Celebrate Valentine's Day on a Dime

It's a familiar scene in movies, the scene where someone is disappointed. We have all seen it, when the girlfriend cries, "He could have at least CALLED." Or the sad scene where a child expects something a parent doesn't deliver. It's downright tear-jerking. Unfortunately, many disappointments come from a person reasoning they can't do what they wanted to do, so they don't do anything at all.

When faced with a budget (or in some cases, no budget,) parents can drop the ball on things that really matter to kids. The truth is that effort is better than nothing in almost all cases when it comes to demonstrating love. As Valentine's Day approaches, don't let the shortage of cash translate to the loss of joy. Instead, teach your children that life is worth celebrating and give them traditions to pass on that translate how much you care.

Here are 5 cheap things you can do to celebrate Valentine's on a dime.

1. Decorate Inside and Out
Time with your child always generates a memory. Spend 30 minutes cutting out hearts and taping them all over the house before Valentine's. Give your child a specific thing that they alone are in charge of decorating, such as the mailbox! Equip them with streamers, tape, balloons or a simple red marker. Get creative! Perhaps there is an old piece of wood in the garage, let them paint a sign and put it on the lawn. When it comes to celebrating, it really isn't about how fine it looks, but that you show spirit! After all, there really should be no boundaries when it comes to spirit, right?

2. Balloon Surprise!
After your child falls asleep, blow up an entire package of red or pink balloons. Use masking tape to tape them on the walls, to the ceiling or simply scatter them around the floor. When your child wakes up...the very minute they open their eyes, they will know it is a special day and that you care! On each balloon, use a black magic marker to write things you love about them, or simple messages like, "Be Mine." For older children, you may even stuff a dollar or two in random balloons before you blow them up. Kids love to pop balloons and with money inside, even better!

3. The Joy of Giving
A lesson that is true throughout time is that giving is a joyful thing to do, and teach! Pick a person in your family, like Dad or Grandma. With your child, cut strips of paper and have them brainstorm with you (and siblings) things that they "love" about that person! It may be trivial to you (like when a child says, "I love her popsicles!" But to Grandma, who always makes it a point to have popsicles, that slip of paper could warm her heart. Fill a small box with all the slips of love and tie it up with a red bow or let the kids decorate it. A gift to share always makes children proud.

4. Share the Love
Using sticks from the yard, and paper, make signs with your children that declare why you love your street. Post them along the road boundary in your front yard for all to see! This simple act can give your entire neighborhood the love of the holiday (and something to talk about!) Tie the paper to the sticks with red ribbon or use tape. Use a red marker and encourage the kids to write things like "I LOVE this street because the trees are so pretty. Happy Valentine's" or "I love my neighbors this Valentines!" Be sure to keep it Valentine's oriented and cover the white space with hearts.

5. Set a Loving Table
Make sure dinner on Valentine's is a special occasion! Use red food coloring where you can for any dish you prepare. Cut heart shaped placemats. Gather every candle in the house and create a candle lit dinner! Make place cards with your child's name and surround it with little hearts. Fill a small dish for each child with Hershey kisses or candy for after dinner, or make a dessert you don't normally prepare.

All of these things are cheap, or free and translate the best message of all time, that our children are worthy of our time and thoughtfulness and above all, love!