Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holiday’s because of the traditions our family has established around it.  We focus on what love is and how love and kindness has shaped us and how we treat others.  We spend the fourteen days leading up to Valentine’s Day celebrating what we love about each other.  I set our small mailboxes on the kitchen counter and each morning the kids find a love note and (sometimes) a small treat from Marc and I.  It is not fancy AT ALL. Keep it SIMPLE or make it big and elaborate if that is your thing. I have a friend who does everything to max cuteness level and it is adorable.  I just don’t have time for that, right now, and I want to be able to create the lasting tradition.  I bought the mailboxes in the dollar spot at target years ago and we write simple handwritten notes to fill them.  I just want the kids to know the things we love about them. Marc and I take turns filling their mailboxes at night and then the kids leave each other notes or hand drawn pictures.  It’s my favorite.

Valentine’s doesn’t have to focus solely on the romantic side of love, it can also be on the love and kindness we show to our family members under our own roof or our friends at church and school.  Marc and I tend to spend Valentine’s Day at home with our kids and we have a fancy dinner together.  We share our family love story and how we became a family.  We talk about Marc and I meeting and dating. We quiz the kids on funny facts about our dating and early marriage history (pre-kids).  Then we talk about each of them and adding them to our family and how the love grew and grew.  We tend to use Valentine’s day to talk about the love we have as a family. Marc and I usually go out on another night to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Fancy Valentine’s Dinner: We have fancy drinks, set the table with a tablecloth and fancy plates and LOTS of red, white, and pink.  Tie a couple a balloons on the back of chairs and EVERYONE is excited.  We usually put a small box of See’s Candies (or a new book) on their plates.  They love this tradition and savor EVERY. LAST. CHOCOLATE. in those boxes.  They know they are a special treat.  The dinner menu is different every year.  Some years it has been elaborate and fancy and sometimes I just get the heart shaped pasta from Costco.  It is not so much the menu as it is the tradition of sitting down together at what feels like a festive/fancy dinner and talking about our family’s love story.

Another Valentine’s tradition is sending “Love” notes in the mail to cousins, grandparents, and friends who live far away.  It is hard to live far from some of our family and MANY of our friends.  We have moved so many times that we have friends scattered across the country and many that we have not seen in years.  It is fun to send snail mail and let them know we are thinking of them.  While also helping the kids learn about kindness, service, and love.  Again, you can make these notes as simple or as elaborate as you want.  We love foam stickers and markers and glitter glue, but sometimes we only have markers and printer paper on hand.  So, use what you have and don’t feel like you have to go out and purchase things before you can do it, because sometimes it never happens if you feel like you need specific items to get the craft done.

Related Posts