Valentine’s Day is a week from Sunday — and it will sneak up on you right quick. Time to think what you’ll do for your sweetheart and children. Preplanning will help avoid high costs in a week or so.
How can you celebrate what’s in your heart without spending an arm and a leg?
Try one of these budget-friendly suggestions:
- Take a walk down memory lane. Reliving sweet memories with your spouse or kids can be a wonderful way to spend an evening. Bring out the photo albums, show some home movies, share stories and memories of years gone past. If yours is a special love story (which ones aren’t?) make sure you share it with your children! Better yet, write it down. If you live where you met, dated, or married, take a drive by some of your old haunts and relive the sweet memories of the past.
- Cook a special dinner at home. When we can swing a babysitter, we go out the day before or after Valentine’s Day to avoid the crowds and the expense. Restaurants often charge more on Valentine’s Day, so play it smart. Instead, I cook the same meal I prepared on our first date. It’s a fun day to model a little romance with our kids and still enjoy a delicious dinner together.
- Check out a movie at the library. Believe it or not, there are chick-flicks that guys will like! And getting it at the library (and returning it in a timely manner) ensures an almost free at-home date night.
- Treat your kids to a sweet. Make personalized candy bars or heart-shaped scones – just something special to show them that they are dear to your heart.
- Don’t forget your fellow moms! Now’s the perfect day to make a mom a muffin. What a fun way to tell your friends you’re in this together.
What are you doing to stretch your dollars a little farther these days?
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I love celebrating holidays with the kids, but I agree that you don’t have to spend a fortune to do it. We already do some of your ideas, and the others I’ll definitely try! Thanks!
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You can print some free (except the cost of ink/toner and paper/cardstock) Valentine’s paper dolls here:
http://tpettit.best.vwh.net/dolls/pd_scans/anglund/index.html
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Thanks for reminding me that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner (wasn’t New Year’s just yesterday?)! I like to use this holiday to make a special card for each of my kids, telling them some (of the many) things that make them special to their dad and me. The red and pink construction paper hearts may look a little cheesy, but it makes me smile when I see those notes in their rooms years later.
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I am so happy that I have one to share today!!
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Cute ideas! Thanks for hosting this party!
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I prefer to stay home on days like Valentine’s or Mother’s Day. Not only do we avoid the prices of restaurants…but who needs the crowds? This year I plan to make lasagna. I’ve already bought the meat on sale and will keep my eyes open for a sale on ricotta and mozzarella.
A few Valentine’s Days ago I made a little 8×8 photo album for my husband. I went through nearly 40 years of photos (yeah, we’ve been together that long) and found shots of us from high school days up until recently. Just the two of us, with one photo per page. It was pretty frugal since I already had the photos and had plenty of scrapbooking supplies on hand. Mike really loved it, and it was a lot of fun to make!
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5. Don’t forget your fellow moms!
Don’t forget your single or widowed neighbors. They like muffins too.
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In our family we like to do all we can to take the commercialism out of these largely commercial holidays. We talk about why we want to celebrate those we love and how we can do that without spending much money. My daughter loves making valentines for everyone and her grandparents appreciate an hand-crafted heart that’s a little lopsided over one we took a few minutes to buy at the store. We’re actually going out for date night this Valentine’s Day but only because it falls on our regularly scheduled date night. Otherwise, I would have made special dinner for the whole family.
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SO, I can’t type, and I believe I included the correct link, but not the correct title! Despite what it says, I have a link to butter chicken…not baked fudge…although that’s on the blog too!
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Love this!! Just wanted to let you know that this is linked on “This ‘n That Thursday” (valentine edition) post on my blog.
http://myreasonstoblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/this-n-that-thursday-valentine-edition.html
Have a great week!
~ Joy
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