Happy February! And with February comes the holiday of love!!
I know some of you are grumbling about it right?
Well, don't stress. I'm sure we've all had our share of ups and downs with Valentine's Day. :)
When I was a little girl, my mom would always try and make this a special day. We would get chocolates and a bouquet of Valentine balloons…it was something exciting on Valentine's morning.
As I got older and caught on that Valentine's had another side - you know, the boyfriend-who-sends-you-flowers side - I wasn't as fond of it. Let's just say that I repelled boys and didn't really ever have a chance of someone sending me flowers. I even remember in junior high and high school, students could send little flowers to someone and the student body officers would deliver them to the classrooms. I was always so disheartened when it felt like every girl around me was getting a flower.
A funny side note, my mom knew my change of feelings around this time and my balloon bouquet was filled with black balloons for a few years. Haha!
But never fear! Fast forward a few years and Valentine's became something I was excited about again. And now, with my little family we've started some little traditions that I hope will help my children to have happy memories and to know that they are loved.
So here are my Five Favorite Valentine Traditions that I'd like to share with you!
Every year we do this a little differently, but it's always there. I think it's so important to tell those around you how much you care for them all year long, but Valentine's Day offers an opportunity to make it extra special.
Each year we adapt this to our family's ages and stages, but here are some of the things we have done in the past:
* Thumbprint Heart Cards
Just grab some paper, ink, and whatever else you'd like to decorate your cards with! Younger kids will need more help with this (to make the card, decorate it, put their little thumbprints on) but older kids can let their creativity loose on this one!
* Love Note Mail Box
This is a little mail box from the dollar section at Target…we added some scrapbook paper and ribbons to spice it up!! We've used it to send secret notes to each other and also for me to put fun countdown activities each day for the kids to do.
* Heart Attack
You've seen this done, I know. But it's an easy thing that kids just get a thrill out of! We usually end up putting hearts all over my husbands closet or car but it would be a fun thing to extend to the home of a grandparent, friend, or neighbor as well.
Another variation we've done is everyone in the family writes something they love about each person in the family and then we put the hearts all over our home so we can be reminded of the good we see in each other.
* "I Love…"
This is one that I really enjoy sitting down to do with each of my kids. It's not something they actually give to someone, but it's a special little keepsake that shows what is important to them right now.
First, make a little poster that says "I Love." You could use construction paper, poster board, printer paper, really anything. And then have them write everything they love on it, or help them write it if they are younger. You could use markers, pictures, stickers, etc. as well to change it up a bit!
2. Peanut Butter Blossoms
Every Christmas my kids get a "candy cane" full of Hershey Kisses - you know what I'm referring to, right? I never let them open the candy because we always use it for one of my favorite cookies and now it's become a tradition to make those cookies in February for Valentine's.
You can find our recipe here.
3. Countdown activities
Let's be honest, some years I'm just not organized or sane enough to do this. But we usually try to. I use the little mail box (pictured above) and each day put a little slip of paper that says something fun we'll do that day! It's something the kids look forward to finding each day.
* Put out Valentine's decorations
* Valentine's Bingo - here's a cute, free one by Simply Fresh Designs
* Sugar Cookies
* Heart Chain - could do as a decoration or as a countdown chain
* Secret Messages - here's a sample from Better Homes and Gardens
* Potato Heart Stamp (kids loved this!)
* Heart Twister
* Candy Heart games - one from PreKinders
* Make Valentine Mail Pockets for everyone's bedroom door and then...
* Put love notes in everyone's Mail Pockets
* Peanut Butter Blossoms - you could do it with cute hearts like here
* Send Valentine cards to grandparents
4. Making Valentines
There are SO many fun ideas for Valentine's out there! I always look forward to going through the options with my kids and letting pick out something they'd like to make for the friends and classmates. And the bonus is that many of the ideas are very dentist-friendly…no candy! Haha!
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| Image from Simply Modern Mom |
You can find ideas for more clever and fun Valentine Cards on my Valentine Pinterest Board.
5. Valentine's Dinner
Our meals are rarely extravagant or "pretty"…we simply just try to shove as much food in our children's faces in as little time as possible. Phew.
I'm not alone there, right?
We do, however, try to make Valentine's dinner special.
I also have a little gift for each person that I set on their plate. Just a little Valentine's love to pass their way.
What traditions does your family have for Valentine's Day?
We'd love to hear about them!
(For TONS of Valentine ideas, check out my Valentine Pinterest Board!)
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