11 Crazy Simple Family Valentine’s Day Ideas to Feel the Love
Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples!
It’s the perfect excuse to sprinkle a little extra love and joy into your family’s day! But as a busy mom like me, you’re probably wondering how to make the day special without adding more stress to your already packed schedule. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! In this post, I’m sharing 11 super simple and fun family Valentine’s Day ideas that are easy to pull off and guaranteed to bring smiles to everyone’s faces. Because celebrating love should feel joyful, not overwhelming!
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11 Fun and Easy Family Valentine’s Day Ideas
I’m sure you’re short on time, energy, or both, so feel free to jump around to whichever family Valentine’s Day ideas resonate with you the most. They’re all fun, meaningful, and won’t add extra stress to your already packed schedule, so I know you’ll find one or two that you want to try this year!
1. Set up family mailboxes.
A sweet family Valentine’s Day tradition that I’m going to start this year is a family valentines mailbox. This is similar to the thankful jar idea that I shared for Thanksgiving. My kids are still young at almost 7 and 3, so I’m just going to set up one mailbox, but if you have older kids you can even have one mailbox for each family member. I decorated a mason jar in a cute Valentines theme.
I’m going to have all the supplies set up – slips of paper, markers, crayons – so we all remember to make valentines for each other in the days leading up to the holiday. Then on Valentine’s Day, we’ll open up the mailbox and read each other’s valentines. My older daughter especially loved participating in our thankful jar so I’m sure that this mailbox is a family Valentine’s Day activity that we’ll want to keep up with each year!
2. Have a kindness jar.
Older kids may get more out of a kindness jar than family valentines mailbox. Grab another mason jar and fill it up with slips of paper with easy acts of kindness written on them. Decide how far in advance of Valentine’s Day you want to start this activity. You could start it February 1st, February 7th, or any day you’d like! Each day everyone in the family can choose a slip of paper and perform that act of kindness.
If you need some ideas, some easy acts of kindness for kids are:
- Give someone a compliment.
- Say thank you to your teacher.
- Help Mom or Dad with a chore.
- Ask someone new to play with you.
- Make a card or picture for someone.
- Choose a toy to donate.
- Make someone laugh.
- Let someone go ahead of you in line.
- Tell someone why they are special to you.
- Smile at everyone you see.
3. Make heart post-it notes.
One fun family Valentine’s Day tradition is to write what you love each other on heart post-it notes! Cut your own hearts out of paper or buy ready-made heart post-its. If you want to surprise your children you can decorate their bedroom doors with the post-it’s after they go to sleep the night before Valentine’s Day. If you’d like your kids to be involved in writing on the hearts, you could also just have a designated wall that your family passes by frequently and keep adding hearts to the wall leading up to Valentine’s Day. This activity is so easy and won’t take up much time at all but will bring lots of love and gratitude to your family!
4. Make coupon books for each other.
A really sweet family Valentine’s Day activity is to make coupon books for each other. The coupon books can even be gifts that you give each other on the holiday. You just need some slips of paper and something to write with.
Some sweet coupon ideas that can be used for kids or parents are:
- Do a chore.
- Give a hug.
- Family game night.
- Date with Mommy or Daddy.
- No chores today.
- Breakfast in bed.
- Clean up toys.
- Make ice cream sundaes.
- Stay up extra 30 minutes.
- Extra book at bedtime.
5. Set up a scavenger hunt.
Similar to an Easter egg hunt, another fun family Valentine’s Day activity is to have a scavenger hunt. You can hide paper hearts or different Valentine’s Day candies and then send your kids on a hunt to find them!
6. Have a red day.
A festive family Valentine’s Day tradition is to have a red day! Incorporate the color red in as much as you can, such as in your outfits, decorations, foods you eat, and gifts you give each other. Need some inspiration?
- Clothing: Matching family red pajamas
- Decorations: Red Valentine’s Day decorations
- Foods: tomatoes, apples, red peppers, cranberries, marinara sauce, red velvet cake
- Gifts: red blanket, red roses, red box of chocolates
7. Eat heart-shaped food.
Another festive family Valentine’s Day tradition is to eat heart-shaped food. Most pizzerias sell heart-shaped pizza on Valentine’s Day, but you can also make your own at home as a family. Some other options are Eat Your Heart Out Pasta, Cuoricini cookies, and chocolates.
8. Dress up.
Whether you’re going out to dinner as a family or staying home, put on your best clothes and dress up! My girls love when they get to wear pretty dresses! You can even make a day of it by doing each other’s nails and hair. Make dinner at home feel even more formal by setting up candles too!
9. Have a yes day.
Has your family ever had a “yes day“? If not, Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to try one! If you’re not familiar, a “yes day” is a day where the children get to choose what to do the whole day, within reason of course! As moms, we’re used to saying “no” a lot, but on a “yes day”, we say “yes”! For Valentine’s Day, it could be fun to have your children take turns suggesting activities for the day.
Some great “yes day” ideas for Valentine’s Day are:
- Bake cookies or cupcakes together.
- Have a Valentine’s Day movie marathon.
- Make homemade pizza.
- Have a family dance party.
- Create a Valentine’s Day-themed art project.
10. Play games together.
A fun (and possibly competitive!) family Valentine’s Day activity is to have a family game night. Play your favorite board games or stock up on some games that are Valentine’s Day-themed, such as:
11. Read together.
I love reading holiday books with my girls! Cuddle up with your family and read together on Valentine’s Day. Some of my family’s favorite Valentine’s Day books are:
- A Charlie Brown Valentine by Charles M. Schulz
- The Sound of My Heart by Emily Bannister
- Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff
- Love by Eric Carle
- Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day is Cool by James Dean
- My Fuzzy Valentine by Naomi Kleinberg
Valentine’s Day is for families too!
With these simple and fun ideas, you can create lasting memories and show your family just how much they mean to you. So, pick an idea (or two), embrace the chaos, and remember that the little moments of togetherness are what truly matter.
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