Preparing for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is very different after you have kids, but it can be a fun holiday with a little planning. It doesn’t have to be weeks of celebrating, but I do like to do a few fun things with my kids to make the time special. And I like to plan time with my husband, as well.

Preparing for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to teach your kids about showing love and appreciation for the important people in their lives.

Something I’m going to do this year is decorate their bedroom door in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day. I plan to keep it super simple, just cut few hearts out of construction paper and add one to each of their doors every couple of days for them to find when they wake up. If you want to try this, and your kids are reading, you could write a little note on some of the hearts, or write something you love about them (“I love how you are kind to your friends” or “I love the way you make us all laugh with your funny stories”). I think this will be a fun, low-stress tradition.

Here are a few things we will do together:

• Bake cookies: heart-shaped cookies are a Valentine’s Day classic
• Make Valentines: let’s be honest, I’m probably buying valentines for their class parties, because I’m all about making life easier. But it is fun to make valentines for dad, grandma, and other family members
• Talk about love
• Read books: we will check out Valentine’s Day themed books from the library to read together
• And maybe we will have a whole meal of heart-shaped foods (a cookie cutter is your best friend)

As for planning something special with my husband? Last year we cooked at home (this pork braised in champagne-vinegar was a delicious Valentine’s Day dinner), and we might do that again this year. Or we might actually get a babysitter and sneak out of the house for the evening. Thankfully, I still have a few days to prepare for Valentine’s Day. We will do something special.

And if you haven’t started planning for Valentine’s Day yet, let this be your reminder: you need to pick up a couple of boxes of valentines for the school party that’s coming up! 🙂

Jessica — Mom of Sophie & Jake