Valentine’s Day is about celebrating love in all its forms.
Is there anything more important than the crazy, unconditional, messy, wonderful, unending love of family?
The days might drag on in parenting, but the years go by fast! Why not skip the sitter this Valentine’s Day and include the kids in your plans? You’ll probably save a small fortune and whatever you lose in romance, you’ll make up for in memories to cherish long after Feb. 14
Start with some heart
There are the obvious ways to say, “I love you,” like actually using those three little words or sharing regular hugs, smooches and high fives. But one of the most important ways we show our kids love is to give them our time. To honor that, we dreamed up three family night scenarios to make Valentine’s Day count, right from home:
Date night
Give your whole family a fancy night out experience, minus the expensive restaurant.
Make them feel special with a thoughtfully prepared dinner you know they’ll love, including all the family favorites — or surprise them with something new. Even if it’s kid-friendly mac and cheese, set the table like it’s steak and lobster! Get out the cloth napkins and ritzy plates you only use at Thanksgiving, fill champagne flutes with sparkling cider or lemon-lime soda, dim the lights and encourage everyone to get all dressed up. And be sure to finish the evening off with a pretty dessert, because chocolate = love.
If your kids are too small to trust with Grandma’s china, scale it back a bit and play dress-up instead! Let them raid the costume closet and invite your little princesses and pirates to eat their fish sticks in style, just because.
Game night
There are about a million different board games on the shelves these days, from classic to imaginative to downright weird. If you’d rather keep it simple, just scrounge around the house for a deck of cards. Even if game night isn’t your family’s typical cup of tea, you’re in for some laughs. And who knows? One of your kids could be a budding poker shark just waiting to swim.
Have little ones? You can never go wrong with arts and crafts. They’ll be all smiles when Mom and Dad pick up the crayons and color right alongside them.
Movie night
You know the movie you’ve been meaning to watch together, but life has just been too busy to squeeze it in? Make a night of it! Watching a movie at home allows for the inevitable kid commentary and bathroom breaks. If you don’t already have one in the wings, let the kids choose what movie to enjoy. Make an obscene amount of popcorn, pass around boxes of candy and squeeze everyone on the couch until the credits roll.
All of the above!
Start early enough, be thoughtful about your timing, and you can squeeze all three family night scenarios into one mega-amazing evening! Build some excitement by crafting simple heart-shaped invitations and handing them out the day before. It’s the little things that make a good time great.
No need to wait until Valentine’s Day to show your family some love. With a little extra thought and planning, it’s easy to have special time together — even if it’s just sitting around the dinner table each night. We love this quote by author Anthony Brandt:
“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.”
Feel like there’s not enough room in your life for the family time you want? It might be time to explore a new way to work. When you become a Scentsy Consultant, you can make extra income in your spare time, build incredible new friendships that feel like family and find something new to love.* Learn more at scentsy.com.
* For a look at a Scentsy Consultant’s average earnings, check out our Income Disclosure Statement.
