"I Love You Because...." Valentines

I know there are millions of people out there that despise Valentine's Day but I am not one of them. I love it! What better than a whole day devoted entirely to love?! Nothing :)

So this year we did this very awesome activity with the girls. Each person decorated there own Valentine's Day box with their name on it. Then starting on February 1st, we each had to write one reason why we love each person in our family and put it in their box.

The first 3 or 4 days were easy, but after the obvious reasons were done, we had to do a little more thinking. Why did we love each person? What is so special about them?

Then after we gave the kids our gifts from us, we all dumped out our boxes and read aloud each little note we were given. We started by saying "I love you because....." and then finished with the note. I was AMAZED at some of the things we came up with. The girls thought of things about their sister that I would have never guessed. Some reasons were funny and some were emotional. But when it was over (and it took like an hour) everyone was happy. The kids begged to do it again next year. It was free and it was special. Isn't that what were all looking for?!

 

For dinner we enjoyed heart shaped pizza and a heart cake. Simple but exciting for the little ones.

 

Valentine's Day- Love and Pretty {Journey's Decorating- Nashville TN}

 

I don't know how many families celebrate Valentine's Day as a kids holiday or a holiday for Mom and Dad, but we like to involve the kids in our Valentine's Day fun. Our anniversary is on February 11th so we usually have a special date day to celebrate our marriage on that day. Then for Valentine's Day, we celebrate with the girls.

 

I thought I'd share some of our Valentine's Day fun from last year as well as our plan for this year.

 

Decorating is a huge part of the fun. We always start with the center of our family room, the mantel! I love a beautifully decorated mantel. I started on ours this week. Here's a picture. As we get a little closer to February, I'll start changing things around and adding more fun decorations.

 

 

We like to "adopt" a special Valentine friend every year.

Someone we can do something nice for. Last year we picked one of my daughter's friends who has been battling cancer for two years now. She is a sweet, adorable little girl. We made her this gift bag and delivered it when she wasn't home. The girls love doing good deeds and serving others. This year our lucky "friend" is going to be Ray (our preacher). We love him dearly and he just may need a cheering up on his first Valentine's Day without his wife.

 

 

Something new, we're starting on February 1st we're calling "I love you because...". Each person in our family will have a box on the counter, which they will decorate and every day we will all write down one reason that we love each person and put it in their box. I feel like we spend so much time correcting the littles and pointing out all of the things they do wrong, so I though it would be a good idea to share with them all of the wonderful things that make each one of us unique and valued. What a fun way to do it! Then on Valentine's Day we can dump out our boxes and see why we're loved so much.

 

I'll share pictures and posts on how it works out.

 

When February 14th finally arrives, I like to surprise the kids with a fun breakfast of some sort. I found this on Pinterest last year. It's literally canned cinnamon rolls shaped like a heart with sprinkles. They were so happy about them, you would have thought I had slaved in the kitchen all morning. It's the little things, the attention to detail that makes life special. Add cute straws, some pretty napkins, and a candle and BAM- It's a Valentine's Day candlelit breakfast for a queen (or four).

 

 

 

When Daddy gets home, the real fun begins!!! We usually surprise the girls with goodies and gifts. But seriously, we only buy them things that they will be needing anyway. The picture below is from last year. Looks like we went all out right? That's the point! But we didn't. I just think it's more fun to give them a new outfit in a special way. I should also mention that my kids rarely get new clothing. We pass down everything we can, so new clothes are special to them. And sometimes, every girl just needs a new outfit.

 

 

 

 This year, I've bought the three little girls coordinating bathing suits with flip flops and mating accessories (I had Gymbucks so I got it all at a great price). The 2 babies also got pajamas and some chocolate. The 2 big girls got a box of chocolates. Mary (7) got a stuffed owl and Taylor (14) I have no idea what else to get her but I'll figure something out. 

 

I hope you'll embrace this little holiday this year and make it extra special for your family too. This is the stuff they'll remember forever :)