Valentine’s Day should be a day of love – loving those around you, loving yourself, loving the good in your life. It should be about highlighting LOVE – which can be shown in so many little ways. Kids in particular really enjoy Valentine’s Day. Hearts, crafts, baking, snuggles and more – that is what Valentine’s Day means to my kiddos. It is not about big expensive gifts, going over the top, and making a big show of it. It is, however, about quality time and little gestures.
Now that Valentine’s Day is over, I want to share my 15 Ways to Love Your Kids – EVERYDAY! You do not need to wait until Valentine’s Day to show a little extra love. This short list is full of ideas that you can pull from on a random day! If you have kiddos – try one of these ideas with them! If not – try it with someone you love (friend, family, fur baby, etc.). Give it a try this weekend – enjoy the smile on your own face and those around you! 🙂 Happy reading!
1. Put your phone down and be in the moment! It’s amazing the difference it makes when giving someone your full attention. Put that phone down, close that laptop, and fully engage for an entire meal, morning, afternoon…you pick! Just put it away and stay focused on those you love. It is a small way to show your love – and it will have a big impact!
2. Put a love note in their lunchbox. Something simple to say I love you and surprise them!
3. Have a puzzle (new or old) waiting when they get home from school. It’s a fun way to show them you want to spend time together doing something they love.
4. Plan an outing with each kid alone. Make it a point to plan a one on one outing with each parent for quality time. This does not need to be expensive. You can take your child to the park, have a picnic in the backyard, go on a hike, make a snowman, go get ice cream…pick something that is fun and works with the season and where you live. They’ll love the quality one on one time with each of you.
5. Make hot chocolate or chocolate milk – just because! It’s a fun and easy activity that you can do – and enjoy – together! Most kiddos like to stir things, so this is an activity that they can enjoy from start to finish.
6. Have a dance party! Put on music that is family friendly and get ready to wiggle and shake! Kids of all ages love to dance – so get up and move those feet!
7. Have the supplies ready and on the counter to bake something yummy together. Muffins, cookies, pizza, scones…there are so many options out there that are fun to make and eat with kids! It’s quality time together that will show the love and make every tummy happy!
8. Let them pick dinner. My kids love picking dinner – and it is usually spaghetti! Since I do all the meal planning and prepping, letting them pick what we’re going to eat is a treat that they love.
9. Have a pajama day where you all stay in PJs all day long! It’s a fun way to spend part of the weekend, it’s super cozy, and kids find it fun and funny!
10. Have your kids pick out some books during the day for a snuggle and reading session! It’s great to read before nap or bed, but what a treat to snuggle up and read in the middle of the day – for no reason at all!
11. Spell out “I LOVE YOU” in Legos for your kids to find. Have extra Legos handy so you can build something creative together.
12. Eat breakfast for dinner! Who doesn’t love pancakes, waffles, and other yummy breakfast food? Breakfast for dinner is an easy, silly, and fun way to show a little extra love.
13. Put a love note on your kids pillows to find before bed. A little note with hearts is easy to make and is a sweet gesture.
14. Have a tickle fight! Tickle time in our house is always fun! We’re gentle about it to keep things fun and lighthearted – but the kids love a good tickle and giggle!
15. Say I LOVE YOU for no reason at all. I make it a game and will say “guess what?” to my kids, and then tell them, “I love you!” 🙂 I also say “I love you” in lots of silly ways (whisper, loud, deep voice, squeaky voice, etc.) as sort of a game. They laugh and say it back in silly ways! It’s so much fun!
