It’s that time once again, Single Awareness Day, known to most people as Valentine’s Day. If you are single, you are very aware of this day. Even at work today when I called a client he wished me a Happy Valentine’s Day before we got off the phone. Ahhh, love is in the air.
Except at my house, I am happily single but this is still a fun holiday that we can share with our kids. I think it’s important to establish traditions that your children will remember and will give them a sense of home no matter where they are.
When you are a single parent it’s fun to come up with little activities to do with your children, just don’t forget to make sure that whatever you decide, you could fit a spouse or significant other into your plans. In other words, don’t make it a Valentine tradition to take your little man out to dinner, just the two of you, if you don’t plan to continue it should you get married.
Every child in school will exchange Valentines so get creative with those little mailboxes. Just a quick search online and you will have more ideas than you know what to do with. This is a fun activity to start at the beginning of the month and work on together. You can also make their Valentines although most kids don’t want to be the only first grader without Spongebob Valentines. Do hand make Valentines for each other. Explain to your children how a handmade card can say things that just can’t be found in one you buy in the store and how much more it means to the recipient to receive something someone took the time to make.
Decorate your home with lots and lots of hearts. You can take this one step farther and have everyone write something they love about another person on the front of the heart. It can be a little difficult to get this started to give each child one heart for every family member, they can add more later but should do at least one for every person in their family. When Valentine’s is over save these in a scrapbook and write the year on the back, your own little time capsule of family love.
Another fun thing is to rent a kid appropriate romantic comedy and have a picnic on the family room floor. Have everyone make their favorite finger food and settle in for a night of laughs. The first few years you may get corn dogs and popcorn but as the kids get older they will branch out and may surprise you with their choice of foods. Instead of purchasing boxes of candy you can bake and decorate cupcakes and have them for dessert.
Anything that you do as a family, for each other is perfect for Valentine’s Day. Hope your day is filled with lots of hugs from everyone you love!