So, I really want holidays to be special for my family. Valentine's Day is coming up and my mind is planning.

I was at Target today (two "necessary" purchases that had I planned a few days ago could have been avoided) and I walked by the kids' clothing section. Saw a cute V-day sweater and pants for my girlie and a tee-shirt and sweater for my boy. Picked them up. Picked them out. Carried them several feet away. Went back and put them back. Said that if I still wanted them in two weeks and they were still there, I could get them. Thinking that maybe I don't need them.

So, what are you doing for V-day? How are you making it special without subcoming to consumerism? For me, it isn't about the $ but about the stuff. Do I really need more stuff? True, ds really does need some clothes. He's a growing babe. Dd could use some more as she recently went through a growth spurt and all her pants are too short. So, do I need it or do I want it?

i love valentine's day clothes for savannah.....









i know..i'm not much help right?!

Hmmm. For me, I wouldn't buy them. I find all new clothes a waste of money because I never pay for them for the kids. People give us stuff or I get it second hand. And my kids are really nicely dressed these days.

What about valentines crafts or baking or something else to celebrate the season that's "together-time" and useful and educational? Make it about LOVE, not STUFF.

But honestly, I'm weird and anti-stuff and anti-shopping. The only thing I actually shop for is food, and I still refuse to pay full price for anything. LOL. Which isn't necessarily good because I can't bring myself to buy anything, even if it is a good idea. I have spending guilt no matter what it is.

Kerri

Why not get some glitter, glue, safe scissors, and colored paper and make some valentines for relatives.

Maybe also make some decorative hangings with 2 ballons about the same size and tape the small ends together to make hearts.. and Paper Mache them with old newspapers or junk mail. Then paint them. ( maybe cut them in half then cut a heart from the middle and add a picture of your family to give to relatives )

"combine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 2 cups cold water in a bowl. Add this mixture to a saucepan of 2 cups boiling water and bring it to a boil again. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar. Let it cool; it will thicken as it cools."http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/buildmodel/expert/dony0300aapapier/

I'd say make it special by having a special celebratory meal with your family. Make cards for them. And, do love/heart crafts with your older daughter:) You can make safe yummy treats for them.

I am a total anti shopping nut most of the time too.

I am a sucker, though for girls clothes with hearts on them. You could take shirts of the kids that they already have, or get some from the thrift store and make heart stamps out of potatoes and stamp hearts onto t-shirts for anyone who wants one:) You could justify buying new shirts for them just for this purpose!

Do you have a good second hand shop, thrift store in town?

OH MY .. i had a BRILIANT idea .. taking.. err modifying.. Linda's idea .. let the girls make hand print shirts .. the older child do their hands thumbs together fingers going towards the top of the shirt .. and the younger child with their thumbs together directly below the older childs hands with fingers going towards the bottom of the shirt. Then make little lines and dots for antennae. Then potatoe hearts around it.

Then when the kids are to big to wear the shirt you could do this every year and cut out the front into quilt block sizes .. and make a quilt.

Wellll, I am not good, so I say get the Target clothes. LOL. ;pot:

No, seriously, if the kids need a few more things? And you are looking at Target (so low $$$), and you can combine the need for more clothes with a V-day gift? Why not? It's a needed gift...you cover both of your bases. LOL.

And then you could add in a small candy or treat, and spend time baking or cooking together...or an arts project. That's what I'd do if my kiddos were your kiddos ages. :smirk:

Cyan is getting a pair of $5 sunglasses shaped like hearts from Old Navy. Alex is getting sunglasses too but I haven't found any for him yet. He may be in adult sizes.... yikes! I make cards out of wool felt and cardstock, and they each get one chocolate heart tucked in a little box of nature things... like a heart shaped box filled with dried lavander, a few tiny origami cranes, a special rose quartz, and a few other tiny things like this. They each have a big treasure box that they put this stuff in in their rooms. I do this for Ostara (Easter) and Mid Summer as well.

I don't do much, but I usually put this on their plate when they come to breakfast. They love it. :D

Val

ETA

- a very large heart shaped cookie that you colored just store bought frosting for them to decorate and let them eat it when they are done.

- a single rose. How often do your kids get flowers? I bet they would love that! (In fact I may add it to my above scheme)

- a new small plant for their room.

- a felt wall hanging with glued on hearts on it that says the child's name. Sew sticks to the top and bottom and roll it up like a scroll. Then when they open it they can attach string to the top and hang it.

- a bag of rocks. I don't know about other kids, but my kids LOVE rocks. They put them in their plants in their room, put them on the alter in our kitchen (or nature table), they are a permanant fixture in the doll house, and they love to carry them around in their pockets. I go to the local New Age store and pick up a few each year at this time (end of winter sales) and have them to put in bags, boxes and other such magical gifts all year.

We try to stay really low key when it comes to holidays. We rarely have any sweets or candy in the house, so we'll "splurge" on a fair-traded organic chocolate bar for each of us.

Sometimes I make DH a card and sometimes I buy him one. The boys will cut hearts out of paper and decorate them with leftover stickers, etc. They'll do this for the homeschool group too. In the past I have bought valentines for $1 a box, but honestly, they are all promoting movies and cartoon characters, and they usually have lame sayings. My boys love rubber stamps and I have a huge collection from my working, pre-children, pre-frugal, pre-simple living days, so they can use those. I have fond memories of making valentines for my family when I was a child.

We'll be in Hawaii on Valentine's Day, but we'll definitely stay in the condo and cook that night. We might purchase a small chocolate bakery cake as a special dessert. I'm looking forward to walking on the beach and watching the sunset.

Clothes? No way. They might have a red shirt they can wear if they want to, but I don't think I'll even promote that.

In the past we have done a variety of things. We've walked to the local Mexican take-out place. We camped a couple of years. We've gone to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We don't get a sitter and have a night without the boys, though. We do that so rarely anyway, and really I want us all to be together.

DH has bought me flowers in the past, but I really discourage it. They are so expensive at Valentine's Day. This year we have a budget set and it will not include flowers!

I'm not trying to put down the specialness of a holiday, it's just that Valentine's seems especially created by card, flower, and candy companies. People have these high expectations for romance, etc. Kids see it as another reason to get gifts and tons of candy.

I never buy my kids theme clothes (unless its pajamas - very rarely even those!), I wont want to put them on but the one day, so its a waste.

Valentines day, we always,always make each other cards. We still have all our cards we have given each other. One year we made paper first, then we all made valentines from that & doilies & such. The kids love doing it.

We also have a valentine's tea. I make some special cookies & such & all the kids love that too.

A special dinner with a special dessert is great too! Always with candles & flowers from the yard.

Kimbermama - we will probably be in Hawaii this year for V-day too! :) So, there goes thrifty! Usually we stay with dh's grandfather in Kihei (Maui), but dh wants to get a room - we'll see! LOL What island will you be on?

We make cards/Valentines for the kids in school and for each other. Last year I bought red and white embroidery floss and white, red and pink roses to make flower bendy fairies, but we never got to it. I think we'll do that this year. We will give those to the kids in her class for a present (we can put green felt trousers on the "boy" ones and just use a petal or two for a shirt).

I don't give the kids anything for Valentine's Day besides a Valentine that I make...but I love your idea, Val...it sounds really sweet and special. Actually I love the idea of getting them each a red rose...dh too.

I do the same thing; I go to the gem shop and stock up on rocks, crystals, and little goodies for the Fairies to bring all year long...the Tooth Fairy, and the other fairies that may visit from time to time, on Oestara, Midsummer, etc.

i love celebrating holidays...in all sorts of ways! if i were you, i might get one v-day clothing item for the kids if you think they'll have the opportunity to wear them a bunch of times. if you wouldn't put it on them after v-day...nah...i wouldn't do it. maybe the pants AND shirt aren't necessary for dd, but just the shirt.

i usually have valentine's week. each day, i do something little and special. i got a heart shaped pancake thing to make fun pancakes for dh one morning before work. i have a heart shaped cookie cutter that i'll probably use for dh's sandwich in his lunch one day. i get fun recipes off the internet and make a special v-day dessert one night. dh and i like to play cards, so i bought some $1 heart shaped cards in the dollar aisle at target to give to him one night. i always encourage dh not to spend money on the crazy expensive flowers just for that day too...much better things i can think of him doing!!

Well, great ideas! I think that we - dd and I - are going to make V-day hearts for all her classmates out of stuff we already have in the house. We'll probably also make hearts where you take two pieces of wax paper, put grated crayon between, press and cut into hearts. We'll hang those from the light fixture above the kitchen table.

and, because they both could actually use a new sweater, I will get them each a sweater, but not pants or shirt. Just the sweater.

Kimbermama - we will probably be in Hawaii this year for V-day too! :) So, there goes thrifty! Usually we stay with dh's grandfather in Kihei (Maui), but dh wants to get a room - we'll see! LOL What island will you be on?

We'll be at the Worldmark timeshare resort in Kihei!

http://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/ki/

We arrive late on the 10th and leave super late on the 17th. DH wasn't really thinking about it; we could have stayed 2-3 more days. We're going to the old Lahaina luau on the 12th, but nothing else has been planned (any ideas?). My FIL and SMIL will be with us, and we're renting a minivan for the week.

We'll be at the Worldmark timeshare resort in Kihei!

http://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/ki/

We arrive late on the 10th and leave super late on the 17th. DH wasn't really thinking about it; we could have stayed 2-3 more days. We're going to the old Lahaina luau on the 12th, but nothing else has been planned (any ideas?). My FIL and SMIL will be with us, and we're renting a minivan for the week.

How funny you will be the same place! I have no idea what we will do! Hang out with family, go to big beach, the aquarium, Dh wants to take the kids to the big island for a day (where he grew up).. snorkeling.... I just love sitting on the beach & watching the whales, so relaxing! Dh will have to get guri guri ice cream (ice cream with bean paste,ick! LOL)....

We decided to go as soon as we took the kids out of school. We had payed the full years tuition in advance, so we figured we would get the $ back, hire a tutor for the kids & go to HI! LOL I think they are going to fight us though (they say we didnt give enough communication & opportunities to fix it - how many times do my kids have to get hit & have their privates grabbed before its okay to pull them out? :( ). So we have to wait til next week to know if we will have the $ in time. I hope so, cause I really,really want to go & dh has the time off work! I found good air prices on pricline LOL But I looked up hotels & when I told dh how much it would be he agrees there is NO way! LOL

Oh, I dont know if you have been to Maui before - we will drive to Hana & stay in a cabin for a couple days! The drive to Hana is always worthwhile!

Well, great ideas! I think that we - dd and I - are going to make V-day hearts for all her classmates out of stuff we already have in the house. We'll probably also make hearts where you take two pieces of wax paper, put grated crayon between, press and cut into hearts. We'll hang those from the light fixture above the kitchen table.

and, because they both could actually use a new sweater, I will get them each a sweater, but not pants or shirt. Just the sweater.

sounds like a great plan!