Making Valentine’s Day a Family Affair!

I have more great Valentine’s Day idea’s from Mommy Chung, she shares Valentine’s Day ideas for the entire family!!

Valentine’s Day is a special day to focus on those you love.  It is a perfect opportunity to teach kids about doing acts of kindness for others.  Mommy Chung, parenting expert and co-founder of Kinsights.com, has compiled a list of the top 5 ways Kinsights families teach their kids about love through activities.

Eat with love.  Make a Valentine’s dinner together using only foods that are red in color (before and/or after cooking). For example, for starters make a beet salad, red carrot salad, or tomato salad; for main dishes make lobster, steak, or red snapper fish; for dessert make strawberries, raspberry fruit salad, cherry pie, or raspberry sorbet. Drinks can include champagne with a dash of cranberry juice or wine for mom and dad, substitute sprite with grenadine or cranberry juice for the kids. Let the kids help chop, cook and decorate the table.  Don’t forget to include kid friendly foods like red velvet cupcakes.

Family movie date night.   After enjoying your special Valentine’s Day family dinner, why not end your night with a romantic family movie!  Fortunately, there are many romantic movies that kids love such as Beauty and The Beast, Anastasia, Be My Valentine Charlie Brown, Cinderella, High School Musicalm, and many more.  So grab some popcorn and cuddle up!

Sharing your love.  Show your kids what love is truly all about by sharing it and volunteering together at a local food shelf, dog shelter or nursing home.  The nursing home residents will love seeing the bright, happy young faces.  Ahead of time, make special valentines to hand out.

Secret valentine exchange. Instead of a “Secret Santa” try a secret valentine exchange with small handmade gifts and candy.  Ask each family member to pick a name.  The gifts must all be Valentine’s Day themed.  This will give you and your kids an opportunity to be crafty and creative.  Think outside of the box to come up with the perfect gift for your valentine (think baking heart shaped cookies, red and pink hand made bracelets, V-day photo frames, etc.).  Every member of the family will love having their very own special valentine!

Sweet treats scavenger hunt. A fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the kids is through a scavenger hunt.  Provide them with a map or leave clues around the house that lead to yummy valentine’s treats and cards.  If you have more than one child, try giving your kids different maps for different surprises to keep it interesting, competitive and fun.

Tree of love.  Trees aren’t just for Christmas anymore.  Pick up an artificial Christmas tree (you should be able to find one on clearance), spray it pink (or buy a white one) and decorate it as a family with handmade valentines, pink and red paper hearts, pink lights, and family photos.  Creating the “ornaments” or love will ensure an afternoon of fun!

Valentine’s Day is a special time to teach kids important lessons about loving and serving others.  Modeling love through shared activities has a profound impact on kids and it is so easy to do.  Join the families in the Kinsights community and create meaningful family traditions to teach your kids about love.

About Mommy Chung
Parenting Expert, mom-of-one and Kinsights Co-Founder Jennifer Chung knows that being a parent can often feel like a confusing and isolating experience, especially for first-time parents or parents of a child with a medical condition. She also knows that parents often get the most useful advice from each other, and Kinsights was developed to make that process easier by connecting you with parents who have been in your shoes before and who could provide relevant advice. Kinsights also helps parents organize their child’s health information, as they created a user-friendly interface that any parent could use to create a beautifully charted, secure online personal health record. For more information on Kinsights, please visit their website, like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.