Valentine’s Day gifts are nice, and maybe gifts are your love language. But remember, to celebrate this holiday, you don’t have to buy your kids’ or your spouse’s love. You can show your affection for them in other ways. Think presence, not presents—and why not do that for the entire month of February? We’ve come up with 28 ways to show your family the love this season—in all love languages.
1. Make heart-shaped pancakes one morning before school and deliver them to your kiddos while they’re still in bed. Add whipped cream and top them with red and pink sprinkles. Or make them together on a lazy Saturday while listening to some upbeat tunes in the kitchen.
2. Decorate your kids’ (and your spouse’s) paper lunch bag with hearts and doodles or include a special message inside. Lately, I’ve been drawing cheesy pictures on my son’s lunch bags.
3. If you own an Amazon Alexa or Echo Dot, you might try this idea (if not, just skip to the next day’s suggestion). Set your children’s alarm to play “I Love You, a Bushel and a Peck” or “Skidamarink (I love you)” when they wake up in the morning.
4. Write your kiddos a note on the bathroom mirror. You can do this for your spouse, too. Say something as simple as, “I love you. Have a great day today!” You even can go so far as to list 10 things you love about each one of them (depending on how old they are and whether they can read yet, of course). For your preschooler or kindergartener, draw a picture of the two of you with hearts and smiley faces.
5. Plan to make a special stop after school pickup. Run through the Starbucks drive-through for a cake pop. Stop by the park to spend some quality one-on-one time with your kiddo. Whatever you do, make it something out of the ordinary to make your youngster feel extra loved.
6. Eat dessert before dinner. If this is out of the ordinary for your family, your kids will probably love this idea and feel like it’s a special occasion. Let them choose ice cream, cake, pie, cookies, whatever their favorite is.
7. Tune in and listen attentively. This seems simple, but to kids it means a lot. Some days it’s hard to truly sit and engage with your children, giving them your absolute undivided attention. Carve out a chunk of time to listen to everything your children want to tell you—listen to all of their stories. No phone, no distractions. Make eye contact. Maybe include snacks. Answer every question they have, and when they get excited about a particular thought, tell them, “Wow, that’s really cool!”
8. Play a game of their choice. Board games, hide-and-seek, I Spy—or even have a tea party.
9. Let kids stay up late. Make hot chocolate or popcorn and chat at the kitchen counter.
10. Tell them an extra bedtime story. We all have a tendency to rush through bedtime routines, but use this time to pause for once and be in the moment.
11. Cook their favorite meal, even if it’s mini corn dogs and french fries.
12. Let kids co-sleep with you for a night. Your kiddo may enjoy the extra quality time snuggled up in your bed watching movies, reading a book or listening to Mom and Dad tell a fun story.
13. Complete a puzzle together.
14. Give them extra hugs—not just before bed or before dropping them off, but during random times of the day.
15. Create a scavenger hunt with a fun prize at the end, like a box of chocolates or cookies and a thoughtful card listing all the ways you admire each of them.
16. Write poems for them to tuck into their lunch boxes or serve with breakfast in bed in the morning. They can be sweet, silly, serious or somewhere in between.
17. Plan a surprise picnic with heart-shaped sandwiches, cheese, cookies, strawberries, apples, cherries and any other red or pink foods you can think of. Sit in the backyard or at the park.
18. Take something off their plates. Maybe you have a child whose love language is “acts of service.” Think of a chore or two he hates doing, and just do it for him. If he hasn’t gotten around to cleaning his messy room, go ahead and tidy up before he gets home from school, for example.
19. Frame their drawings or special crafts from school. Hang the item on the wall or place it somewhere the artist will immediately notice it and feel proud and validated.
20. Stock up on all of their favorite snacks. Stop by the store one day and just grab all the things your kids love. Let them open the pantry and find their favorite treats.
21. Make them laugh. Parents can’t always be in a good mood, but be extra intentional this day about your interactions with each other. Try to maintain an extra cheerful demeanor, cracking more jokes than usual or finding silly topics to chat about.
22. Pick a cute outfit and shoes (if you don’t do this already) and have it laying out when your child wakes up in the morning.
23. Sing all of your kids’ favorite songs with them in the car on the way to school.
24. Let them help you cook dinner, even if the kitchen gets extra messy.
25. If you’re super vigilant about a clean house, let kids play with the messiest toys you don’t usually allow—slime, kinetic sand, Play-Doh, anything they tend to immediately make messes with. Your house might not look spotless for a bit and it might require major cleanup, but your kids’ happiness will be worth it for that moment.
26. Tell them something you’re really proud of them for on the way to school.
27. Stop by the park and feed the ducks instead of running your typical errands (like going to the grocery store, if that can wait for another day).
28. Fill their rooms with balloons after they fall asleep and write one thing you love about them on each (or every other) one.
Emily Morrison is a freelance writer, former copy editor, full-time mommy and Disney fanatic that lives in Independence with her husband, 5-year old son and dog.