Help Your Family Share the Love this Valentine’s - Host a Lotsa-Love Fest
Holiday Ideas, Free Downloads, Family Fun Ideas, Traditions February 2nd, 2008
You guys have probably figured out by now that I love the holidays…even the little ones. They give me a chance to break up the everyday routine and inject a little fun into our family life. This Valentine’s Day I decided to try a new family tradition…we’re calling it our Lotsa-Love Fest.
I found the orginal idea on Family Fun’s website in their Valentine’s Traditions section. In the post, Teresa J talks about setting up a “Secret Post Office” in their house so her family can send each other anonymous messages throughout the month of February. I thought it was a cute idea and a great way to encourage my family to spread the love in the two weeks before the big day.
In our version, I had the kids color and decorate their own Lotsa-Love envelopes. I made one for Mom & Dad as well and then we posted them on the wall in the kitchen. I also printed some simple fill-in-the-blank valentine messages to make creating a lotsa-love message a little easier. You can find the free file download below. I keep the notes and a stash of crayons in a heart-shaped basket on the kitchen table for easy envelope access. Over the course of the next two weeks, we’ll spreading the love by leaving messages, pictures and treats in each other’s envelopes. Each morning at breakfast we’ll check our envelopes and show off our new mail. To kick off our festivities tonight, I wrote a special message for each of my kids and added a small stuffed animal (from the dollar spot at Target) to their envelopes.
It’s not much…just a simple and inexpensive way to jazz up these chilly winter days and help my family show a little extra love this Valentine season. If you’d like to check out lots of other great Valentines traditions I recommend you check out Family Fun’s website. I found several clever ideas that I plan to try this year. Just thought I’d pass it on.
If you’ve got a Valentine tradition that your family loves I hope you’ll post it for the rest of us in the comments area for the rest of us to enjoy. Thanks.
| Free Download: | Family_Valentine_Notes.pdf |
|---|
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
That’s so cute! I love Valentine’s because I love to be extra sappy. I also don’t think that Valentine’s should be an extra big gift giving holiday. I have some cute metal mailboxes that I picked up for my kids that I planned on putting out closer to Valentines. Now, I think I will set up the secret post and get them out now. Thanks for the idea!
February 4th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Thanks for the idea! This sounds like a cute way to spruce up my classroom postcard system for the holiday! I love the “prompt” cards too!
February 4th, 2008 at 10:40 am
We always used to have a candelight dinner on Valentine’s Day. It was so fun because we got to decorate the table (valentine streamers, red placemats, napkins, other Valentine’s decorations, etc.). We had heart shaped fruit punch ice-cubes in tall Champaign glasses, served with sprite. Seriously one of my best memories from childhood (we did it until high-school/jr. high age, when we all got busy).
We also left notes to each to other, we put ours on a “tree” of sorts, using small heart shaped note cards. I still have some in my memory box.
As big kids we got little Valentine gifts in the morning when we woke up for seminary.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
My mom would prepare little goodie baskets (usually a folded doilie (sp?) filled with candy) for each of us. Valentine’s night she would leave them on the doorstep (or get dad to do it), ring the bell and run. I still remember how fun it was to sit around that evening waiting for the doorbell to ring. It was such a simple thing, but a fun and inexpensive way for mom to show she cared.
And because my husband quickly learned about the family tradition he now carries it on. Very fun.