Any Holiday season can be quite time consuming – from the planning, execution, and aftermath, there’s barely time to take a deep breath and exhale. Valentine’s Day is no exception, but the real problem with this holiday is trying to spread the “love” to everyone (when you can only “like” everyone on Facebook).
So, how do you balance work, kids, school, spouse and extended family to show your love and affection on this particular holiday? How can you balance it all in your hands and feel exhilarated at the end of the day?
Spreading your time and love to your family not only gives them a sense of appreciation and contentment it is also great for your health and well-being. There have been a hefty amount of studies indicating that giving love can have positive effects on your mental health, cancer related illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and stress-related illnesses. As outlined in an article published by Complete Wellbeing. Therefore, after inundating your loved ones with your love, time, and affection you will probably be saving time away from the doctors.
Time with Your Spouse
The family unit begins with the husband and wife and trickles on down the line. The bond between a wife and husband is like no other. Nothing can compare to that solid rock you have standing next to you.
The sole purpose of Valentine’s Day is to celebrate this relationship of love and to strengthen those bonds. Here are some fun new ideas, and a few tried and true ones, to help you sneak in a little time and shower your significant other with love and affection.
Morning
Wake up at least an hour before your normal morning to prepare your significant other a breakfast feast. (That means, an hour earlier to bed!) Prepare all their favorite breakfast foods and serve them, you guessed it, right in bed. If the kids are up early, they can of course help with this – just tell them it’s a secret, and to try and keep the voices down.
Lunch
If you pack your spouse’s lunch, make his favorite meal the day before. Surprise him with all the mealtime goodies he holds dear; his favorite soda, snack, and entrée. Place a sentimental note pinned to his napkin with a fun past memory, for example “remember the first day you kissed me in the back of my parents house and it started to pour on our heads just as my dad pulled up in his pick-up truck?” Any memory the two of you hold dear can be jotted down and placed alongside the packed lunch.
If you have the day off, or can spend an hour or two away from work, you can make a “picnic in the park” … (if you don’t live in a warm February climate, the “park” can be a coffee shop or even work cafeteria. Surprise your spouse at work with a packed basket to enjoy together.
Dinner
There are two very elegant choices for dinner the two of you can enjoy together. First make sure the kids have a place to stay on the night you plan this delightful treat. Then choose from a night in or a fun night on the town. If that’s not possible, what we have done is “kid swapping” – one night or evening our friends would take our kids off of our hands, and the favor would be returned at a later date.
For a night in, make your spouse’s favorite meal and of course have it ready on the table, with low lighting, when they arrive home for dinner. You can end the dinner with a veg session on the couch with their favorite type of newly released movie.
Whatever you decide, the goal is to recreate that romantic excitement when you were both dating. If you spent long hours walking on the beach (as cliche as that sounds) now’s the time to do that again. No smart phones or other distractions allowed!
Time with Your Children
Children enjoy this great holiday just as much as couples do, although they don’t share the depth of understanding just yet. But there are so many fun and exciting ways to share this holiday with your children.
Crafts
- Make your own Valentine’s Cards – Use construction paper, glue, glitter and other valentine’s décor to make fun cards with your children. We do this every year, for all the members of our family … and my sister-in-law’s dog. One neat idea is to buy a package of lollipops, and glue small paper or foam hearts on either side of the candy, then stick it into the card for an extra surprise. Write “You’re sweet” on the heart.
- Make a Valentine’s Mailbox – For full instructions on this nifty craft visit Artistshelpingchildren.org. It looks like lots of fun and a neat place to put all the cards!
- Heart-shaped tote- We made this last week. Take two pieces of foam and cut out identical hearts. Sew them together with yarn, attach a long piece of ribbon with craft glue or staples to make the handles, and have your child decorate to their heart’s content!
Baking
- Spice up the Holiday by adding food coloring to your planned dishes, such as pink eggs and ham (the ham doesn’t need coloring, just the eggs!)
- Make everything heart-shaped, from personal pizzas to pancakes by using a large heart-shaped cookie cut out. What I found one year was a heart-shaped baking pan with a removable bottom. So it has two uses.
Time with Your Extended Family
Plan a cookie exchange party for you and your extended family to enjoy a few hours of laughter, cookies, and company. Invite your closest extended family, ask them to make and bring to the gathering their favorite baked cookies.
Enjoy some time together with stories from the past and laugh at each other’s fun history, family romances, or past gatherings.
And Certainly Not Least … Time with You
In all your giving make sure to take time out for yourself. Whether that is a walk in the park alone, a long hot bubble bath, a visit to a local spa or a short shopping trip for you, do your favorite thing and give yourself some much needed “me” time. You deserve this celebration of self just as much as your family does.
Valentine’s Day fills the air with love and affection; don’t get consumed with all the happenings without taking the time for all those in your live that you hold dear. After all, you have nothing to lose and so much fun, love, and laughter to gain.
Written by Chris Molnar, a sucker for Valentine’s Day. He operates a birthday theme party site with ideas and tips on kid’s birthdays, holidays and entertaining. He and his eldest daughter just finished creating the heart-shaped tote, which she will use to collect all her cards. You can view his Valentine’s Day party and craft ideas here.
