We’ve always had a family dinner centered around the kids on actual Valentine’s Day. After all, they are my loves as well! Not to mention, then we don’t have to deal with the crazy crowded restaurants. Don’t worry, my husband and I still celebrate each other; we just make arrangements for another evening.

I love decorating the dinner table with things I know my kids will enjoy. They’re not interested in fancy, schmancy things…they just want to have fun! So that’s exactly what we do. I keep it simple and inexpensive. I use paper goods for easy clean up and make hearts out of EVERYTHING! All items you see pictured were either things I already had on hand or I purchased at my local dollar store or in Target’s Dollar Spot.

I use a white, disposable table cloth and set out markers so everyone can write down things they love. Since it can be wiped down, we like to have this out starting February 1st, then we look over all the responses during our special dinner. This is such a fun activity. It’s so cute to see the things that get written down and the kids think it’s pretty neat that they can write on the table. I also keep a stack of Valentine cards on the table so at any time someone can stop to write a love note. I usually get a few happy notes written by my sweet kiddos on my pillow each night.

I sprinkle the table with heart and lip shaped candies, buy fresh flowers and have a decorative box filled with fun goodies for each child. I love to watch the expressions on their faces when they see the decorated table all colorful and festive. They get so giddy and know that this dinner is going to be a bit more special than most.

Although there have been slight variations over the years, our menu generally consists of the same few things. I bought an ice cube tray that makes heart shaped ice forever ago at Ikea, and I use it every year. I fill it with some sort of red juice, then plop the hearts into Sprite. When my kids were younger, I would buy heart shaped pasta (usually found in specialty stores or online) and top it with Alfredo sauce. But as they’ve gotten older, they like getting more involved, so now we make heart shaped pizzas. We use cookie cutters to cut heart shapes into dough then they get to top it with whatever their little hearts desire…right down to heart shaped pepperoni. For dessert we either do heart shaped sugar cookies that the kids decorate themselves (and pass out to neighbors), chocolate cupcakes that the kids decorate or fondue which is always fun because it’s not something we do often.
Whatever is on the table, whether it be food or decorations, the most important thing is always what’s sitting around it. I love doing these little things that help our family celebrate life. We really don’t have to put a lot of time and money into it. I truly didn’t in this instance, but I do put a lot of heart (literally & figuratively). It’s so fun for me to see how happy it makes my kids. They get so excited in anticipation, knowing it’s a special day and feeling a few more warm fuzzies than usual, and that makes this mama’s heart extra happy.