Who says all the fun family traditions have to be for the major holidays? Why not make lasting memories on some of the not-so-hyped up holidays like Valentine’s Day?
Here are some ways to show your family a little love and make Valentine’s Day a little extra special:
“Heart attack” your child’s door. Find heart-shaped sticky notes (or cut out hearts from paper and use tape), and write little things you love about your child on them. For example, “You are so hardworking” or “You are a good big brother.” Stick them all over your child’s door for them to wake up to in the morning and read all the things you love about them! This is great to do for your spouse, too.
Make Valentine’s Day baskets. My parents used to always leave us a little sweet treat for Valentine’s Day at our place on the kitchen table. It wasn’t big, but they’d select something unique for each of us and sometimes attach a little heart-felt card to it. With my son, I put together a little Valentine’s Day basket (kind of like a mini Easter basket) filled with things that were red or love themed. Depending on the age of your child, this might include clothing, a book, a toy, candy, snacks, etc.
Have red/pink foods for dinner. A family I used to babysit for had this tradition with their four kids, and I thought it was the cutest! Every Valentine’s Day they’d make an assortment of red foods for dinner. Even if the foods didn’t typically “go together,” if they were red or pink, they were part of the meal. This included things such as pasta with marinara sauce, chopped red peppers, strawberries, pizza, cubed watermelon, tomato soup, and of course, lots of red sweet treats like frosted cookies, Red Vines, and M&Ms. They’d arrange them all on the table with festive décor, themed paper goods, a bouquet of roses, and have a fun feast together.