Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. I have to admit it’s one of my least celebrated holidays.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the chocolate and the roses BUT I don’t need the chocolate, and roses tend to be 3x as much during this one week than any other time of the year.

I want my family and friends to feel loved YEAR round. Not just one this one day of the year. But it’s always fun to shower our special loved ones, kiddos, and friends with a special gift from time to time.

However, when I purchase things for my kids or Joe, I’m very intentional about not bringing anything into my house that I know is going to add to my clutter and frustration in just a few weeks. So I want to share with you some fun ideas for Valentine’s day if you’re looking for a special gift for your spouse, a gal pal, your kids, or another person in your life.

1. Naked Marriage

I’ll admit, Joe was pretty excited when he saw this book come in the mail. But I tell ya, having a Naked Marriage is more than just undressing. It’s about creating a truly connected, thriving and awesome marriage. Love is more than a one time a year thing. It’s about loving and living completely connected with our spouses each and every day. Naked Marriage is a great book to help inspire your marriage to reach new heights and connect even deeper as a couple.

If you want to get a taste for the book, check out this article Ashley wrote.

2. Date Night In

Having a consistent date night can be extremely difficult for parents of littles. Life can fill up our time and make it so easy to neglect our relationship. Having this date night show up at your door on a monthly basis not only helps keep you accountable to creating connection and communication with your spouse, but it also gives you activities to do that you’d most likely not have tried otherwise.

3. Generous Love

So much of life is about loving others. Yet with how crazy life can be, it’s just as easy to forget to do those small simple things that show others around us that we truly love them. Becky Kopitzke does an amazing job of inspiring you to love more consistently and find practical ways to love those around you ALL year, not just at Valentine’s Day. This all about loving well in the day to day.

4. Pampering Service

As a busy mom, a day off, better yet, an evening off can be bliss! Arranging an evening of relaxation (massage is a bonus) can be the just right gift for showing your loved one know that you love them.

And busy mom’s aren’t the only ones who will love this gift! Many dads, girlfriends, and family members would love that you thought of them.

5. Affirmations

6. Special Memories

Valentine’s day doesn’t have to be about the gifts. The time you spend

So often we forget to acknowledge the amazing things about our spouse or children. Use Valentine’s Day as a moment to check in and take a moment acknowledging what you love about them.

This is my plan for the kids for Valentine’s Day. Instead of loads of chocolate (that they don’t need) or other random stuffed animals (that I’ll pick up repeatedly in a week), I’m opting for making them a beautiful cards with all their amazing qualities and gifting them their own extra 1:1 special date.

Don’t Forget…

Valentine’s Day is just ONE day of the entire year. Showing our love to those we love needs to be a daily thing. Make Valentine’s Day special for sure. But remember, whether you’re single, married, no kids, lots of kids, there are people in your life that love you and whom you love. So let them know…

Learn the ways in which they receive love. You might be surprised to find the things you do to show them love don’t actually make them feel loved. This book is awesome for learning about love languages

Also, my friend Clair gave a few ideas on how you can connect with your kids on Valentine’s day without the trinkets too!