Valentine's Day Family Fun

Make It a Day of Pure Love
Ask your child the meaning of love. Talk about all the different kinds of love that people experience in relationships with others.

A History Lesson
Your children may not know the true story of St. Valentine and the history of Valentine's Day. The story can be found on a number a websites. Two you may want to check out are www.lhmint.org/valentines/story.htm and www.just4kidsmagazine.com/stvalentine.html. If your children are very small, you may want to put the story into your own words, leaving out any parts that may frighten or concern them (such as the fact that Valentine was beaten by authorities and eventually beheaded). Tell them how Valentine was loved by all who knew him and that tokens of love and affection came to be called 'Valentines' in his honor.

Love Is In The Air
Let your children decorate their rooms in a Valentine's Day theme. They will especially enjoy seeing dozens of paper hearts hanging from the ceiling. String red or white Christmas lights around the room and make a door sign that reads "Love Spoken Here" or "Three Knocks Mean 'I Love You'".

They Aren't Just For Coffee Anymore
Get out the coffee filters for a cool craft project. Use red washable markers to color several coffee filters. Use a medicine dropper or a straw to drop a little water onto the colored filter. The result is a tie-dyed or moire' fabric effect. When the filters are dry, cut into heart shapes, punch a hole at the top and string with yarn or ribbon to hang or use to make Valentine cards.

An Old Standby
It isn't Valentine's Day without a great Valentine dessert. Bake sugar cookies and decorate--some to keep and some to give away. If you are pressed for time (or just need to avoid some of the hassle), bake the cookies yourself ahead of time and let the kids decorate them. To make life easier still, buy ready-to-bake cookies. Target Stores usually have cute seasonal containers in their dollar bins, or you may be able to find containers or bags in stores' Christmas mark-downs which would also work for Valentine's Day. Another good option is to purchase white paper lunch bags and have the kids color and decorate them. If you get really brave, have the kids make chocolates instead of cookies. Candy melts and candy molds can be purchased at most Wal-marts, kitchen specialty stores, and some grocery stores.

Do You Love Secret Santa? 'Secret Valentine' Is Just As Much Fun!
Have each one in the family draw names to choose someone for whom they can be a personal Secret Valentine beginning February 1st. For an extra challenge, specify that no money may be spent--only homemade gifts and cards, acts of service, secret notes of love and encouragement, etc. See who can be the most creative. Reveal the Secret Valentines on February 14th with inexpensive store-bought gifts or tiny boxes of chocolates.

Make It a Real Celebration!
Why save fireworks for New Year's and Fourth of July? If fireworks are allowed in the area where you live, purchase sparklers for everyone to light and wave. If your children are too small to safely handle a sparkler, dim the lights then place several lighted sparklers in a homemade heart-shaped cake or a big family-size bowl of strawberry ice cream and watch as little eyes light up, too.

Give The Best Gift Of All--Give To Those In Need
Help your children meet someone else's need while learning generosity and compassion (which, you can point out, are two expressions of love). Local charities will be eager to receive donations of either time or money, your local hospital will welcome handmade cards delivered to sick children, and a homeless shelter will be glad to see blankets, coats, and gloves (either new or gently used) come through their doors. There may be an older neighbor who would welcome a visit from your children or who needs help that a teen could offer (shoveling snow, dusting and vacuuming, washing windows).

Dress The Part
My daughter has always enjoyed dressing up for Valentine's Day. Some years we have bought a special outfit for the occasion, but other times we have just looked in her closet for anything red or pink. Boys can get in on the act also by wearing red.

Baskets Aren't Just For Easter
Another tradition at our house is a Valentine basket of goodies for our daughter which she wakes up to and opens before heading off to school. This can be done on a large or small scale. Either way, it does involve some time, creativity, and expense. I usually include in the basket things such as candy and other goodies, costume jewelry, gloves or scarves (in Valentine colors or designs), and any small gifts and trinkets I have collected. At times I have included CDs, movies, books, bubble bath or hand cream, gifts cards, and Valentine T-shirts. Boys would enjoy a basket filled with small cars, a baseball or soft football, trading cards, playing cards, and an inexpensive hand-held video game. Look in Dollar Tree stores and other discount stores for deals. Many stores offer inexpensive holiday-themed T-shirts for both girls and boys.

Love, Love, Love
Whatever you plan in the way of activities and fun for your family, use this month to reinforce the love theme. It's a great time for siblings to work on showing love toward each other. If you have an only child, create opportunities for him to demonstrate love to other family members. And most of all, model love and charity toward others in ways that your child will see and notice. Enjoy the love!