Do you have any family Valentine's Day traditions? Looking for new ideas...

[SDFgirl]

What do you do with your family/spouse for Valentine's?

I've never really liked Valentine's Day, and yet it feels weird to skip it all together...Usually DH and I end up snuggling on the couch and eating take-out, rather than fighting the Valentine's crowds.

However, now that we have kids, I'd like to start celebrating Valentine's Day in a fun family way. I was thinking of DH and I taking the kids on a hike, then coming home and making a heart-shaped pizza and peppermint milk shakes.

I dunno. I want to celebrate, but I don't want to go to a schmaltzy restaurant and get a box of chocolates.

What does YOUR family do? Would LOVE some ideas!!

 

[disykat]

Since you have girls, I'd do a dress up dinner! You could really doll up. I had a student one year when I taught 1st grade (before I had kids) SOOOO excited about Valentine's Day because her family (brothers included) were all going to dress up for dinner, use their best dishes and put candles on the table! She talked about it for days.

 

[SDFgirl]

Since you have girls, I'd do a dress up dinner! You could really doll up. I had a student one year when I taught 1st grade (before I had kids) SOOOO excited about Valentine's Day because her family (brothers included) were all going to dress up for dinner, use their best dishes and put candles on the table! She talked about it for days.

That is a fantastic idea!!! Love it, thank you! That'll definitely be one to remember for when my girls are a little older.

 

[Glynis]

I usually do a themed breakfast. I make heart shaped pancakes with pink colored pancake batter, strawberry syrup, pink (strawberry) milk, or berry smoothies.

For lunch, I make sandwiches and cut them out with a heart shaped cookie cutter, and send along baggies of a "trail mix" with Valentine's M&M's, Teddy Grahams (chocolate), cashews, and yogurt covered raisins.

For dinner, I just make a really nice dinner with something a little extravagant (artichokes, or Cornish game hens, etc. You get the idea). On the kids plates, I place a small heart shaped box of candy and a card from their dad and me.

We use goblets and drink sparkling cider, too.

DH and I really don't do anything for each other for Valentine's day. It's just not that big a deal to us.

 

[SunshineOR]

I put a jar on the table for about two weeks before Valentine's Day. Everyone in the family puts in a heart for every other member listing something that they love about that person or something they love to do with that person. It's top secret. Valentine's Day morning, we sit and read them all during breakfast and have so much fun. The kids love their pile of hearts and carry them around for weeks after Valentine's Day re-reading what the family loves about them. I wish now I would have kept the ones from when my kids were young, they were so adorable! Things like "I love Daddy because he tickles my belly." "I love it when my sister plays house with me." It's always the little things and fun to see what the kids treasure about their family and our lives. Now that they're older and think their parents are dumb and their siblings annoying, it's touching to see that the kids all still take it seriously and take a moment to find something nice to say about everyone else in the family.

It's a tradition we find meaningful during an otherwise overly commercialized holiday. I got the idea from a magazine and I totally recommend the tradition!

 

[Wilhelminia Ripple]

As the author of "Valentine School Parties...What Do I Do?" and "Valentine Boxes...What Do I Do?", I have a lot of ideas that you might be interested in. One of the things that I did every year with my own kids was to make "Smooshies". Its fun and easy to create. All you need is a heart shaped balloon, a funnel, and 1 cup of flour. After stretching the balloon, use the funnel to fill the balloon with the flour. To get as much flour into the balloon as needed, gently tap the balloon as you are filling it. Remove as much air as possible and tie the end of the balloon. This was favorite of my kids.

Google whatdoidobooks for more ideas.

Happy Holidays!
Wilhelminia (Willie) Ripple

 

[diznygirl]

The only tradition that we have is to go to the mall and fill my Godiva heart with truffles...makes mommy very happy!

We keep our eyes open for things to do together as a family. One year it was Chik-Fil-A. They had a special Valentine's Day night, and the kids were sooooooo excited about it! Chik-Fil-A put out tablecloths and candles and served you right at the table. It was my romantic night out with the family.

 

[HannaBelle]

I put a jar on the table for about two weeks before Valentine's Day. Everyone in the family puts in a heart for every other member listing something that they love about that person or something they love to do with that person. It's top secret. Valentine's Day morning, we sit and read them all during breakfast and have so much fun. The kids love their pile of hearts and carry them around for weeks after Valentine's Day re-reading what the family loves about them. I wish now I would have kept the ones from when my kids were young, they were so adorable! Things like "I love Daddy because he tickles my belly." "I love it when my sister plays house with me." It's always the little things and fun to see what the kids treasure about their family and our lives. Now that they're older and think their parents are dumb and their siblings annoying, it's touching to see that the kids all still take it seriously and take a moment to find something nice to say about everyone else in the family.

It's a tradition we find meaningful during an otherwise overly commercialized holiday. I got the idea from a magazine and I totally recommend the tradition!

That is completely adorable!

I have a tradition of preparing a "surf and turf" dinner for DH and the kids, we use a cloth table cloth, decorate the table with silk rose petals and candles, use the china...everyone is still in to it and I love it!

 

[mtemm]

I make heart shaped pancakes for breakfast and cut the kids sandwiches with heart shaped cookie cutters. they love it!

we make lots of valentines and do craft projects. homemade valentines will always be my favorite. more than any other holiday, I love things like that. very fun.

 

[mtemm]

I put a jar on the table for about two weeks before Valentine's Day. Everyone in the family puts in a heart for every other member listing something that they love about that person or something they love to do with that person. It's top secret. Valentine's Day morning, we sit and read them all during breakfast and have so much fun. The kids love their pile of hearts and carry them around for weeks after Valentine's Day re-reading what the family loves about them. I wish now I would have kept the ones from when my kids were young, they were so adorable! Things like "I love Daddy because he tickles my belly." "I love it when my sister plays house with me." It's always the little things and fun to see what the kids treasure about their family and our lives. Now that they're older and think their parents are dumb and their siblings annoying, it's touching to see that the kids all still take it seriously and take a moment to find something nice to say about everyone else in the family.

It's a tradition we find meaningful during an otherwise overly commercialized holiday. I got the idea from a magazine and I totally recommend the tradition!

I love love love this idea! think it will become part of our tradition

 

[kacaju]

I have 3 girls. This is the one Holiday that I do nothing. Dh is in charge of buying Valentine gifts/cards for the girls. We cook him a nice fancy dinner in return.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

We go around the dinner table and say one thing that we love about each family member.

 

[Shmily1]

We always grill steaks and eat at home with DS19 and DD18. We usually have flowers on the table and sometimes candles. We eat at the "big" table instead of the everyday table. We did this when they were little and it was our "valentine's date" with them. They were so cute when they were little and told the class they had a "date" for valentine's day.

 

[Frantasmic]

I'm the dad, and I don't remember how this started, but it's a tradition now.

I get a package of heart-shaped paper doilies and write funny things on them (think the candy shaped heart messages) and then hide them in my kids' and wife's belongings so that they find them throughout the day. I usually do about 7-8 per person and they enjoy finding new ones in their stuff all do. We also usually give the kids some candy and a small gift.

We usually have candle-light dinner at the house with some pasta since that is everyone's favorite. My wife and I will go out by ourselves earlier when the crowds aren't around.

 

[JoBird]

A tradition that my Mom started with me and I've since done with my children--

I have two girls and one boy, in between the girls. The girls get breakfast in bed- Pancakes made into the shape of hearts, sprinkled with powdered sugar, drizzled with syrup on the sides of the plate. Must be fine china. They get either decaf coffee or hot chocolate in the tea cups of the china.
The tray is draped with a white cloth, and on top of that are rose petals (silk), a chocolate dipped strawberry, along with a cupcake with hearts and sprinkles. Also they get a box of Godiva chocolate, and flowers (from Daddy). All of their G'parents send valentines to them in the weeks leading up to it and I intercept them all so that they can open them while they sit and eat their breakfast.

My son gets breakfast at the table- with more of a sports themed Breakfast- No flower petals or flowers and gets some sort of Florida Gator stuff.


It's our favorite day of the year. The girls feel very special and pampered.
I like doing it as much as they like receiving it.