I know Valentines is an odd holiday, some love it some hate it, it’s too ‘commercialized’, etc. I for one really enjoy Valentines. For me it’s another good excuse to show my affection to those I love, but in a simple way without too much pressure. I enjoy getting creative with valentines gifts. Here’s just a few things I have done over the years.
Balloons
Kids really can be so simple to get a smile on their faces sometimes. One year I spent a whole day blowing up balloons (by mouth…only to realize after the fact I could have used our air compressor. Oh Well). They were red a pink and filled up a good portion of our living room and hallway. We of course got them some chocolates and small gifts, but when they got home from school they went straight to the balloons and ran, danced, and played with them. Their giggles filled the home well into the evening, and our house was littered for days after.
Bouquets
Last year I wanted to put their little gifts in a bouquet. I think I underestimated the size and weight of some things, but they still ended up being cute. We got Valentine themed pencils and used those as the ‘stems’ for their plushies and candies. Then I used some dollar store buckets (actually…maybe they were from the Bullseye section in Target) and propped everything in there. Perhaps not exactly a bouquet, more like a gift basket, but cute regardless! I’m a sucker for gift baskets so I loved making these.
Giant Ring Pops
This may be one of my favorite Valentines to date that I have done. I kept seeing this idea on my Pinterest feed and Tik Tok and I hopped on the trend. All you need is some plastic bowls from the dollar store, a plate, and a foam ring (like ones used for wreaths). This is great because it can all be purchased at the dollar store ;). You take one bowl and glue a place to the bottom of it, then glue the foam ring to the other side of the plate. This becomes the bottom part of your ‘ring’. Then you fill that bottom bowl with your goodies and glue another bowl on top. Of course you can paint and decorate as you wish. I may have to do these again soon, or some sort of variant.
Post It Notes
There was a year where I had a bunch of post it notes and got an idea to cut them into heart shapes. I then thought of all the things I loved or enjoyed about my husband. Or things that just described him. I then took these notes and put them allllll over the house, even the ceiling! I love this idea because I think sometimes we can get too wrapped up in what to ‘buy’ someone, rather then show or tell them how much you love them and all the reasons why. It especially works if someone’s love language is words of affection.
Post It Notes 2
This is a new idea I haven’t done yet, but I recently saw someone who did something similar to what I described above. Instead though, they wrote something each day and then stuck it to their kid’s bedroom door. I think I would like to try to do that for my littles this year. It really can be the little things that make the biggest impact sometimes, and I think doing this will allow me to show my kiddos how much I love them, and hopefully boost their spirits and attitudes.
With Valentines approaching perhaps this can inspire some ideas to make it special for your loved ones.
