Throughout the year, parents often ask me how they can further their relationships with their kids and find ways to connect more as a family. Sometimes as schedules get busy, it can be hard to set aside time to make the ones we love feel special.

It can be easy to become caught up in the day-to-day routine and pass over little moments of possible connections despite our best intentions. Even in all the busyness of life, we all love feeling like we are cherished and special to our families.

Although Valentine’s Day is traditionally seen as a time to connect with your partner, it is the perfect opportunity to connect with the entire family! We can all use Valentine’s Day to tell all of our loved ones, including our kids, how much we appreciate that they are in our lives.  Setting aside some extra special time on this day of love and kindness can help you connect with your kids even more than usual.

Here are some easy and fun ways to celebrate the day:

• Create a tradition of family date nights. Spending quality time with the ones you love is the best way to create memories and connect more as a family. Find a fun Valentine’s Day date to go on as a family. Take a pottery class or find a new activity to try in your community. You can also stay cozy at home and try a dessert bake-off, watch a movie, make a fun craft, or just dance around the house to cheesy songs about love!
• Find meaningful gifts. While a box of chocolates and silly cards can be fun, you do not need these to truly celebrate Valentine’s Day. Celebrate this Valentine’s Day with meaningful and heartfelt expressions of love. Try to think about the gifts that would be most meaningful to each member of the family. Giving gifts based on what means the most to your kids can help feel them even more special on Valentine’s Day! Think about what would connect most with your kids—kind words, spending time together, extra hugs, or even just a small but simple gift.  For kids who connect through kind words, give them handwritten valentines or letters of appreciation to express to them how wonderful it is to have them in your life. You can also have them write what they appreciate about the other members of the family to get the whole family involved!
• Practice love and caring for others. Share the love you feel with your family with others in the community. Valentine’s Day is a great day to make love visible to everyone in the world around us. Take some goodies and homemade cards to a nursing home, soup kitchen, hospital, or a local police station. Volunteering is a great way to not only bond as a family but also give back to those in need. What a wonderful way to teach your kids about love and spreading love to others!

PS- all of these ideas work on other days of the year, too! Experience the joy in showing your family, and those around you, how much you cherish them!

Laura Lebovitz, LMFT

llebovitz@growcounseling.com