Loving Others This Valentine's Day

While we may usually think of Valentine's Day as an opportunity to spend time with our spouse and buy each other romantic gifts, it can actually be much more than that. We can use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to show our kids and other family members that we love them.

Here are three ideas that you can try this year:

Date Your Kids: Back when our daughter was two or three, my husband decided that he wanted to take her out on a date every Valentine’s Day. He wanted to show her how a man should treat her and use the day as intentional time with her. My husband and I set aside time the day before or after Valentine’s Day for us to go on a date. When our son was that same age, I started going on a date with him. It’s one of our favorite family traditions.

Think of Your Loved Ones: There are people in our lives who might feel a little sad or overlooked around Valentine’s Day. Widows/widowers and people who are divorced would surely appreciate some Valentine’s Day cheer. Have the kids make valentines and hand deliver them or pop them in the mail. You could also add a special treat, like a gift card, candy or flowers too.

Leave Love Hearts: When I was in a MOPS group years ago, one of the mentor moms shared this tradition. She prints out 14 hearts for each member of the family. Then on each one, she writes down a reason she loves this family member. On Valentine’s Day morning, she tapes them to their door so they’ll see them in the morning. I tried this one year and my husband and kids loved it. They kept the hearts up for months.

Use the printout on the following page to write your own love notes for your family.