IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT COUPLES YOU KNOW
Valentine’s Day is not just for couples, it is a day for expressing love to all the important people in your life, including your children. Whether it’s through a heartfelt gift, a special activity, or simply spending quality time together, Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to let your children know just how much they are loved. Showing your children that they are loved and valued is one of the most important things you can do as a parent, and Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to do just that.
There are countless ways to make this Valentine’s Day one to remember for your children. Here are a few simple and meaningful ideas that you can use to express your love for your kids:
WRITE VALENTINE’S LOVE NOTES
Write a special note for each of your kids. Let them know how much they mean to you and how proud you are of them. We’ve made it super simple for you by creating our ‘Kids Countdown to Valentine’s Day’ printable which gives you 30 pre-written and 30 blank heart notes to simply print, cut out and stick to your kid’s bedroom door, a special area in the house or to pop in their lunch boxes each day from 1st February. By Valentine’s Day, their door (or heart) will be filled with beautiful, heartfelt messages to make them feel all warm with extra love bubbling over. You can find it on our freebies page.
COOK TOGETHER
Spend time in the kitchen cooking their favourite meal, making some chocolate-dipped strawberries or other sweet treats. This will be a fun bonding experience and a tasty way to show your love.
In our family, we occasionally make ‘surprise bowls’ where we get together a few of our favourite treats and spend some time together picking and choosing the items, sitting together enjoying the moment.
PLAY A GAME
Play a game together, whether it be a board game, card game, or video game. Spending quality time together is a great way to show love. Our daughters love a games day and we’ve had some of the best days just playing together.
Our favourite game to play is Labyrinth. It’s one that we played in our childhood so brings back fond memories. It’s also really good fun, easy to get the hang of, and offers some great strategy; that makes it perfect for our two kids.
A JAR FULL OF LOVE
We’ve created a little game for you too. It’s called ‘A Jar full of Love’. which can also be found on our freebies page. This idea can involve the whole family and can be played in a couple of ways.
- You create a small area in your home where the family can write a little note of affection to someone else in the family and then pop it in a jar, or something else like a bowl or even a little box.
- Alternatively, you could write some lovely questions on each heart, put them all in the jar to be read out to everyone and promote some lovely family bonding time. This way also makes it simpler to include the younger children in the family.
Both ideas can be used later in the day at dinner or bedtime, where the notes can be read out whilst you’re all together or they can be stuck to a wall or pinboard that everyone can see.
Just sharing our feelings can have a real positive impact on our children and the rest of their day. How nice it would be to go to bed having been showered with affection – I wonder if it would improve their sleep too? And the best thing is it’s super simple to do and something that can start to be incorporated into each day, or perhaps as a little weekly fun.
CREATE A SPECIAL MEMORY
Create a special memory together, such as taking a walk in the park, having a picnic, or going to the movies. We love going to feed the ducks, exploring our local woodlands and colouring together. Some kids really can feel loved just by spending time with you and by giving them your undivided attention, you are showing them how much they mean to you. Children can crave that full attention to feel fully loved. Why not subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this page, or join our Happy Kids Club on Facebook to get access to our Valentine’s colouring pages?
GIVE A GIFT
Give your kids a special gift, whether it be a toy, book, or handmade craft. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it should be thoughtful and personal. A child will be delighted that you took some time to think of them and what they would love as a gift. You never know, they may decide to reciprocate the gesture to show their affection.
SHOW AFFECTION
Hug, kiss, hold hands or have some time tickling and playing with your kids. Physical touch is a powerful way to show love and affection.
IN SUMMARY
You can celebrate Valentine’s Day with your children in many ways. You can be as elaborate or as low-key as you want, you make the rules after all!
You could use some of the simple ideas we’ve come up with above, or go further by making them breakfast in bed, decorating their room with balloons and streamers, or even planning a surprise party. The possibilities are endless, the important thing is to take the time to make your children feel loved and appreciated on this special day.
Take this opportunity to show your kids just how much they mean to you.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
