Every year before we had kids, my husband and I would get dressed up for Valentine's Day, give each other gifts, and either go to dinner or make dinner together.
Since having our children, Valentine’s Day has been spent with our kids and celebrating our love for them.
Spending quality time with our children really makes the day so special.
We love to buy our children gifts and it's a great opportunity to find fun activities to do with the whole family.
My husband and I still celebrate Valentine’s Day together, just the two of us, on a different day of course.
It’s also much easier to find a babysitter on a day other than Valentine’s Day, whether we use family members or not.
Check out some of the fun family Valentine's Day ideas you can experience with your children.
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Valentine's Day Gift Ideas
I’m not saying to spend a fortune, but a nice small gift is so exciting for kids. My parents would buy me a heart box of chocolates every single year and it was their simple way of telling me they love me.
1. Favorite Candy
If you’re in my house, you’ll probably hear one of my kids ask for gummies, or fruit snacks as they’re more commonly known. Valentine’s Day would be a great time to stock up on those favorite candies your kids are always asking for. Run on out and grab some of those favorite sweet treats for Valentine's Day like candy hearts, chocolate heart boxes, and truffles.
2. Favorite Snack
If you’re trying to limit the amount of candy your kids consume, you could go with a snack instead. You can get mini bags of so many different snacks. Our family favorites are Goldfish, Cheez-it, Veggie Sticks, Pirate Booty, and Applesauce. If you are looking for something more Valentine's Day themed, you could pick up pink milk, pink ice cream, red velvet cake, or anything red or pink.
3. Small Toy
Small toys are a great option for toddlers and young children. Fidget toys, coloring books, crayons, art supplies, puzzles, and their favorite shows themed toys can make for some of the best Valentine’s Day presents for school-aged children. Small gifts can be given in a meaningful way and you could start a new family tradition if you want to move away from giving food as gifts. Pop on over to Dollar Tree or check out the small toys I listed below if you're looking for something inexpensive.
4. Stuffed Animal
Our children love stuffed animals, so it’s always exciting when they get a new one. Most stuffed animals are inexpensive and there’s some very cute ones out there. They can get overwhelming when you get too many though, so we like to use this as a wonderful opportunity to donate bags of gently used stuffed animals our kids no longer want to children’s hospitals and other great organizations.
5. Flowers
I love a fresh vase of flowers on the table to enjoy for a few weeks and my daughter does as well. If your little one wants flowers like mom, or dad, a beautiful bouquet could be the perfect gift for them. It's a fun way to include your little one in the festivities and show them how much you love them on this day of love.
6. Potted Plants
I also love a beautiful plant to help grow so I can transfer it to the garden someday. Maybe you have a child who loves to help you garden. If so, their very own plant could be a great option for them. Once Spring arrives, you could plan a special day to transfer the plant to the garden together. My mom still has my rose bush we planted in her garden when I was a kid.
7. New Outfit for the Day
A unique idea is to get your child a new outfit that goes with the activity you’ll be doing that day. Maybe you’re taking a painting class, so you bought them a smock, or maybe you’re going out to a fancy restaurant, so you bought them new dress clothes. This special time together is something they will cherish forever. Just make sure to choose things your child would love and not just you.
8. Homemade Valentines Card
I absolutely love receiving homemade cards, love notes, and gifts from my children for all special occasions. Handmade cards and gifts are my favorite gifts, and I will treasure them forever. You could make your child their very own homemade card or little love note from you that could be displayed where they want. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but just something from the heart, maybe even heart shape. So pull out the construction paper and create some special memories your children will remember forever.
9. Scavenger Hunt
This may seem like an activity, but I consider this a gift because I would include a present at the end of the hunt. A scavenger hunt could include a fun Valentine's Day twist and include the entire family. You can find many creative ideas or simple ideas to add to your scavenger hunt that would be fun for kids. It could be entirely at home or include fun things that would require you to leave home. Just make sure to end out the scavenger hunt with something awesome.
10. An Experience
What kid doesn’t want to go do something fun with their parents. Toys and gifts are always nice, but they’ll remember the experiences you give them. Surprise them with a fun day full of adventures that they’ll be sure to talk about for weeks and months after. I’ve added some great activities to do with your kids below.
Fun Valentine's Day Activities
You don’t have to stay in with your kids all evening. Take them out to celebrate the day together with some of these great fun ideas. They will love going on adventures with you and the rest of your family.
1. Favorite Restaurant
It’s a special treat for many kids to go out to a restaurant. After the pandemic, a lot of families stopped going out as much because of the possible exposure risk. Now with the constant price increases over the last year, it’s getting more expensive to buy food and go out to eat, so families are opting to stay home to eat at the dinner table. Taking your children out to their favorite restaurant is the perfect opportunity when you're looking for fun Valentine’s Day ideas.
2. Trampoline Park
If you have a trampoline park near you, it's the perfect way to spend time out with your kids. These parks are great for kids of all ages and adults can also have fun jumping. My husband and I recently took our daughter, and she had a blast. She even asked to have her birthday party there, which is totally a great idea.
3. Play Place
You don’t hear about Chuck E. Cheese or Billy Beez as much anymore, but they are still around. You can find many of these types of play places all over that are great for kids to play and adults who are young at heart. If you want to spend the day playing arcade games, video games, and climbing through tunnels, this could be a great option to have a perfect time together as a family.
4. Shopping
Take your children shopping to pick out their own presents or enjoy walking around the mall with them. Set a price limit and take your children to the store or mall and have a great day letting them lead you around to their favorite places. You could even do this for everyone in the family. Enjoy walking around the store or mall together and going into stores you all love. Bonus points if the mall you go to has chocolate stores with free samples.
5. Children’s Museum
Our children have a membership to our local children’s museum. We can spend as much time as we’d like there and sometimes it’s hard to get our son to leave. There are many things to teach your kids in museums that you can't learn from a book or a tablet. Most of the time they don't realize they're learning, and they love the time they get to spend playing.
6. Zoo / Animal Park
If it is a snowy and cold winter where you live, there may not be many animals out to see or animal parks open right now. Some animal parks do have animals to see indoors, or you could sign up for animal encounters where you can get up close and personal with the animals. If you cannot find this locally, another option is the aquarium if you have children who love fish.
7. Playground
Another warm weather activity is the playground. Our playgrounds close in the winter, but you could go if you have higher temperatures in your area. It’s a great way to get the kids fresh air and still have a chance to play together in an inexpensive way. There's no rule that says you must express love by spending tons of money.
8. Movie Theater
The movie theater can be fun for older kids who can sit still for around 2 hours. Our daughter enjoys going to the movies, but our son is still too young to sit still. There are almost always children’s movies out in theaters to choose from. If something looks good and you think your children would be interested, the movie theater could be a nice choice.
9. Baking Together
If you're interested in staying in, you could gather up your supplies ahead of time and plan a day of baking together. If you have some heart-shaped cookie cutters, you could start the morning off with a Valentine's Day breakfast of heart-shaped pancakes and end the day with your favorite sugar cookie recipe by baking some heart-shaped sugar cookies. Don't forget to top your cookies with some pink frosting and pink sprinkles to really make them festive.
10. Valentine's Day Family Movie Night
End out your awesome Valentine's Day with a family movie night watching movies the whole family would love. This can be a great option if you live in an area with winter storms and hazardous road conditions that keep you from leaving the house. It's an easy Valentine's Day activity that the entire family can enjoy together.
Whether you get your children a gift or choose to spend the day on an adventure with them, including your children on Valentine’s Day can be so special.
I love giving my children a special Valentine’s Day just as much as my husband.
You don't have to celebrate Valentines Day on the actual day either, if you show them, you love and care for them.
My husband and I will still get a sitter one night and celebrate Valentine’s Day together as a couple.
Do you like to celebrate your children on Valentine’s Day?
What kinds of Valentine’s Day gifts do you like to get them?
Share with us in the comments below.
Happy Valentine's Day!
