Our Valentine’s Tradition

I know that many think Valentine’s day is just a day created by Hallmark.  Others think it’s a cheesy holiday for saps.   Say what you will, I’ll jump at a chance for a date night with my hubby.  And I don’t mind a sweet card and some cinnamon heart candy either.

But, after having kids, Scott and I found it rather difficult to go out for Valentine’s day.  Since we don’t hire babysitters, we typically rely on friends or grandparents for babysitting and you can’t ask another couple to babysit for you on Valentine’s Day.  So, for a few years we just did an in home date night after putting the little one (and then ones) to bed. 

But, then one year we got an idea that we both LOVED and a tradition was born. 

We decided to celebrate Valentine’s day on the 7th instead of the 14th.   This way, we weren’t asking anyone to skip out on their own Valentine’s plans.  And the best part is, it also frees us up to babysit for a friend so that they can go out on Valentine’s day.  We love it!

This year we babysat for our very dear friends.  Since we had 5 young ones at our house on Valentine’s night, we decided to throw them their own party.  We had heart shaped meatballs and spaghetti for dinner. 

Then we did a fun painting craft after dinner.  I asked the kids their favorite craft and they told me painting.  So, I found these wooden hearts at Michael’s for $1 each.  Throw in some acrylic paint and some old tee shirts and we were set for fun!

We topped the evening off with a heart shaped cake.  (check out the recipe here…it was so fun to make).  Mental note:  need 2 tubs of icing next time!

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go out on the 7th due to one of our many snowstorms this month.  But, we do have plans to go out tonight and I am greatly looking forward to a nice evening out with my man!

Celebrating Valentine’s day, not on Valentine’s day so that we can babysit for our friends is a tradition that totally works for us.  Visit here or here for more fun picture posts!