10 Incredible Ways to Celebrate Valentines Day as a Family

Valentine's Day is a holiday that celebrates love on February 14 every year.

The Day is centered on expressions of love, such as giving and receiving gourmet chocolates, flowers, and romantic dinners for two. While many people view Valentine's Day as a holiday for couples or romantic partners, it can be a great time to show love and appreciation to all loved ones, including family members, romantic partners, co-workers, and friends. 

Here are ideas you can utilize during this year's Valentine's Day celebrations.

10 Ways to Celebrate Valentine's Day

1. Exchange Valentine's Day Cards

Did you know that people exchange 145 million greeting cards every year for Valentine's Day? Exchanging Valentine's Day cards with your loved ones is remarkable and a tradition for both young and old. But did you know you can craft your cards with construction papers, crayons, scissors, and coloring pencils?

Benefits:

• Handwritten cards have a personal touch that makes them unique in today's virtual world.
•  It feels special to know that someone was thinking about you to the extent of crafting or scribbling a card to express their feelings.
• Valentine's Day cards can help you to remain connected with your loved ones even though you are physically separated.

5 Cute Quotes You Can Include in Your Valentine's card.

• Words cannot express how much you mean to me."
• "To love yourself is to understand you don't need to be perfect to be good."
• "Besides cheese, you are my favorite."
• "I hope you have a Valentine's Day as wonderful as you are!"
• "Have a good, fun, terrific, fantastic, and ideal Valentine's Day!"

2. Create Lists of Why You Love Each Other

This activity is closely related to the first one. Encourage everyone in the family to grab a pen and a notepad and list five things they love and appreciate about each family member. You will be amazed at how heartwarming and emotional it can get to listen to each person's thoughtful words.

Benefits:

• Expressing love and affection openly to your loved ones motivates them to continue loving you and doing the things you love. 
• It shows your loyalty, dedication, and commitment to the relationship.
• Expressing love openly can also strengthen your relationship with your loved ones and make it more profound.

3. Prepare a Special Valentine's Day Meal

“Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate.”

– Alan D. Wolfelt

Holidays provide families the opportunity to formulate family traditions that are passed from one generation to another. You can create a special dish you will prepare every Valentine's Day. It is always fun and more memorable to involve everyone in preparing the meal, even the youngest kids.

Benefits:

• Besides coming up with a family tradition, spending time together in the kitchen can help create closer bonds and more memories.
•  It also creates a more relaxed environment for children to talk, share and listen.
• Cooking together can help your children to develop better life and teamwork skills.

4. Bake

Baking is an exciting, adorable, and doable activity for the entire family. You can get everyone in the kitchen, including younger kids, to make a cake, cupcakes, or cookies together. Ensure that your kids get to choose what you should bake and are actively involved in the process, and their Valentine's Day will be fantastic.

Benefits:

There are so many benefits associated with baking, especially for young kids.

• Baking allows children to improve their motor skills using different muscle groups and movements.
• It also enhances their math and communication skills as they mix different recipes.
• At the end of the baking session, kids develop a sense of achievement

5. Create Valentine's Day Decorations Together

You can search online for creative ideas to make homemade Valentine's Day decorations. You can also come up with simple ideas, such as asking your kids to make heart-shaped paper chains to decorate the living room. You could also ask them to cut out colorful hearts and hang them around their bedroom.

Benefits:

• Crafting Valentine's Day decorations will help your child to improve their fine motor skills.
• It will cause them  to develop better imagination and communication skills
• They will also learn to research and follow instructions effectively while searching for ideas online.
• Crafting activities can also help kids to express their emotions better, improve their social skills and inspire critical thinking.

6. Talk about Love

Spend quality time with your kids talking about love. Ask them about Valentine's Day, their thoughts about love, or what love means to them. Use the holiday also to express your feelings to them and what you believe love is all about. You can also discuss ways they can use to express love to other people. Lastly, you can ask the kids about friendship and family, and you will be surprised by their answers.

Benefits of talking about love to your kids:

Kids need to understand the importance of love for the following reasons:

• Talking about love will help them evolve spiritually and understand love more deeply.
• They will realize they are valuable and loved beyond their talent and performance. 
• They will also learn to value themselves and others and be more empathetic to others.

7. Read Books that your Child Loves

Any day is perfect for reading aloud, regardless of your child's age. Reading together as a family will provide an ideal opportunity to spend time together while building your kid's literacy skills.

You can make Valentine's reading more interesting by asking your child to choose books they want to read. You could also go for books featuring love stories and enjoy the beauty of the holiday together.

Ten kids and teens books perfect for Valentine's Day that you can try out:

1. "Love from The Very Hungry Caterpillar" - Eric Carle
2. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse!" -  Laura Numerof
3. "Love You Forever," - Robert Munsch
4. "Llama Llama I Love You" - Anna Dewdney
5. "You Are My Happy," -  Hoda Kotb
6. Little Blue Truck's Valentine - Alice Schertle
7. Ten Little Valentines - Amanda Sobotka
8. I Am Love: A Book of Compassion - Susan Verde
9. A Kids Book About Empathy- Daron K. Roberts
10. "Guess How Much I Love You," - Sam McBratney

8. Watch a Valentine's Day Movie

Grab some popcorn, blankets, and pillows, then get cozy on the couch and watch a beautiful movie about love. Numerous fantastic love stories can make your family movie night lively. Spending time with your family will provide a sense of warmth and protection among family members. 

Here is more!

• A movie is a great way to bond with your spouse and children.
• Family members become more relaxed during such moments, making it an excellent time to eliminate any existing barriers.
•  Movie time is an excellent time for laughs and enjoyment.
• Your children will enjoy talking about the best scenes in the movie, hence improving their confidence and communication skills.

9. Have a Valentine's Day Family Photoshoot

 There is nothing as precious as family. It is also true that babies grow so fast that before you even realize it, they are adults. This is why capturing some of the best moments of their growth process is crucial. Every time you spend together is priceless and irreplaceable, hence the need to take memorable photos. There is no better way to capture the best moments during Valentine's Day celebrations than having a family photo shoot.

Taking Valentine's Day family pictures is not just for creating memories; it has a lasting positive impact on your family.

• Photoshoots can help your kids to understand their position in the family unit.
• It also helps them to enjoy and feel more family togetherness and pride.
•   A framed family portrait reminds family members where they belong and how far they have come to get there.

10. Commit Acts of Kindness

Did you know Valentine's Day occurs within Random Acts of Kindness Week? We celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week from February 14 – February 20 every year. Perform kind acts within your community, share hugs and smiles with everyone you see, deliver flowers to vulnerable people in the neighborhood, or visit sick people in a hospital of your choice. Challenge your children to compete on who can claim the highest number of acts of kindness by the end of the Day.

Teaching your kids gratitude and acts of kindness comes with so many benefits. 

• Acts of kindness among kids are connected to increased happiness and higher positivity.
• Helping others causes a rush of endorphins, creating a sense of self-worth, optimism, and lasting pride.
•  Kindness is also connected to increased serotonin levels, resulting in better learning, memory, attention span, and sleep.

Final Word

At Kid's on the Yard, we wish you the BEST as you celebrate this year's Valentine's Day. We offer you the best Learning Solutions by partnering with the best educational experts.

Talk to us for more information!