*This is the first of an on-going series entitled Tuesday Tips where we share some kind of party or entertaining tip to help you live life more beautifully*
Valentine's Day always brings thoughts of this:
Or this:
Valentine's Day, in reality for most of us, is more like any other day, covered in red and pink sticky substances on children's clothing and store-bought greeting cards, hastily signed then tossed in the general direction of a passing spouse. Some years there are flowers, some years there might be a dinner, but rarely both. So does this mean as adults who have been married for a time or parents of children that we can no longer enjoy a holiday about love? I think NOT.
Valentine's Day originally celebrated romantic love, but has evolved over time to include love of any kind and even friendship (my youngest son is having a friendship party where they are celebrating all the friends they have made in Pre-K this year).
So if Valentine's Day celebrates love and we love our spouses and our children, why shouldn't we celebrate it?
Here at Markers & Mud we wanted to share some tips to bring all the Valentine love home to your family.
1. Keep it simple. You don't have to go overboard just to make it special. Cook your family's favorite meal or serve desert if you normally don't.
2. Make your food red! Serve spaghetti and meatballs with strawberry shortcake for desert.
3. Use cookie cutters for everything except cookies. Cookie cutters make great sandwich cutters. You can also use them to cut shapes into slices of pound cake as the base to the strawberry shortcake I mentioned.
4. Dig out some of your Christmas decorations. What?? Have I lost my mind? No. Many of your Christmas decorations will be red. Is there something you can use, like a red table cloth or napkins?
5. Use your "good dishes". Whether its Grandma's china or just your everyday dishes, skip the paper plates. Nothing makes someone feel more special than a completely set table.
6. Spend time with your kids doing some kind of craft that doubles as table decorations. Nothing shows love like spending time and the craft doesn't have to be complicated. You can buy pretty beads in a red or pink color scheme and florist or jeweler's wire at your local discount or craft store for less than $10 and make a set of jeweled napkin rings. Let the kids do the beading and you twist it into rings. I did this with my kids (ages 4-11) at Thanksgiving and they loved it (and I still have the napkin rings)!
7. Let your kids drink their punch or milk out of your "good" glasses or stemware if they're big enough to use them. Making your kids feel "fancy" is worth the risk. At the end of the day, stuff is just stuff.
8. Make time for your spouse. After the kids are in bed, share a romantic moment without the TV or other electronic distractions. (And yes, I'm suggesting you skip the Olympics for one night)
9. Speaking of distractions, turn 'em off. Before the evening starts pass a basket and collect all electronic distractions from your family. This is especially important if you have teenagers. They may pretend they hate you for it, but knowing that you care enough to want their attention and to give them yours will pay off in other ways.
10. The most important thing to remember is to love your family. If the tips above cause you anxiety because you want them to be perfect, then skip all of it, order pizza and snuggle on the couch with your kids, spouse and a great family movie. Time together builds strong families and THAT is love.
No comments:
Post a Comment