When we had our first child, a daughter, my husband (unbeknownst to myself) made a vow that he was going to make Valentine’s Day special for her every year. Little did I know that celebrating Valentines Day with kids is one of my favorite things each year.
He wanted her to feel loved every day throughout the year, but especially on Valentine’s Day.
He wanted her to always have a Valentine, and frankly, at this point he would prefer that it always be him.
My husband basically wants to make sure that Valentine’s Day is special for our three daughters every year, and thus, we work together to celebrate it as such.
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Making Valentine’s Day Special
Every Valentine’s Day my little ladies and I wake up to a surprise downstairs. Typically, Mark will provide flowers for each of the four of us, and we usually get them matching/coordinating dresses.
A heartfelt card will accompany each of their gifts, which I save and cry about as the years pass. (And don’t worry about Mark, of course he also receives a gift and messages of love from all four of us…but admittedly his presentation with the flowers is lovely.)
Then we usually have a family date night where we let the girls dress up in what they deem to be their finest threads and take them out for a meal.
This is important to us. Allowing them to get excited about family, love, and friendship is something that we are totally here for.
Some years Mark and I will have a separate date night for Valentine’s Day, just the two of us. But this doesn’t always happen, and we’re ok with it. (I should take a moment to mention that my husband has a SUPREME fear of missing every moment with our girls…so making special days and occasions memorable has become fun for both of us and something that we do together.)
Related Articles You May Like:
- 3 Easy Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids
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Valentine Cards
I also try (emphasis on the word “try” here) to send out Valentines to our family.
I curl three sets of hair, have the gals put on their finest Valentine’s outfits, let them put on my lipstick, take them to our special spot, and snap some pictures. We even used one of these Valentines to announce our third pregnancy!
Then I get a pack of 10 Valentine cards, we all write a special message, and then I send them out to our immediate family.
I don’t have to send these out. I never did this before our babes, however, I feel like it’s meaningful.
I’m CERTAIN that I’m overthinking it, but my goal is to send smiles to our family members and help to make them feel loved on Valentine’s Day.
Valentines Day with Kids (Our Celebration!)
I have absolutely no doubt that Mark and I will work to make the whole day special for our babes. Super planning ahead for us. We will likely:
- wake up to a beautiful spread on the kitchen table, flowers courtesy of Mark
- spend the whole day together (if we can!)
- get outside and play, regardless of the weather
- probably get lots of snuggles in
- make calls to family to wish them a Happy Valentine’s Day
- since I’m thinking about it already maybe I’ll be a super Pinterest mom and have all sorts of themed crafts or snacks all day long…HARD maybe on that one
- make a fancy meal or support a local restaurant and order takeout
- more snuggles
Perhaps Mark and I will be able to leave the girls with my parents for a night and have an in-home date night ourselves of takeout and binging Game of Thrones (we legit just started watching, so we’re only on episode 3)…maybe, maybe not.
More Valentine’s Day Ideas With Kids
Also, since I am thinking of it so far in advance, here are some absolutely ADORABLE ideas that I found/sourced:
Arts & Crafts
- 2 Valentine’s Day Sensory Bins To Experience Love With Our Senses
- 3 Easy Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids
Valentine’s Art
Items needed:
- ziploc baggies (or really any large enough piece of plastic)
- masking tape
- paint (use Valentine’s colors to make it festive!)
- q-tips, paint brushes, sponges, etc.
- white paper
Instructions:
- Tape the Ziploc baggie down on a hard surface, preferably one that can get paint on it and be cleaned, like a kitchen countertop.
- Place paint drops on the bag, all over.
- Allow your child to smear the paint all over the bag, using the q-tips, paint brushes, sponges (or whatever you have on hand) to make designs or heart shapes.
- Once your child is satisfied with their masterpiece, place white paper on top, pressing down firmly, to transfer the image from the bag to the paper.
- Repeat as many times as you like!!!
You could also make potato stamps using heart shaped cookie cutters. Cut the potato to the shape of your cookie cutter, dip the potato stamp in paint, and stamp paper!
We talk about Block Printing with Vegetables here which is a great read.
The same could be done using cardboard! You can also cut cardboard heart shapes and paint. The possibilities are endless.
Valentines Treats
I found a plethora of adorable ideas on Pinterest for Valentine’s Day, but the most tasty to me was these wafer dipped cookies!
Get pink wafer cookies, melted white chocolate, and all of the Valentine’s sprinkles that your heart desires! Let the kids decorate and enjoy!
Prepping for Valentines Day
Lastly, this is your reminder to just get those class Valentine cards out of the way now. Make your own with the paint methods listed above, or put it on your list for your next Target/Walmart run…you’ll thank me later.
All my love to you, Sweet Mamas! Happy Valentine’s Day!