I’m not sure why, but Valentine’s Day has always—ever since I was a kid—been my favorite holiday. It seems odd that a holiday that has little build-up and only lasts one day would have become my favorite, but it has. Maybe it’s those yummy Conversation Hearts candies that start showing up in the grocery stores right after Christmas. I’ve always been a fan of those!
This year, to prolong the holiday, I did something fun and very out-of-character for me: I left my Christmas tree up until Valentine’s Day! If you know me well at all, you know I’m one of those crazy people who puts my tree up early (usually before Thanksgiving) but takes it down the day after Christmas, if not sooner!
But this year, because we now have a piano taking up the space where our Christmas tree used to go, we put the tree out on the screened porch. It was an idea that a couple of my Facebook friends gave me and it was brilliant! Not only does the tree fill in for all the plants that had to come inside for the winter, but it adds sparkly lights to a rather dreary winter landscape.
So why not prolong all that sparkle as long as possible? I took off all the Christmas decorations except for a few white balls and any heart-shaped ornaments. Then I added a few dozen tiny heart decorations, plus a paper heart swag I made from a pretty calendar ten years ago, and topped it off with an old Valentine’s postcard that was sent to my great-grandmother in 1911. A couple of heart-shaped pillows that my late friend Terry made from worn-out pillow cases my grandmother embroidered complete the look, and I think the effect is nothing short of magical!
My favorite Valentine and I don’t always exchange gifts, but until recently (when we’re trying to stay away from sugar 😢) I always made frosted sugar cookies for Ken every February 14.
Ken sometimes gets me flowers, which I love, but in recent years, instead, he’s designed a pretty digital card to send to all his girls (our daughters and daughters-in-law, the granddaughters, and me). This collage shows just a few of the cards he’s made for us over the years. I just love this sweet gesture and we all look forward to it every year!
Do you have a special way you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Is it a favorite holiday of yours or one that usually passes without notice. Is there something special you bake or eat in honor of Valentine’s Day? I’d love to hear how you celebrate the day!
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Ever since I was young my dad has given my mom, my sister, and I flowers on Valentine’s day. When my sister got married he relinquished that job to her husband, but I am still single so he still gets me flowers on Valentine’s day. I also like to get myself a gift, usually in the form of a book and going to the movies.
That is SO sweet, Katie! Ken did the same thing when our girls got married. He let their husbands step in.
Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays, too. I make cards for my immediate family. I also make mini meat loaves in heart shapes for dinner and heart-shaped cupcakes.
Awww, I love all the heart-shaped foods. Great idea!
I love your Valentine tree! That’s such a great idea! From the very first year of our marriage, Mike has celebrated Valentine’s on the 17th because 35 years ago he broke up with me just three days after Valentine’s. He says it’s his way of showing me he’ll never leave me again.
Well THAT is a precious promise! And I love that you celebrate it!
What a fun idea, Deb! I love your Valentines tree. 🙂 My hubby and I don’t usually do anything besides possibly a dinner date, but every once in a while he surprises me with something unexpected. One year, he and the kids suprised with with a romantic family dinner that everyone helped cook. So sweet!
Oh, that WAS sweet of them to make dinner! What a great memory!
Love your Valentine tree! The heart swag is such a great idea.
Valentine’s Day has always held special memories for me since I was a child. We would decorate a valentine box in our classroom and put our valentines in the box on valentine’s day. Our teachers always made class lists for us, so no one was left out- that was not allowed. I liked the conversation hearts, too, and would try to think if there was a special meaning from whoever gave them. In the afternoon, we would share valentines in the neighborhood. We would quietly go up on a porch, drop our valentine, ring the doorbell, then run and hide. It was such a delight to give and receive them that way. As older elementary students, we wrote our names in code – numbers instead of letters, so you wouldn’t immediately know who had sent it. We thought we were so cool. My parents always gave us valentine hearts with chocolate candy, which I continued with my husband, children, and grandchildren. I still send out valentine cards to my family.
Thank you for bringing back sweet memories! Happy Valentine’s Day!
I love that drop and dash…like May Day on Valentine’s Day. And my teachers in country school did the same thing to make sure everyone got the same number of Valentines!
Valentine’s Day is so much fun! My mom always gave us heart-shaped boxes of Sees chocolates and make us pink, heart-shaped pancakes Valentine’s Day morning and so I continued the tradition with my kids. This year and last I’ve also celebrated by releasing my latest romance novel on February 14th!
I love those ways of celebrating! I wish I’d finished my book in time to publish it on Valentine’s Day!
Your Valentine Day tree is beautiful!
I like to buy Valentine candy for myself and have brought chocolate treats (Lindt truffles for example) for my coworkers.
It so happens that Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday are on the same day this year.
I love that you treat yourself to a treat! And Lindt truffles are a GREAT choice!
My mom used to give each of us a gift for V Day. After I got married and had children, I wanted to follow the tradition, but our income was meager. I got the idea to fix a special candlelight dinner instead. I made spaghetti or lasagna, individual heart shaped red Jell-O salads, heart shaped biscuits, and a heart shaped cake for dessert. I even found little candle holders that clipped to our dinner plates. That became our family’s Valentine tradition for the past several decades! When our older son brought his girlfriend along to one of the dinners, we knew that was a sign that they were “serious”! ♥
I love all of that! And I love your creativity in the face of a budget. A lot of GREAT memories have been made in our family too because we were constrained by a budget.
I work as a special ed para at an elementary school where Valentine’s Day is a big deal. I always take cards and candy for all my classes (6 classes, 94 kids this year!) and quite a few give to me too. This chocolate lover enjoys the boxes of chocolates, chocolate roses, and other goodies. I often share with my son so he quite likes the holiday also.
94 kids! Wow. Just think how many memories you’ve made for those kids!
When we started having children I was determined to make Valentine’s Day a family celebration so that my kids would hopefully not feel quite so left out by not having a special valentine when they got older. When I read about the original St. Valentine who showed love to many, it reinforced my desire to make Valentine’s Day a day to show God’s love to my family.
That’s a great point, Traci, about St. Valentine. And a wonderful tradition for your family. Thanks for sharing that!