7 Valentine’s Day Ideas for Family

Valentine’s Day is only two weeks away, time to come up with a romantic idea or two. You might also think of a creative way to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a family…after all, you love each person in your family. Why not celebrate love with everyone in your family? In case you haven’t made any plans yet, here are a couple ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

     ·         Send cards or flowers to everyone in your family. Mail them or use email cards. Put a card and a flower on the table for them to find at breakfast. Have a bouquet of flowers sent to them at home or work. Don’t forget to include a simple note in the card or with the flowers.

     ·         Maybe your family would enjoy a fruit, cookie, or balloon bouquet more than flowers. If so, have it delivered to your home and then take the time to sit down as a family to enjoy the love…along with a cookie, piece of fruit, or a quick game of balloon volleyball.

     ·         Write each member of your family a love letter. It may seem odd to write a love letter to your son or daughter, so maybe call it a letter of blessing instead.  Either way, take the time to write them a lesson expressing your love. Here’s how: For each family member, think of 2-3 traits or characteristics you admire and appreciate about them. Write them down along with 1-2 incidents that exemplify those traits. Keep it short, no longer than the front of one page. During dinner, read each letter out loud. Perhaps you can write a more intimate letter for your spouse and save it for later…when you’re alone.

     ·         Develop a treasure hunt. Write notes that explain how you feel about each family member (your treasure). Each note can include how you feel about your family followed by a hint or riddle about where to find the next note. You might write something like, “I love to play board games with each of you, which provides a hint as to where you’ll find the next note.” Have the last note lead to the dinner table where you can enjoy a meal, conversation, and dessert. Make the dinner special…candlelight, soft music, and everyone’s favorite dessert.

     ·         Everyone loves a good story, especially stories remembering times of love and connection. And, children love to hear stories about their parents’ lives. So, today at dinner, enjoy telling the story of “how I met your mother.” Tell stories about how you met your spouse and the fun times you had together. Tell the story of your life together right up to the stories that include your children and the fun you have as a family. It will become a family story fest recalling your family heritage.

     ·         Prepare a Valentine’s Day breakfast. Include heart-shaped pancakes, a candy heart message on every plate, and chocolate kisses for dessert. Not a morning person? No problem, have breakfast for lunch or dinner.

     ·         Spend the evening making a family storybook. Cut out construction paper hearts and connect them on one side. Collect pictures of you and your spouse, your children, your family, your vacations, special events, prom dates, etc. Collect as many pictures as you like. Spend the evening going through the pictures and gluing them into your family storybook. It will be your own fairy tale (or fish story in the case of the Salmon family).

 

Whatever you decide to do, remember to have fun. Enjoy one another’s company and celebrate your family on Valentine’s Day.