Valentine’s Day is almost here! Rather than load your kids up on candy and sweets, show them how much you love them in other ways. We’ve got some easy, fun, sweet ways to make the day special for your whole family.
1. Make a heart shaped sandwich
This one is great idea for school-aged kids and younger kids too. They’ll be so surprised when they take out their lunch and see that their sandwich is literally filled with love. How do you do it? Make a sandwich as you usually would. If you have a regular heart-shaped cookie cutter, you can use that to cut the heart shape out. Push the cookie cutter firmly into bread and use a knife to “trace” around the edges and cut the heart shape. Or, using construction paper, make your own heart pattern to use. Put the construction paper heart on top of the sandwich and use a sharp knife to cut around it.
2. Serve only red foods for dinner
Red is the color of love, so why not make dinner a red occasion? As a main dish, serve pasta with your favorite red sauce like marinara or bolegnese. Side dishes could be sliced red peppers or tomatoes with a little oil and vinegar. Have pomegranate or cranberry juice to drink. And then, for dessert, enjoy some strawberries, raspberries, red apple slices, cherries or pomegranate seeds.
3. Make a red or pink smoothie
Smoothies make great breakfasts or after school snacks. Pack your blender full of strawberries, yogurt, ice and a dash of milk, and viola! You’ve got a delicious and healthy drink.
We love this recipe:
Ingredients:
- 6 large strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- ¾ cup of milk
- ½ cup of vanilla yogurt
Optional:
- Spoonful of peanut butter (source of protein)
- Splash of Orange Juice
- Banana
How To:
Put the strawberries and milk in the blender and blend until they’re relatively smooth. Then add the yogurt and any optional ingredients blend just until well mixed. Enjoy!
4. Write your kids a silly love poem
Sit down with your husband or partner and write your kids a silly love poem. Not sure how to start? Go with the ever popular “Roses are red, violets are blue, there are a thousand reasons why we love you!” From there, add a few lines about each child to make it personalized and funny. Bonus points if you can make each line rhyme! Share your poem during your “red” dinner!
5. Make paper heart love notes
A few days before Valentine’s day, cut out a bunch of paper hearts. Each person will need one heart for every other family member, not including themselves. So if there are four members of the family–mom, dad, and two kids, you’ll need 12 hearts. (Each person gets three hearts.) Then, have each family member write things they love about the other family members on a heart. Kids can use stickers and glitter and whatever other crafting supplies you have around the house to decorate their hearts. (You can help younger kids do the writing.) Once everyone is done, collect the hearts and keep them hidden. Then, before you go to bed on February 13th, hang the hearts around the house. You could put the hearts on the kids’ bedroom doors so they see them first thing in the morning. Or, display them all in one central location, like the kitchen. It’s a great way to bask in the love you all have for each other. And, it makes the house look festive, too!
Photo Credits
1, 2, & 4: The Quinntessential Mommy
3: The Memoirs of Megan
