I love Valentine’s day! In my mind Valentine’s Day isn’t about gifts–though I do love getting flowers and chocolates–for me, Valentine’s has always been about the specialness of a day spent with loved ones.
I don’t want to do “typical” things on Valentine’s Day–fighting the crowds, making reservations weeks (or months!) in advance, spending money on what we’re told to spend money on… So we try to get creative with how we celebrate.
10 Family Fun Ideas For Valentine’s Day
Here are some adorable ideas of activities and games you can do with your kiddos this Valentine’s!
1. Candlelight dinner.
Pull out all the stops! We can have a romantic dinner with our entire family–just keep your sense of humor handy. Have the kids dress in their best, fix their hair, and allow them to drink out of wine glasses. Any food looks great by candle light–make it as fancy or as simple as you want.
2. Make cookies or Valentine treats and give them away.
Get your kids involved, have a fun craft, and instill some lessons in generosity. You can bake treats, have some arts and crafts, or go picking wild flowers to make bouquets for friends and neighbors.
3. Family game night.
Break out the Uno deck or Catan board and have a cute and cozy game night. Kids love to play games, particularly with adults. It’s a great opportunity to spend time together and have some fun!
4. Movie night.
Pop some popcorn, build a blanket fort, and watch a fun movie. Lady and the Tramp, Princess Bride, Enchanted, and Wall-E are all sweet love stories that the whole family can enjoy.
5. Slide show.
How often do we actually sit and watch home movies or look through family photos? If you have a projector, slap up some good old family media and get nostalgic. Spend the evening remembering your favorite moments and filling the kids in on stuff they missed!
6. Write letters.
If they are old enough to read being able to read your handwritten note about how much you love them, and how proud you are of them (and all the reasons why) is a very special gift.
7. Coffee date.
Fancy coffee drinks make kids feel very grown up and it’s always nice to have an adults attention. Think up some questions to ask them and get to know what goes on in their young minds.
8. Bowling.
My kids are THRILLED when we go disco bowling. The music is fun, the game is fun, and we all need the exercise, right? 😉
9. Skating.
Remember roller skating? It’s a dying art, but SO fun with kids! If you’re lucky enough to have a skating rink–roller or ice–take advantage of that and have some fun!
If you don’t have a local rink, a nice abandoned parking lot can be just as fun.
10. Technology break.
Try going media free and/or electricity free. It’s fun to play cards by candlelight–or drink tea together and just visit like “grown-ups” do. Keep your phones off–actually, keep them in the other room–so you don’t get distracted. Engage in some real conversations with your kids and give them your full attention.
Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas
If you’re a gift-giver, here are some fun, heartfelt ideas you can give your kids without adding to the clutter:
17 Free Minimalist Gift Ideas | Give intentionally.
We did the ‘romantic’ dinner with our kids for our anniversary! It was a great visual way to show them how we were thankful for our marriage.
I love the ideas about family Valentines Day options. We love our kids. Why not spend the time with everyone we love instead of just our spouse ?
We do a candle light breakfast on Valentine’s day. Wine glasses with juice, breakfast meat, and something pink; pink cinnomrolls or red velvet pancakes. Gives them super fancy and allows us to have the night for mom and dad time.
We recently let our children drink grape juice out of wine glasses for a special treat and you’re right-it totally made their night! It was so cute how much they loved feeling grown up. This is a great list of ways to make Valentine’s Day “special” without spending tons of money or adding lots of stress to our lives. Great ideas!
Depending on your spiritual choices, you can also learn about St. Valentine, the namesake of the holiday. There are some good books for both children and adults available. I find this is a wonderful way to take the consumerism and stuff out of the holiday and focus on loving actions that can inspire you all year long.
That’s a great suggestion Dawn- thanks!
Love these ideas. Sometimes finding a sitter is just too hard. Involving the kids in V-day plans is fun and makes life easier!
It is hard to find a babysitter on Valentine’s Day!!
Thanks for these great ideas! We have always done family Valentine’s Day, and 3 years ago we added a Valentine’s birthday to the mix too! I love these ideas for making the day special, especially the picture slide show!