My kids were watching an old Tom and Jerry cartoon where a
couple is all dressed up to go out. The man is wearing a suit and
tie, and the woman is dolled up with heels, gloves, and lipstick,
and they’re giving the teenage babysitter directions for the
evening. My son turned to his sister and asked, genuinely puzzled,
“What are they doing?” My daughter shrugged and answered, “Going on
a date.” There was a long pause, and then my son asked curiously,
“What’s a date?”
Once upon a time – way back B.K., Before Kids – Valentine’s Day
meant The Ultimate Date for a lot of us. It was flowers, mushy
cards, and a fancy, dressy, candle-lit dinner out. It meant jewelry
and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, and pretty silky fabrics.
Once there’s a kid – or two – all that seems like a lot of work
just to say three little words like “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Especially when the calendar tells you it’s a Tuesday – a school
night, for goodness sakes – and the Christmas credit card bills are
still rolling in!
Luckily, the main focus of Valentine’s Day remains the same,
whether you buy a dozen perfect hothouse roses or pick a bunch of
wild mustard flowers: it’s a day to show your loved ones they are
loved. The romance department is up to you, but here are a few fun
ways to celebrate Heart Day with everyone in your house.
Add a personal touch to your Valentine’s
card
You can’t even go to the hardware store without running into a
display of Valentine’s cards, but homemade cards can be just as fun
and twice as treasured. With a little construction paper and a box
of crayons you can let your inner artist free!
Trace a little one’s hand for a handprint signature, or cut out
the shape and layer, palm in and fingers out, to make 3-D flowers.
You can also glue the two middle fingers down to make the sign
language sign for “I love you.”
You can simply cut out a bunch of hearts and let the kids go
wild with the glue stick, or give them a stack of stickers. Older
kids can make coupons good for chores – car-washing, helping to
fold the laundry, taking out the garbage – or you can make coupons
for them, good for an ice cream out with you, a walk at the
regional park of their choosing, or another special treat you know
they’d love.
Preschoolers and elementary-school-aged kids love to pick out
boxes of classroom Valentines, lingering in the seasonal aisle for
long minutes while they try to decide between Scooby Doo or
Transformers, Peace Symbol tattoos or Justin Beiber stickers. Some
kids fly through the signing and addressing the cards, while others
need to be “coached” (“Five more, and you can take a break.”). If
you have extra, maybe send one off to Grandma and Grandpa, along
with a picture they’ve made.
It gets trickier with older kids – like the dreaded Middle
School Valentine’s Dance minefield – but they might like handing
out some treats to a few friends, and if they want to go retro and
hand out Mickey Mouse Clubhouse valentines, go for it!
Turn decorating into a family activity
What do you get with a couple of kids, a stack of construction
paper hearts and a roll of tape? A free-for-all decoration scheme
that insures hearts will be found well past the Fourth of July.
Tissue paper and pipe cleaners can make lovely flowers, and so
do hearts glued pointy-end together, with a small heart as the
center of the “daisy.”
Inexpensive window decals can keep even toddlers busy for hours
peeling and applying to any glass surface. Double bonus for sliding
glass doors!
Let them eat their hearts out
Food is the really easy part of this holiday. Start out the day
with heart-shaped pancakes and strawberries, sliced lengthwise to
resemble more hearts. Or sprinkle colored sugar on your oatmeal or
applesauce, letting a simple heart shape sweeten your sweetheart’s
day! Yum!
Lunch can be a sandwich cut out with a cookie-cutter, or little
heart-shaped pieces of cheese to layer on crackers. Make Kissy Lips
by cutting a red apple into slices and spreading some peanut butter
on one side. Set a few mini marshmallow “teeth” on the peanut
butter and top with another layer of peanut buttered apple “lip.”
Be sure to include a note with lots of X’s and O’s, and a fun joke
or two!
For dinner you can serve everyone’s favorite on pretty party
ware plates, or get a heart-shaped take-and-bake pizza. Tint the
milk with a few drops of food coloring, or stir in some strawberry
Quik. There are all kinds of desserts out there that could finish
off the meal – pink ice cream or red sorbet, cookies, cupcakes or a
cake decorated to go with the theme. (Tip: to make a heart shaped
cake use a square cake tin and a round cake tin. When baked and
cooled, cut the round layer in half and assemble it on the top two
angles of your square layer. Now frost, and ta-da! You have a heart
to win your family’s heart!)
Whatever you decide, just do it.
It doesn’t take any money to say, “I love you,” but those three
little words are priceless. Say them often to the kids, and say
them often to your spouse. Find ways to say it without words, too.
Setting up the coffee maker so the first one up only has to push
the button is an act of love; taking the kids to the park so
someone can nap is an act of love; buying a favorite flavor of ice
cream is an act of love, too. Remember to show love all year long,
not just on this one important date, and maybe DO make some time to
go out on a – what’s the word? Oh, yeah, date – with your
significant other. (Hint: it doesn’t have to be on February
14th!)
