I love Valentine’s Day and I genuinely feel sad for anyone who says they hate it or thinks it’s just a dumb, made-up “Hallmark holiday.” Don’t worry, banks aren’t closed, you’ll still get your mail, and garbage/recycling will all be running. The world still goes on, but it’s just a little bit lovelier. We celebrate big at our house, and I think it’s worth celebrating, even if it’s just a tiny bit and even if you aren’t married or dating someone. I promise that someone out there loves you, or you love someone.
Before I decided to become the authority on celebrating love, I figured I should probably look into the history of Valentine’s Day so I went to history.com (history.com sounds totally legit, right?) and found out that it is, indeed, a real thing; it has historic roots and it’s not made up. St. Valentine performed marriages at a time when it was outlawed for young men (apparently unmarried men make better soldiers and fighting is better than love, right?) and February 14th eventually marked the date to remember those we love and celebrate it. Thanks, St. Valentine!
Anyone can celebrate Valentine’s Day and that’s a fact: parents with their children, married couples, dating couples, best friends, you and your favorite barista, teachers and students, employees and employers; Valentine’s Day is a time to tell people you care about them. There are lots of ways to do this:
- Make your kids heart-shaped pancakes and dye your milk pink.
- Do you know your best friend’s favorite candy? Tie a red or pink balloon to it and leave it on their front porch with a nice note telling them how much you like them.
- Go to a craft store and buy several sheets of pink or red felt. Cut out little hearts and hide them in random places for someone you love to find. The best part about this is that in June, when they’re going to grab their summer towels, a red felt heart will appear and it will make their day (source: my mom is still finding felt hearts from two years ago and she loves it).
- Go with a classic: buy someone flowers and chocolates.
- If you don't send out Christmas cards, maybe Valentine's Day cards will be your thing. People don't care if you have professional pictures done, just use your favorite snapshots and add a sweet sentiment.
- Have your child take their teacher a coffee when they get to school (yep, this requires maybe 10 extra precious morning minutes) and include a handwritten note from YOU telling them how much you appreciate them (love and appreciation is what it's all about) and everything they do.
- Put a love note in your child's pocket for them to discover during the day.
- Fill your child's room with red and pink balloons so when they wake up they find a lovely surprise.
- Handwritten notes and letters to whoever it is you care about mean everything. Left with a chocolate heart or pink champagne gummies (get them at www.sugarfina.com) makes it amazing.
Not everyone is lovey-dovey and super expressive when it comes to showing their love - whether it's towards a spouse, a friend, parents, or anyone else in your life. But I think we can all agree that if we went through life without ever showing any love in any way to those we care about the most, we would regret it. Valentine's Day is a good start.