Valentine's Day ~ Family Fun Ideas

I LOVE Valentine's Day! Always have! Not because of the "romance" of the day ~ mostly I just love the opportunity to celebrate the special people in my life. One year (when I was in college) I even mailed all my Valentine's to Valentine, VA for a special postmark. I know ~ I'm weird. What can I say?? :)

Please know Valentine's Day hasn't always been a happy day for me ~ in fact, some years it's been downright painful. In 1999, Valentine's Day was extremely difficult for me. My fiance David had just been tragically killed 2 months prior (recap here).

The thought of all of the happy couples and roses and date nights nearly had me running for my sheets for the day. Instead, my dear aunt Debbie came to stay with me, and we spent the day making Valentine's for all of the singles I could think of. Thinking of others and focusing on blessing them helped make a hard day much less painful.

To this day, I love trying to think of creative ways to bless my friends and family ~ and remind them that they are dearly loved!! :)

So what are we doing this year??

Here are some things we do to celebrate Valentine's Day in an inexpensive, simple Family Friendly way:

Books ~ I have a special heart basket with Valentine's Day books I pull out on February 1st. My kids LOVE reading from the heart book basket, and I usually add a new book or two to our collection each year. Today we picked up, "Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink". Too cute! :)


Decorations ~ Our city has a Dollar Tree store where you can purchase cheap plastic table cloths for $1. I always have an assortment of colors on hand. Of course, on Valentine's Day, the family will wake up to a red table cloth and heart paper products. (I stock up at Party City right after Valentine's Day each year). It's amazing how a $1 table cloth can make it look festive already. Oh, and don't forget the confetti! :)

Food ~ I'll make heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, pink milk, and have fresh strawberrries.

For dinner, we always have heart shaped pizzas. In my city, Papa Murphy's Take & Bake Pizza is a great resource. The kids love it ~ and I am grateful it is so easy (and not too expensive).

Sometimes we make desserts, but this year I picked up cute cupcakes. And I hope to make heart shaped finger jello! :)

Games & Activities ~ Some years we've invited friends over for the festivities. This year, since it will be on Sunday, it'll probably just be family, so I won't need as many games and activities, but we'll still have...

Color sheets, word searches, etc... (Many to choose from here)

It wouldn't be a holiday celebration without BINGO. Of course we use conversation hearts or pink and red M & M's for markers.

Even Great Grandma enjoys Valentine's Day BINGO at our house!

And for fun, we'll make sure we reflect on the origin of Valentine's Day. Easy kid version here.

We'll probably end our Valentine's Day all snuggled up together watching Charlie Brown Valentine's Day. Simple, but fun :)


What about for you?? Do you have any special Valentine's Day traditions?? How does your family celebrate this day of Love?? Please share with us ~ I'd love to hear your ideas!!

Happy Valentine's Day to you!!

Warmly,

P.S. The greatest Valentine anyone could ever receive came in the form of a tiny baby - His name was Jesus, and his LOVE for us - went to the cross, died and rose again, so we might have life - full, abundant, and eternal life!

Make this Valentines Day the best of all - and give your HEART to JESUS! :)

P.S.S. Is there anyone you know who you could bless this Valentine's Day?? A single friend, co-worker, grandma, restaurant worker. Maybe you could make some homemade Valentine's and make someone's day. I'd love to hear all about it! :)