You know the moments you vividly remember from childhood? I can’t remember what I ate for dinner Monday, but I remember my mom reading me Swan Lake each Sunday after church in bed. I remember biking to Braum’s with my dad for ice cream. I remember being a littttle upset my sister was born on pajama day in elementary school. ha! I mean, I wanted to wear pajamas to school, why couldn’t she have come the next day?! 😉 And I remember how special my mom made each holiday. Even as an adult, I crave holidays with my mama because everything from her recipes to the way she wraps a present feels so comforting.

She told me she was pregnant with my sister through a gift in my Easter basket one year. She made the best homemade Valentine Cards for my classmates. After I graduated college, she would celebrate my birthday by doing one special thing a day the week of. She would send my favorite lunch to the office I worked at. She would deliver flowers to my apartment. etc. My mom is an Enneagram 2 and gets more joy in life out of celebrating others than anyone I know.

Memory lane aside, it is a huge reason I relish in doing the same for my family. Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays and today, I wanted to share a fun way you can do a countdown with your little ones for the month of February. You don’t have to go over-the-top to make it special, but I think this little tradition allows the “love month” to feel really spread out. It’s also a fabulous way to teach kindness to others.

Supplies

To-Do

1. First task, head to Target or Walmart and get a plain white box. I got this white box from Target in the Valentine’s section. I grabbed a few stickers, but we had all the paint and glitter at home. While you are there, grab some items from the dollar section, window clings, whatever inexpensive things you know they’ll get giddy over. Between what was already in my gift closet and the dollar section, I think I spent $8 on the contents inside.
2. When you get home, allow your little ones to decorate the box. We made it really special after her nap. We played fun music, I let her have some lemonade, and we painted, added glitter, and went to town crafting.
3. Then, cut out some hearts on paper and add in acts of kindness. We did about 4 or 5. Depending on how many acts of kindness you do, is how many treats you’ll add. So with 4 or 5 acts of kindness, you just need 9 or 10 treats to make it to Valentine’s Day. You could honestly skip the treats altogether if you have an older child that understands acts of kindness more. For Maxi’s age, I did things like “Bring Daddy a coffee to work.” “Make cookies for neighbors.” “Surprise Gigi with gluten-free treats.” The experiences are such a gift to children, and if I weren’t exhausted and pregnant I would have done more. But this mama is TIRED and some days she needs Play-Doh to be the treat. 😉 ha!
4. Starting February 1st {or whenever you choose!} allow them to select one item a day. You can use the opportunity to teach thankfulness {for a treat} or giving {for an act of kindness}. You can also try an e scooter rental houston and visit an indoor park together.

I’m doing this instead of a Valentine’s Basket this year because I think it will be a special way to spread the prizes out and exhibit the traits of love this month. How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day with your family?

Don’t miss last year’s blog post for more ideas on Valentine’s Day with your little one!