I've been trying to start family traditions with DD (20 months) particularly when it comes to holidays. I want to do some kind of fun dinner/activity on Valentine's Day as a family but need some inspiration (DH and I will probably do a date night later on the weekend).
It is also a week night and we both work so I need some ideas with minimal prep or can be done the night before so we can celebrate Valentine's Day all together after work/daycare.
Help?
Re: Valentine's Day Traditions
I like the idea of making cookies together as a family. It's nice and low key with pretty much no prep.
DH and I both get the kids a little something for valentines day. DH usually picks up helium balloons on the way home from work to give to the kids. I always make a special valentines dinner.
I cannot wait until I can do the special valentines mystery dinner like I have seen on-line. Everyone gets a menu with various valentines names and they pick their courses from the options on the menu (depending on what they pick they could end up with dessert for first course, no silverware, spaghetti with only a spoon, etc.)
This may be a little much, BUT
pasta dough is really easy to make - it's just egg and flour (Pour flour into a mound, make a well in the middle and crack the egg in and mix). Add a little beet juice and you can make "pink pasta" together. I recommend ravioli since it doesn't require any special tools - have your daughter help roll the dough out into two sheets with a rolling pin, dot one sheet with filling (for ease you can just use ricotta) and put the other sheet on top. Then you can cut them into squares and press down the edges or use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out heart ravioli.
I plan to do a "heart attack" when my son is older.
https://pinterest.com/pin/233835405624359887/
I think you could easily make this interactive, as they grow, asking the child to identify things they love about the other family members.
I love this.
We do small treats too. This year I think it's a package of her favorite dried fruit and the Elmo Shares Love video. A book too. I thought it'd be cute to start a little mini DVD and book collection showing whatever they were into at the time.
As for dinner we've been doing a heart shaped take and bake pizza in recent years. It's easy and fun.
I pinned this, too! I can't wait to do it.
When I was younger, my mom started a tradition where she used those little Valentine's cards and have each of us kids would go on a scavenger hunt. At the end of the hunt, we got a special prize. I still remember what I got for that first scanger hunt. I was 8 and got a BabySitter's club book.
I plan on keeping up the tradition except my husband has a hunt too. Last year DD was 3 and she went on one for the first time. She loved it.
For some reason, I feel the need to say that none of those pinners are me. I just googled "heart attack pinterest" and linked the first page that came up.
Do you hear that crazy stalkers and lurkers? None of those people are me