3 Special Ways To Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Your Kids

Check out these three special ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your kids this year that will draw your hearts toward each other in meaningful ways for years to come!

We started a Valentine’s Day tradition with our kids years ago out of necessity, but it has stuck around because it has become such a beloved day that we all look forward to!

We move in February every 3 years. When we moved to Maryland, we had 4 little kids and no connections. If we were going to celebrate Valentine’s Day that year, it was going to be as a family! I’m grateful that they aren’t growing up with a jaded attitude about Valentine’s Day— on either side of the spectrum. Valentine’s Day in our house isn’t about unrealistic expectations of romance, but it still 100% celebrates those we love.

If you’re feeling a little fatigued with what has become of Valentine’s Day, read on to see how it can be a day that is treasured deeply in your heart.

1) Shift Your Attitude

Could I have started with a more boring step!? I promise—everything about this day being special hinges on the attitude that you come into it with. Once we decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the kids, we centered it around them. I could not come into the plans for the evening with any hint of entitlement for my own grandiose experience by way of praise/accolades.

2) Tell Them Why You Love Them

This started out as a thing the moms did with our homeschool co op in Okinawa. It was quite the undertaking, since most homeschoolers have a ton of kids! We would get together at the end of January and write each of our kids 14 little notes, stating why we love them. Starting on February first, we would give our kids a card every day leading up to Valentine’s Day. Each kid got to hear 14 reasons as to why we love them. I got to think of 14 reasons why I loved each kid!

Nothing gets your head in the game for celebrating the gift of your children like spending deliberate time considering why you love them so much. I guarantee, this is more work than you’re even anticipating. This year, I am starting on the 8th, giving them a week’s worth of love notes instead of two weeks! But for the sake of my kids’ hearts, as well as mine, I hope to never miss this opportunity to pour out my love on them in this meaningful way. I did it on the app procreate last year since we were living in a hotel during the Valentine’s season, but I think that might be my new go-to! (We ended up at my parent’s house just in time to celebrate Valentine’s Day with them.)

3) Create a Restaurant Atmosphere in Your Home

Even at a young age, our kids have had a responsibility to contribute, and meal time is no exception. Where they are normally helping prep dinner, setting the table, refilling their own waters, taking their own plate to the sink, etc… None of that has a place at ‘Le Chateau d’Campbell.’ We do IT ALL for them on Valentine’s night. Seeing their shock, then their discomfort with allowing us to meet their every beck and call that first year endeared my heart to them so much! It made it pure joy to serve them in that way, and sealed the deal for me that they absolutely deserve this grand treatment at least once a year.

Charlie and I wear black and dress up as waiters and carry a towel on our arm. We’ll hang curtains/sheets—whatever we can—to transform the look of our home from the normal dining room. *MIND YOU* this is nothing Pinterest worthy! I’m not trying to impress the ig world with this— the idea is entirely for the benefit of my kids walking into a “new” space, and they’re always impressed with our meager efforts. ☺️

Print a Menu

Go all out with the courses— keep the meals coming. This ain’t no casserole night! No one-pot-wonders here! But it can be SIMPLE. Kids are always happy with the most simple of meals— fruit salad, tomato soup, etc… The menu is not customizable, (ever, even on Valentine’s Day!) but we do have several courses that keep making their way out. We print it on card stock and use a delicate font, and Charlie busts out his high school French to make it sound extra fancy. I honestly couldn’t tell you what most of these items ended up being with his fancy titles!

Give Them Their Own Mini-Sized Foods

If what you’re making is pizza, give them their own personal sized pizza. The first year I made bread in small loaf pans and gave them each their own loaf—they lost their mind! I think having their own mini-loaf was the biggest highlight of Valentine’s Day for them when they were younger! My sister went the opposite route and always made each one of her kids massive cookies (an entire batch of cookie dough made one cookie)! I try to score bread in pretty, festive ways to celebrate.

However this all unfolds in your house, I hope you will celebrate Valentine’s Day this year with renewed joy in the gift of motherhood!

It could be done on Valentine’s Day, or you could be vehemently against Valentine’s Day, and recoil at this thought. The point isn’t actually “celebrating Valentine’s Day” (whatever the actual history of it even is!) as much as it is taking the time and effort to show your kids extravagant love. It doesn’t cost us much more than a little bit of creativity, but it goes deep into their hearts and makes them feel so treasured.

Whether we like it or not, our kids will project their experiences with us as parents onto God (dads especially). I hope it’s not even necessary to say that we are far from perfect parents and I’m sure we hurt our kids far more than we know. But I pray that they will easily accept the extravagant love of God because they experienced it with us first. More than just on Valentine’s Day, but every chance we get… even on Valentine’s Day. ❤️

“May the Lord increase your love until it overflows for ALL PEOPLE. Then your hearts will be strengthened in holiness…” 1 Thessalonians 3:12

Let me know if you integrate these traditions into your Valentine’s Day this year!