Tag: Valentine’s Day

Let’s Celebrate Valentine’s Day!
seasonal decor · Valentine Treats · Valentine's Day

Let’s Celebrate Valentine’s Day!

RefreshHer2 Comments

Here we are in the pretty dreary days of winter with the possibility of six more weeks ahead of us, however, we have the opportunity to add some sparkle and cheeriness to our homes, thanks to Valentine’s Day, just around the corner!

I’ve added just a few touches here and there. It’s nothing grand, but enough to change things up a bit in the entry way, living room and kitchen.

A few years ago, I found a wooden “X” and “O” marked way down at Hobby Lobby and realized they’d be perfect for Valentine’s Day! The heart banner came from Target a few years ago.
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Valentine Treats · Valentine's Day

Valentine Memories To Keep

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It feels like I am in a constant state of purging. As I wipe out a drawer, straighten a closet or decorate for a holiday, I’m forever finding things that need to be tossed. But there are some things in a family that will be kept forever, and those are the memories of times together. Those days that maybe were ordinary, but made just a little more extraordinary by doing something a little special.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I’m reminded that over the years we have had some special days in our home on February 14th. We always did something as a family first. Of course our girls received a card from us and often a little box of Whitman’s chocolates too. I usually fixed a special dinner and set the table in red or pink. We would have a dessert together as well, then it was bedtime for the girls so Mommy and Daddy could spend time together.

Our girls grew up knowing that we loved each other. I had heard that the best thing a wife could do for her children was to love their daddy. I had witnessed this in my own home when I was growing up, and I know very well the security it gives. My daughters might not have particularly liked going to bed early, or not being included in the evening’s plans, but they grew to appreciate why those things were so.

As you implement your Valentine’s plans for next weekend, I encourage you to plan for time together as a family, AND be sure to set aside time for you and your husband alone. It is the biblical thing to do. My husband would always tell our girls when we went away for a date, “Your mom and I are going out to make a better home for you.” Your children may not like it now, but they’ll be glad for the sweet memories of a happy home that you’re creating. Those are the best kind of memories because they can’t be put in a box and sent on their way to the trash or to the Goodwill – they’ll be in their hearts forever!

Needs some ideas?

This cake! So easy and my favorite chocolate cake on the planet!

Here’sa post about some simple chocolate and sweet treats!

You can find some budget-friendly gift ideas here.

A-Z ideas are in this post!

Refresh every member of your family this Valentine’s Day!

Family life · Gifts · Husband

Family Friday – Valentine’s Day On a Low Budget

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Valentine’s Day is next week and you have little money to celebrate! What do you do?

All is not lost!  There are a ton of ideas to make the day special for you and your spouse!  Let me give you a few affordable suggestions:

  • Get a pad of sticky notes at the Dollar Tree.  On separate pages, write
    • attributes you love about  your spouse
    • a memory of special events/happenings in your relationship over the years
    •  clues to find a hidden gift (more on the gift below)
  • Put the notes
    • All over the inside of his car!
    • All over the house
    • Inside the shower
    • In his daily path –
      • inside his Bible
      • on the bathroom mirror
      • on his coffee cup
      • in his closet
      • in his shoes
      • on the computer screen
  • Give a loving gift
    • Fill a box with little things he loves
      • His favorite candy bar
      • A favorite pen
      • $5 gift card to favorite fast food or coffee place
      • A  favorite movie dvd (even checked out from the library!)
      • A favorite Bible verse printed out from the computer
      • The favorite cookie or brownie you make
      • A favorite picture of the two of you in an inexpensive frame
    • Get him a small journal where you can record your dates and what you do in the next year!
    • Go to a used book store and find a great book he’d love.
  • Dress up for an evening at home.
  • If you have children, make dinneritme a time for the family.  Set the table with red and white.  Add conversation hearts scattered on the tablecloth (yes, add a tablecloth), burn some candles or votives.  Serve salad first, then clear the dishes and serve the main course.  Dessert idea below.
  • Give the children little heart boxes of their own chocolates – if Whitman’s is too expensive, they have cute boxes at the Dollar Tree!
  • To make a heart shaped cake, mix up a box of cake mix and pour half in a round pan and half in a square pan.  After baking and cooling, cut the round cake in half.  Put the square cake on a platter so it looks like a diamond shape.  Put half of the round on the top right and the other on the top left – voila!  It’s a heart!  Cover with pink or white icing.
  • Give the children their dessert after supper.  Save yours and your husband’s for later.
  • After the kids are in bed, serve dessert by candlelight in your bedroom.  Serve it on your good dishes.  If you need to bring in a small table, do so.  Make it special!  Light candles in the room.  Turn on some soft music.
  • If you need a chocolate dessert idea, here’s a favorite of mine!

So, is there an idea here you think you could use?  I hope so!  I also hope you take these ideas and implement them into every day of your marriage!  Valentine’s Day isn’t the day to get caught up or to make up for what you should’ve been doing.  Make the day special, then keep it going all year!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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home · Home decor

Make Home Special with Valentine Decor

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Happy February!  Seasonal decorations make home fun for our families.  It communicates life, care and spontaneity.  You don’t have to go crazy, but just little touches here and there make it special!

Here are some of my Valentine’s Day touches around the house…

The mantle in our bedroom…

I moved my chalkboard upstairs because I needed a tall picture to offset all the little things. I enjoy doodling on that board sooo much! And it’s good to remember that God does love us so much!

A simple banner is hung in the dining area. I have a fresh arrangement on the table, too. I love buying fresh flowers in the winter – it reminds me of the life of spring, just around the corner!

In the kitchen I just added a couple of my heart-shaped cookie cutters to the centerpiece on the island…

The living room…

I made a banner from scrapbooking paper and twine.

A little soft lighting for the bookcase…

These are all simple additions to add  Valentine touches without overkill.

It’s fun to have seasonal decor – even if you just add a centerpiece on the kitchen table. It’s the little things that your family will appreciate and remember.

  • You could fill a mug with a heart on it with carnations.
  • Fill a mason jar with  candy conversation hearts. Tie A ribbon around the neck of the jar.
  • Line up your red mugs on a shelf.
  • Use heart-shaped doilies as a banner. Use tiny clothespins to hang them on a piece of twine.
  • Spray paint small branches white and attach small pink and red hearts.  Place the branch in a white basket or vase.
  • Set out your February magazines on the coffee table or add red covered books to your bookshelf.
  • My Scrabbble tiles on the coffee table are used as part of my decor, too.  What message could you leave for your family?

Of course Pinterest has hundreds of great ideas for you to get inspiration from!  The point is to just do something because everyone loves Valentine’s Day!

What do you do to decorate for Valentine’s Day?

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