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When we had Valentine\u2019s parties (or any \u201choliday\u201d party) with our kids, we always did it a few days after the holiday\u2014so we could get the candy and treats for 50-75% off! So\u2026if you are reading this after the “real” holiday, it really isn\u2019t too late to have a party with your kids for Valentine\u2019s Day!<\/p>\n
One of the things that we tried to do with our kids for celebrations (or just \u201canytime parties\u201d) is that we tried to go out of our way to make being with Mom, Dad, and brothers, and sisters cool. Our kids see us go to great lengths to prepare for a Sunday school class party, Mary Kay party, or extended family party. We put thought and effort into having \u201cparties\u201d with our kids\u2014so they wanted to stay home and party with their family–and so that they would know that they are as important (more so!) than the Sunday school class, the gals at the make up party, or the reunion. <\/p>\n
We have fond memories of communion nights, footwashings, Valentine parties, Easter celebrations, fondue parties, \u201cflat top grill\u201d parties, and more with our children. Being in our family was just plain fun and way cool! Some times we would just announce to the kids that \u201ctonight, we\u2019re having a movie party\u201d or \u201ctonight, we\u2019re having a chocolate party\u201d or \u201ctonight, we\u2019re having a game party.\u201d <\/p>\n
It may have been as simple as frozen pizza and a movie or as elaborate as a fondue meal that Mom and the littles spent the afternoon preparing for. It may have been for a holiday (after the holiday!) or just because we wanted our kids to stay home with us on a Saturday night instead of running around with friends. (We\u2019re not opposed to friends, but the more time we spent with our kids the more WE would influence them rather than peers influencing them.)<\/p>\n
I will list some ideas for a homemade Valentine\u2019s Party\u2014some that we have done and some that I have read about or heard of. <\/p>\n
1. Write love notes to each other. Okay..I can write this one without crying\u2026I really can. Some of my fondest memories are the times that we sat down and had the kids write notes to each other. Okay\u2026forget the not crying thing. Talk about incredibly sweet and memory-imbedding! We drew names and sat down and listened to the true Valentine\u2019s story on cassette (Adventures in Odyssey) and wrote love notes to each other. I still have some of them! We had the little kids dictate to us. One of the funniest ones: one of the little boys wrote, \u201cDear Kayla, I love you so much because you have skinny arms.\u201d <\/p>\n
2. Have fun foods! This is especially important as your kids get older. After all, what do they have when they go out with friends or to youth group? Pizza, Taco Bell, mall snacks. As our kids got older, we got more elaborate with our party foods. When the two oldest girls were college age and crazy about Flat Top Grill when it first opened in Fort Wayne, one of our Valentine\u2019s parties was a flat top grill night. (It was tons of work to prepare for, but the older kids loved this!) We had meats, veggies, and pita breads all ready\u2014and had griddles and electric skillets all set up on the table. It was quite the feast!<\/p>\n
3. Do something for others. Preparing Valentine\u2019s cookie baskets or bath baskets for nursing home residents, etc. is a great way to spend a party\u2014and helps others too.<\/p>\n
4. Wait until after the holiday to have your party, so you can get some cool party treats for fifty to seventy-five percent off! With seven children, buying elaborate Easter baskets or Valentine\u2019s hearts was usually out of the question. However, after the holiday, we could go get things for a lot less and still give them special treats.<\/p>\n
5. Spend your Valentine\u2019s Day showing love to those less fortunate. For the past several years, we have spent time on or around Valentine\u2019s Day serving a Valentine\u2019s banquet (and sometimes cooking it or helping to cook it) for adults with cognitive disabilities through our daughter\u2019s disability ministry (One Heart). We often do things to prepare for it (cookie making, set up, preparing a special drama, etc.) then serve at it. Valentine\u2019s Day is about love\u2026and what better way to show love than to live out Luke fourteen.<\/p>\n
6. Get a special movie, audio, or talking books to listen to or watch together for your Valentine\u2019s party. We love Adventures in Oddysey and other radio dramas put out by Focus on the Family; the Christian bookstore (and Hallmark) have some good movies about unconditional love, etc. that are appropriate for this holiday.<\/p>\n
7. Write various verses about love on large hearts cut of construction paper, cut each one in half in various zig-zags, mix them up, and pass out a half a heart to each person. That person then finds his other half, reads, the verse, and discusses it with the family. <\/p>\n
8. Sing Scripture songs about love. Once we had piano players around here, we loved to gather around the piano and sing. None of us is too musical (except the two pianists), but we all loved it anyway.<\/p>\n
Party with your kids\u2014and make them want to stay home more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When we had Valentine\u2019s parties (or any \u201choliday\u201d party) with our kids, we always did it a few days after the holiday\u2014so we could get the candy and treats for 50-75% off! So\u2026if you are reading this after the “real” holiday, it really isn\u2019t too late to have a party with your kids for Valentine\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[630,628,643,488,633,308,281],"tags":[278,280,277,107,195,271,275,303],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n