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A fun and simple Valentine’s family dinner. An easy way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your family and beat the rush of the restaurant crowds.
A few years ago we started doing a Valentine’s dinner at home with the kiddos. It was a way of celebrating Valentine’s without waiting forever at a restaurant. To be honest, I used to hate Valentine’s. It so commercial, but I think the older I get, I realize that life is too short so why not use these moments to make life a little less than mundane. Plus, it shows our kids that Valentine’s is not just about romantic love, it is important that we take time to show our love to people that matter in our lives.
So…on to the food stuff. I mean good stuff.
Decorations
We kept things simple this year partly because it was extremely hard to find Valentine’s Day decorations in the Netherlands. Usually I just go to our dollar store or Target and grab whatever Valentine’s Day decorations they have. It does not need to be fancy. Here are some things that you might want to get:
- Paper plates and napkins
- Fun cups or straws
- Rose petals
- Candles
- Flowers
- Heart shaped balloons
- Jars for candy
Dinner
Last year, we let the kids make their own pizza. It was so much fun and the kids loved choosing their own toppings. In sticking with the Italian theme, this year we did ricotta stuffed shells. The kids loved them and it made a lot of food so we were able to freeze the second batch (yay – one less dinner I have to cook). Below is the menu from our Valentine’s family dinner.
- Ricotta stuffed shells
- Garden salad
- French bread
- Fresh strawberries
Drinks & Desserts
I thought it would be fun to make some festive drinks and desserts to go along with the Valentine’s Day family dinner. I used my mason jars to make Shirley Temple drinks and added a fun pink straw. Then we had macaroons (store bought) and my chocolate cupcakes with strawberry frosting.
Games
I found this love game at the store. Each card had a question like, “What is your favorite trip?” and “What is your favorite food?” It was fun to play with the kids and hear their answers. Here are a few activities I found on Pinterest that you could use for your Valentine’s family dinner.
Valentine’s Family Dinner
This Valentine’s family dinner is one of my favorite things we do together as a family. It doesn’t have to be about romantic love, you could easily do this with your girlfriends for Galentine’s. Forget about being Pinterest perfect, serving a 5-star meal or having fancy decor, the point is just spending a few moments together.
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