Our Five Ring Circus: 14 Ideas to Make Valentine's Day Fun for Families

Monday, February 1, 2016

14 Ideas to Make Valentine's Day Fun for Families

Happy Love Month!

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I know Valentine's Day isn't that big of a deal for most people, but when you have kids, even the little holidays matter!  I don't go overboard, but I do like to make holidays special for my kids. It really doesn't take much effort to make them happy!

 Here are a few of my family's favorite Valentine's Day activities:

14 Ideas to make Valentine's Day Fun for Families

1. Roll out some sugar cookie dough and let the kids use some heart-shaped cookie cutters.  Once the cookies are baked, let the kids decorate them with icing and sprinkles. 

2. If you have young kids, you probably have tons of broken crayons. Peel those crayons, break them into pieces, and place them in a heart-shaped baking mold. (I prefer a silicone mold.) Mix those colors!  Bake at 300 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.  You'll know they're done when the wax has completely melted.  Allow them to thoroughly cool before popping them out of the mold.  Voila!  New crayons!  Plus, you can bag them up and give them out as valentines!

3. Head to your local library and have the kids pick out some Valentine's Day books (or just use ones you already own).  Starting on February 1st, read one each night until the big day!  We love Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse!

4. Serve heart-shaped foods!  Make heart-shaped pancakes or heart-shaped eggs using a metal cookie cutter. Serve those eggs with heart-shaped toast.  You can make heart-shaped mini pizzas, heart-shaped sandwiches, heart-shaped grilled cheese, heart-shaped watermelon, and heart-shaped jello jigglers, too.  Get creative with those meals!  A simple cookie cutter can work magic!

5. Make some popcorn, curl up on the couch, and watch Valentine's Day movies together.  Our family favorites are Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown and The Princess Bride.  My husband and I like to watch old favorites like Love Actually, Sleepless in Seattle, French Kiss, and Notting Hill. (They don't make romantic comedies like they used to!)

6. Make some Valentine's Day slime.  This is my favorite slime recipe.  Dye it red, add in some confetti hearts, and it will be the most festive slime around!

7. Some red or pink playdoh, some heart shaped cookie cutters, and some craft supplies (pipe cleaners, beads, etc) will buy you hours of time!

8. Buy a Valentine's Day shirt, outfit, or pajamas for your child.  Check out THIS BANDANA BIB from Anchored Arrow Co or THIS ADORABLE OUTFIT from The Hair Bow Company.  I just ordered the outfit for Lily and it's so cute!

9. Make a Valentine's Day craft.  If you're extra ambitious (AKA not me), you can plan one for every day leading up to Valentine's Day.  We've made thumbprint heart keepsakes,  a bouquet similar to this one using foam hearts and ribbon, and paint chip bookmarks.

10. Make those Valentine's Day boxes for school. They don't have to be perfect!  Just brainstorm ideas together and have fun!

11. Store-bought valentines are perfect in my book, but every so often, we get creative.  The heart-shaped crayons paired with mini notebooks were a hit each time the kids handed them out.  I love these ones for when Liam is in preschool! I need s'more friends like you and tic tac toe are two more of my favorites!

12. Take a Valentine's Day picture of your kids each year.  We love looking back on how much they have grown!

13. Buy your kids a small treat and set it out on the table so it's the first thing they see when they wake up on Valentine's Day.  We usually do a small box of chocolates and a very small toy for each child. They get so excited about these little treats!

14. Have a special meal on Valentine's Day.  Choose breakfast, lunch, or dinner (or all of the above) and serve those heart-shaped foods.  Valentine's Day plates, napkins, and cups make it extra special!

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The countdown to Valentine's Day is on!

How do YOU celebrate Valentine's Day with your family?

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22 comments:

  1. Great ideas. Love kids outfits.

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  2. Darling kids. Wonderful suggestions.

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  3. Awwww ... such cuties! :) Loved your post. My kids are both teenagers now, but when they were younger, my favorite thing to do on Valentine's Day was to take them to the library and pick out the holiday books and then hurry home to read through them ten times. And nothing beat the special Valentine's Day episodes of their regular Disney Channel shows - they used to love those. Sigh. No more of that since they're older ... but we do order a heart-shaped pizza to eat before they go off on their Valentine's dates. I'll take what I can get. :)

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    1. Thank you so much! We just headed back to the library today to pick out some more books and we already finished them! I'm not ready for the teenage years, but I know it's coming. XOXO

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  4. Great ideas!!!
    I just love how Liam is so delicately touching Lily's face in the photos!

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    1. Thank you! He always makes a connection of some sort when he's sitting with you. He will touch your face, hold your hand, or pat your back. I absolutely love that about him!

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  5. HOW did I not know that Charlie Brown had a Valentine's Day movie?! We love all of the holiday Charlie Brown movies so we'll be checking this one out for sure! Thank you so much for sharing! I love all of these ideas!

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    1. Thank you! I didn't know about that one until a few years ago. It's one of the very few Valentine's Day movies!

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  6. Great ideas. I love to dress my boys up and take pictures. I think we'll also try a craft, but just one :)

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    1. Thank you! I'm with you on the just one. If I plan any more, it just won't happen!

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  7. What a great list of ideas! Valentines always sneaks up on me. We really need to start doing some fun things!

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    1. Thanks, Beth! It sneaks up on me, too. Hence the store-bought valentines this year!

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  8. Ohhhhh I should totally see if my 18 month old would help me 'decorate' sugar cookies. Maybe she would think it was fun! More likely, she would dump all of the sprinkles out and play in them ;-) -- Lisa | Two Martinis

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  9. Sounds like such fun ideas! I should set up a v-day photo shoot... I am so bad about doing that with my own kids.

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  10. I love these ideas! My favorite romance is the Notebook; although, I cry every time! I didn't think about buying my son a little treat for Valentine's Day but why not? I know it will make his day! (Love the crayon idea too!)

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    1. Thank you! We buy something very small. I'm not a fan of making it like a second Christmas!

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