I never had a Valentine until I was 24 (thanks for booing me up, husband!), but I always loved the idea of celebrating it. Before “Galentine’s Day” was a thing I would share sweet treats with my best friends and give them cards to celebrate the day. I was head over heels in love with the conversation candy hearts and could spend hours in Target and Walmart looking for ways to decorate my apartment.
Then, I found my would-be future husband and we went from being really bad at Valentine’s Day to finally hitting a stride and finding what works for us.
We’ve made heart shaped pizzas and we’ve ordered heart shaped pizzas. We’ve watched ridiculously cheesy romantic comedies in theaters and we’ve stayed home and binge-watched our favorite shows while eating chocolate strawberries. I’m not sure what other fun we’ll do this year, but I’m still in love with Valentine’s Day and the activities we have planned (so far)!
Here are some ideas we’ll be doing as a family:
Daddy/Daughter Dance
Our daughter is 19 months and she’s finally at the age where she can read our cues and have fun with us in such exciting ways. I’ve convinced my husband (it wasn’t too hard) to let me sign him and our girl up for a daddy/daughter night. We’re looking at options, and there are so many and they all look so fun! BONUS: This pregnant mama will get an evening alone to go get a mani-pedi or quiet dinner without worrying about a crying toddler because I didn’t give her any of my “juice”.
Love Notes on Our Daughter’s Door
I saw this floating around Facebook and wasn’t able to find a solid source for where this started, but it’s such a great idea that I want to share. My husband and I sat down one night and wrote down a love note on 14 little hearts that we cut out from colored paper for our daughter’s door. We’ll place a different note on her door every day and read it to her. She’s still working on her own language skills, so she may not understand everything we’re saying, but one day I hope to show her photos of what we wrote. I simply want her to know that she’s always been loved even before she understood it verbally.
Mini-Valentine’s Day Party
I love being that Pinterest mom. I find my joy in creating parties and entertaining, so this year we are adding a Valentine’s Day party for toddlers to our calendar (in the past we’ve done an Easter one and Mother’s Day brunch). I’ve spent maybe $30 and just need to buy a few food items and we’ll be good to go. As parents, it’s sometimes hard to go to regular parties, so kid-friendly parties are our only way to get grown-up time without needing to hire a babysitter.
Date Night with My Husband
My husband is responsible for planning this, but I’m ready! I’m going to buy a new outfit and get all dolled up and to be one of those couples out during the busy holiday date night weekend. But, should I get all dolled up and all he has planned is a meal in our home with my favorite dessert, then I’ll have the ultimate outfit ready for my Instagram.
I know celebrating a holiday like Valentine’s day seems cheesy or just a way for stores to capitalize on saps like myself, but its more than that for me (and my family). It’s one day (or month) we can be absolutely over the top in our actions for one another. We love celebrating Valentine’s day. . .for the love of love.
