Life as a LEO Wife

When our youngest kids were about three, we began a family Valentine’s Day dinner. It’s a tradition that I love, and one the kids love, at least for now. They are nine so I don’t know how much longer it’ll be fun for them. Hanging with the old people and all, ha!

I hope you will decide to begin your own family Valentine’s Day tradition this year. I can help you plan your very first one! I have created a free printable for your Valentine’s menu.

Your “Romantic” Dinner

First you need to plan your menu. You can make your children’s favorite meal or a special meal that you only make on special occasions. The first year I made a roast with potatoes, carrots, corn (the corn wasn’t in with the roast, that would be weird). It was the kids’ favorite at the time.

The following year I started making spaghetti and meatballs. It’s a romantic dinner, it worked for Lady and the Tramp! If you’re pressed for time you can buy frozen meatballs, throw them into a pot with marinara sauce, and voila. A romantic meal with a three minute prep time! I suggest getting a frozen garlic bread to bake while your meatballs are heating. If you go with the meatballs, download my free printable below and put it in a frame as part of your decor.

I like to bake my own meatballs. They taste fresh, and you can reduce the fat content in the oven. I like this recipe from Yummy Healthy Easy. It’s really simple, and it doesn’t take as long as you’d think. I still use the frozen garlic bread though. There are many recipes for garlic bread on Pinterest if you want to make your own. The ones I have seen are made in a frying pan.

Prepare the Dining Room

I decorate for Valentine’s Day every year. The whole house. I love changing out the decor in my home, so it never gets boring. However, on Valentine’s Day itself, we move more of the decorations into the dining room to decorate the room all extra.

Valentine’s Day is on Sunday this year. With the kids having to go to school the next day, you might want to get a jump on decorating. You could even make a day of it Saturday. If you don’t have any V-day decorations you and your family might like to DIY some to add to your collection.

Some DIY Valentine’s decorations for your family Valentine’s Day dinner.

My sweater wreath would be great for you to make. You can use it from November through March by changing the items on the wreath. This tutorial explains how to make the wreath and the February items on it. A Valentine’s Day tree is a fun thing for you to make. Your family can write things they love and are thankful for on the hearts to put on it. Here are two heart wreaths you can make in five minutes for only $4! When you read to the end of the post there are more DIY tutorials to decorate you abode.

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Decorate with the Kids

One thing that makes this family Valentine’s Day dinner, is the time you spend and do things together as a family. Gather the kids and decorate the room with together. My kids love doing this. It doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect. Let them hang things where they want. Make it fun and exciting so they look forward to it year after year.

Set the table

Go all out! Break out your best china and crystal glasses. If you kids are too little to hold your crystal, take them to pick out a Valentine’s day cup, or buy a few wine glasses from Dollar Tree. It will make them feel ten feet tall!

For our wedding china, I chose a Mikasa set with infinity symbols and hearts. What could be more perfect for a family Valentine’s Day dinner? Target also has a cutlery set with inlaid hearts that match my china perfectly. They were around $30 for a six piece set if you want to pick some up. One year I laid out heart table mats, but they disappeared. As my Poppa would say, “The gray ghost got them.”

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Time for the Main Event

Make your plates and sit down at the dining room table to eat your family Valentine’s Day dinner. If you’re like most families, sometimes we are so busy that you don’t always have time to sit down at the table and eat a meal together. Use this tradition to make sure you get to do it at some point.

Say a prayer as a family, and thank God for all of the blessings He pours out on you every day. It’s important that your children hear you talk to the Lord. We are their examples, and they will do as we do.

While eating, go around the table and name some of the things they love about their lives and each other. Make it fun. Tell some jokes, languish over the meal as long as you can. They’re only little once.

Make little booklets out of folded paper and staple them along the edges. Give one to each person. As your finish dinner, pass them around the table and write what you love about the person in their book. It’s so sweet to look back through the years as your family grows, and see what they loved the most at each stage of their life. Hopefully I will get a chance to make a free printable book, so sign up with your email to be notified about new posts.

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Cleaning Up

This is Valentine’s Day of course, so you must get some couple time in! After all, the family thrives on your love for one another. Don’t put off being intentional in your marriage. Help one another clean the kitchen so that you get done in half the time.

Put the kids to bed, it is a school day in the morning. Use this time to tell each other what you love most about them and what you love most about your family life. Light some candles, turn on some music while you reminisce about your love and life together. What you do from here is all you! Just make sure you say how much you love the other.

I hope you have enjoyed this post. If you have any other ideas, please let us know by posting in the comment section below. Show us pictures of your family Valentine’s Day dinner!

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