Isn't Valentine's Day such a Hallmark Holiday?! That being said, it is still a fun day to spoil your loved ones and remind them how much you love them! Collin and I usually say that we aren't going to get gifts for each other, but one of us always ends up getting the other one just a little something. Last year I made Collin a chocolate chip cookie cake with a pink M&M heart in the middle of it. Now that Blake is a toddler, she somewhat understands gifts and she knows that we love her. In fact, while she can't say I love you too, when we tell her that we love her, she usually blows us kisses. It's the sweetest!

I thought that I would put together a list of ideas of both gifts and fun activities that you can do as a family that are a little different than the normal flowers or candy.

Inspire love with door frame adornments 

Cut out several paper hearts out of pink and red construction paper and write down one thing you love about each person in your family. Then decorate each person's bedroom door with those hearts so that they can see how much they are loved.

Get a warm blanket and snuggle up with these love filled books!

Books! We love getting themed books for Blake for holidays. Here are some of our favorite children’s books about love:

Llama Llama I Love You - The Llama Llama series is one of our favorites! Did you hear that they are making this into a TV show. We are excited to see it!

Sesame Street’s My Fuzzy Valentine - We’ve told you how much Blake loves Elmo so this one obviously has to make our list!! 

Happy Valentines Day Mouse - Collin and I both loved the If You Give A Mouse A Cookie book when we were growing up. We love that they made some holiday themed books with the same mouse.

If your kids are a little bit older, check out:

Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink - This book is hilarious and it even has a lesson on kindness and forgiving.

 Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime - Junie B. was one of my favorites when I was in grade school and I remember loving this Valentine's Day themed book.

If your husband/wife like reading too, here are a few of our favorite “grown up” books about love:

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers - This is my number-one-all-time-favorite book! It tells the story of Hosea and the ultimate love story between God and His people. Seriously. Start reading this book and you won't be able to put it down!

Crazy Love by Francis Chan - Another great book about God’s love for us. His love is the perfect demonstration of how we should love our spouse and kids. 

Gary Chapman’s Love Language books - We read the original together before we got married, and my parents got us the couple’s devotional for our wedding. Both are great in learning about how to better love your spouse.

Sit down and get your creative juices flowing with a craft/present for others!

Do a craft with your kiddos! Make valentine cards for their grandparents out of their footprints. Or make heart shaped sugar cookies and have the kids help decorate them. The options here are endless. But at the end of the day, your kids will have the memory of getting messy in the kitchen with crafts or baking and this is much better than adding another stuffed animal to their ever growing collection.

No matter what you choose to do, make sure to let your family know they are loved in one way or another! Let us know in the comments  how you are celebrating Valentine’s Day with your kids! 

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