Valentine's Day AT HOME

I may be one of the only single girls who loves Valentine's Day and that's fine with me :) This year, like so many other things, our celebrations will look VERY different. There won't be parties with food and there may not even be the passing of actual valentines. Maybe we'll send virtual valentines?

In many states, restaurants are still shut down for dine-in or it's too cold to go eat outdoors, so date nights for couples on Valentine's Day seem out of reach too. We have to get creative!

Valentine's Day AT HOME For Your Kids
There are plenty of fun ways to make Valentine's Day a treat for your kids if you can't have your normal celebrations. Some require a bit of advanced planning, which is why I'm posting this now :)

• Make a special breakfast. Again, things are different depending on where you are in the country, but if your kids are doing school at home, make them something fun for breakfast! (See this post for a few ideas) Incorporate red, pink, and white into it if you can. Maybe strawberries and vanilla yogurt and the fun Valentine doughnuts make places make!
• Decorate your house. Put up hearts and streamers. Use red/pink/white napkins and dishes for your meals that day. Put out some candy for a treat.
• Activities. Some of your decorations could be hearts where your kids write notes to the other people in your house telling them things they love about them.  Get books from the library or look up information on St. Valentine. His story is really inspiring and amazing! If your kids are older, bake something together for an after-dinner treat. (I love this brownie recipe!) If they are younger, print out some coloring pages or do a craft that is Valentine-themed.
  

So what do we do about the valentine exchanges that our kids are missing? There are a couple fun ways to still participate. One is to mail your cards. Get a few other families to participate and then mail valentines to them. Kids love to get mail! Another idea is to set up a "drive-by" valentine drop in sort of a progressive dinner style. Again, coordinate with a group of friends, but you could set out a box or container and people could come by to drop off valentines and you would then drive around delivering valentines. (Bonus: it gets you out of the house for a little while!)

At the very least, have your kids make valentine's cards for family who you haven't seen. Maybe grandma is in a nursing home and hasn't seen anyone in months. She'd love to get a card. People love happy mail and none more than right now.

What would you add for a fun, at-home Valentine's Day for kids?

Here's a fun valentine I made a few years back for some of my very closest friends. The sky is the limit when it comes to homemade valentines!

Valentine's Day AT HOME For Adults
Maybe the date night out can't happen but that doesn't mean you can't have a date night in! If you have family around, ask them if they wouldn't mind taking your kids for the evening. If that's not possible, then set the kids up with a movie (or put them to bed a little early) and enjoy time together!

I know the charcuterie board is kind of cliche, but I'm guessing it isn't something you do very often so indulge! Get some nice cheeses, meats, and some quality chocolate (I'm thinking Ghiradelli myself). Don't forget your beverage! Get something you like but don't have often. Maybe that's wine or champagne or maybe it's the ingredients to make a Shirley Temple! 

Light candles and turn on the mood lighting. If you have a fireplace, get it going. Pick out some nice background music (assuming you're not watching a movie) and relax. If just sitting and enjoying the peace is not your thing, here are some ideas of things to do:

• watch a movie or show
• do a puzzle
• play a game (you know, an adult game that has little pieces and strategy and your kids just aren't old enough to play)
• slow dance
• dream and make plans about the future

What other things are on your "must haves" for a great at-home date night?