Family Valentine Activity

Here’s a great Family Valentine’s Day Activity:

Years ago when I worked as a counselor at a girls’ group home, we invented a fun activity to boost self-esteem. The girls decorated boxes and left them in the living room for each other and the counselors to leave fun notes each day. We’d leave self-esteem boosters, compliments, memories, etc for each girl. It was so much fun to watch them open and read the notes that had accumulated.

Last year around Valentine’s Day, I was remembering this activity and thought I could adapt it to our family. I had our kids each decorate a “mail box” with a slot (mom and dad each did one too) . We placed them in the family room and took turns leaving notes, pictures, coloring pages, etc. for each other for 1-2 weeks prior to February 14th. Then on Valentine’s Day, we all opened our boxes and read the notes. We had to help read to our youngest, but it was fun to read things like:

• You look so cute today in your purple outfit
• Thanks for helping mommy set the supper table
• Thanks for reading me a story daddy
• And, of course, pictures our youngest drew to depict what she wanted to say

This was definitely a fun activity that the kids still talk about and ask to do again and again. I hope you can adapt it to your family and let me know how it works or if you do something similar.