprise in each day from Feb 1-14…a treat, or the wii controller to play together later that day, their favorite stuffed animal, a paper airplane or balloon. My favorite is the music…we have playlists of love songs from decades and we listen to it throughout the month (and even earlier in Jan). Few more things, but these are my favorites. 🙂
How fun! I love the playlist of love songs–I’ve never thought of this. What great memories you are making.
We bake heart shaped pizzas, individual sized, with our favorite toppings. We also have a chocolate fountain with strawberries and what ever else the kids think to dip. It is such a mess to clean up, but they have so much fun!
I think I want to come to your house…that sounds delicious!
My husband has been buying our daughters and me a bouquet every year we have been in his life, which means at 3 1/2 months and 9 months, our girls got their first bouquet of flowers. This year, at 3 and 5 years old, my girls will be helping me dip strawberries in chocolate for their dad (and us, too). It’s not a tradition yet, but I’d love to continue doing that. I also cook a favorite meal and set out table linens and nice dishes to make it extra special.
How sweet for your daughter to see such a great example in their father and now to reciprocate.
I hid valentine jokes around the house for my daughter to find—she loved it! I usually do a little scavenger hunt or hide paper hearts for her to find all around the house. We like to bake cookies, too.
How old is your daughter? I love that the idea is simple and doesn’t even have to cost anything!
Last year, for the days leading up to Valentine’s, I put a heart on each child’s door at night with note in the shape of a heart expressing something I love about them. By Valentine’s Day, they each had 14 notes on covering their doors. My youngest didn’t really understand yet, but my eldest son couldn’t wait to see what each note would say in the morning. I spaced doing it this year. ☹️ At least there’s always next year.
You can think of some right now and “heart attack” their doors
I’m grateful that no matter how many parenting “mistakes” you made that day or how many times you yelled at your kids, there is always tomorrow! There is always another day to try a little harder to be a little better! I am trying to celebrate love this month by making a simple heart cut out and writing a note to say sorry for the times I raised my voice or wasn’t patient and writing a sweet note of why I love/appreciate that child. I’m so grateful that kids forgive easily!!
I love this outlook! Sometimes we are so hard on ourselves as parents and you are correct–tomorrow we can be a little better! I love your perspective.