Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples in the heady throes of young love.
Deliver sweet somethings to every important person in your life. Here’s the
plan for a perfectly playful V-Day for the whole family.
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- Create a Sweet Tweets jar.
Decorate a Mason jar for your child. On slips of paper, write adjectives or
short sentences that describe traits you most appreciate, admire and love
about him or her. - Hunt for Cupid’s treasure.
Challenge your kids to a scavenger hunt. Give them clues on a trail of
paper hearts or cupid cut-outs. One clue leads to the next until they find
a Valentine’s Day surprise. Check online for scavenger hunt clue ideas. - “Attack” them with hearts. On each of the 13 days leading
up to Valentine’s Day, mom of four, Alexis Sanchez posts a heart-shaped
note on her kids’ doors each night after they go to bed. By Valentine’s
Day, their doors are covered.”Usually it’s just characteristics I see in them or ways that they’re kind
to others. They really love this, and I even found my eight-year-old kept
all his hearts from last year in a special drawer, so that’s pretty
awesome,” says Sanchez. - Send a singing telegram.
Video your preschooler singing a ditty like: “
I made this little valentine; Of red, white and blue; I made this
little valentine; Especially for you!
” (point at the camera). Email the file to grandparents or another
relative your youngster is crazy about. - Customize cards for classmates.
Bypass the usual cartoon paper postcards and publish simple photo cards
with a themed border. Last year, Sanchez attached a small bottle of bubbles
to her daughter’s cards, which read “Friend, you blow me away!”
- Create a Sweet Tweets jar.
Play the Queen of Hearts.
Ace V-Day by sending love notes in a pack of red playing cards for your
beloved. Punch holes in the corner of each card. On paper squares, write
down 52 reasons why you love or appreciate him. Paste each sentiment in the
middle of a playing card. Title the deck “I love you because … ” and
paste it on the top card. Attach the cards with a c-clip.
- Treat them to a hearty breakfast.
Surprise your kids with heart-shaped cinnamon rolls. Instead of rolling
your cinnamon roll dough from one side to the other, roll it on both sides
so that each side meets in the middle forming a heart shape. Slice and
bake. Serve juice out of dollar-store champagne flutes. Make a fruit salad.
Cut fruits like apples, strawberries, bananas and watermelons using a
heart-shaped cookie cutter. - Toy with chemistry.
Put candy conversation hearts to the test. Gather vinegar, salt water, tap
water and bleach (with adult guidance). Place a candy heart in four bowls.
Ask your child to hypothesize about what will happen when each liquid is
dropped over the candy. Using an eye dropper, test her theory. How does the
candy react to different liquids? Did your young chemist’s predictions
prove true? - Get those hearts pumping.
Using a poster board, make a grid of nine different exercises (sit-ups,
somersaults, jumping jacks, pushups, etc). Players take turns tossing a
beanbag (or other item) onto the grid. Then they roll the dice to see how
many times they have to do the exercise that their beanbag landed on. For
more ideas, check out 12345 Fit-Tastic! on Pinterest, a healthy lifestyles
initiative for families. - Rev up date night.
In the whirlwind of parenting, life as a couple can get routine. Plan an
outing with your sweetheart that’s playful and gets you out of your
dinner-and-a-movie rut. For example, lift off in a hot air balloon ride, go
dancing, take a couples cooking class, paint together at a drop-in
paint-and-sip studio, or attend a concert or live theater production.
Some Fun Facts about Valentine’s Day
- In 2018, consumers spent a near-record $19.6 billion on Valentine’s
Day cards, flowers and gifts. - More than 23 percent give the gift of experiences like dance
classes or concert tickets. - Must love pets! Consumers spent $751 million on Valentine’s gifts
for their pets in 2018. - Valentine’s Day dates back to the ancient Roman fertility festival
called Lupercalia. - The first written valentines were sent in the 15th century.
- Today, an estimated 114 million V-Day cards are exchanged annually.
- As many as six million couples get engaged on Valentine’s Day each
year.
