When our children were younger, a friend and I were commiserating about how hard it was to find a babysitter on Valentine’s Day. We both agreed that even if you were able to get a sitter, the wait time at restaurants on that particular evening took up half of your night! My friend shared with me the solution her and her husband had come up with – a “Romantic” Family Valentine’s dinner.
Curtin Kids Valentine's Day 2001
Our family tweaked her original idea to suit ours, and it is still a tradition with us, even though our oldest child is now 20! Our children continue to look forward to this night each year, and my husband and I don’t feel like we are missing out on a thing.
First we chose a menu that the children and grown-ups would enjoy, but wasn’t something we had ordinarily. Each year we stick to this same menu and the kids always look forward to having it. We chose Monte Cristo sandwiches served with a small dish of honey for dipping. These are so large and filling we don’t need to have anything else. For our drinks we have sparkling grape juice. The one thing that does change from year to year is a special dessert. One year we had an ice cream cake, another year we had a cookie cake – anything your family would enjoy works.
What helps to make this dinner special is the presentation. We break out the good china and champagne flutes, and put candles on the table. When the children were small we always let them be in charge of table decorations – which they loved! It was always a surprise to us to see what they would come up with. One year they draped a pink lace baby blanket over our dining room light and hung some kind of disco ball light up stick from the center (very romantic).
Curtin Kids and Dad Valentine's Day 2010
We dim the lights, put on some mood music in the background and begin our night with my husband making a toast. The kids have enjoyed listening through the years to their dad tell how blessed he was to find their mom and how God brought us together. A perfect way to end the evening is by reading the “Love” verse: I Cor. 13 4-8, which is also Week 4’s memory verse in the Called to Be a Keeper Bible study.
Does your family have a special way you celebrate Valentines Day together? We’d love to hear about it!
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(Dana serves on the Keepers Team as Assistant Website Editor. Her hobbies are reading, scrapbooking and taking long nature walks with her husband and three children.)
Cute idea Dana! I’m sure many moms will love this way of celebrating!