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Photo from Martha Stewart
It’s almost that time again! Yep, the 14 Days of Valentine’s are fast approaching. I missed last year due to our miscarriage, and I’m excited to get to celebrate this year.
If you’ve never heard of it before, the 14 Days of Valentine’s is a great idea I got from my friend Anna (who always has the best ideas) a few years ago. Basically, from February 1st through the 14th, you come up with a small act of service, small present, or token of love to give to the person you love. The goal is completely selfless giving with NO expectation of reciprocation. So often, you can completely surprise the other person who isn’t expecting 14 Days’ worth of love and presents. You want nothing more than to make the other person feel loved, cared about, and appreciated. None of it needs to be expensive or over-the-top, though you can take it as modestly or as extravagantly as your budget and desire dictate.
Need some ideas? Here are a few I’ve done before and a few I’m thinking might make an appearance this year.
Photo from martha stewart
For starters, about half the people I know that do this try to incorporate the number of the day into the gift (i.e. TEN fingers to give you a massage, Dinner for the TWO of us, SIX ways to say ‘I love you,’ etc.) I’ll leave the clever wording up to you, but here are some ideas to get you started…
Love notes and tokens:
- A handmade, old-fashioned valentine *bonus points for using doilies
- A small container of “things I love about you”
- A handwitten note or poem
- A small booklet made with some of your favorite memories together
- Hearts decorated with “I love you” in different languages posted all over
- Homemade Valentine’s crossword puzzle (make your own here)
- A valentine’s playlist for their iPod (you could match the number of songs to the date)
Gifts or Presents:
- Everything for a movie night in or out (popcorn, a DVD, tickets, movie treats)
- A date to get their favorite treat out (gelato, bakery treats, etc.)
- Hot chocolate (you can even include heart-shaped marshmallows)
- Bubble bath or massage lotion
- A favorite Valentine’s candy
- Framed picture of you or your family for their desk
- A book or photo album
- Homemade coupon for something they need or want (Let’s go pick up ____ )
Acts of Service:
- Shoulder rub or foot massage
- Making the bed
- Packing a special lunch (bonus points for heart-shaped things)
- Cleaning up a bedroom, closet, or rooms around the house
- Taking care of a nagging errand/task the other person has been meaning to (or needing to) get to
- Polish their shoes
- Changing a habit (I know one friend who promised to turn the lights off when she left the room for a week–her husband was so grateful)
Homemade Food and Treats (I could go on forever here):
- Brownies, cookies, or other treat cut into heart shapes
- Molten lava cakes
- A cherry (or other) pie decorated for the occasion
- Heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast
- A favorite or indulgent food you don’t eat often, served for dinner
- A special Valentine’s dinner (always my day 14 present) *bonus points if you include candles and something nice to drink
What else can you think of, dear reader? I don’t have all my ideas nailed down for this year, and I’d love to hear what you have planned or what you’ve done in the past.
For more great ideas and inspiration, check here
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
What a lucky husband you have!
These are wonderful ideas for the ‘struggly’ amongst us, named: Me
I love it! That will be too much fun to pass up doing. Thanks for posting, Emily!
What an adorable idea. I have got to try this this year! You’re such a sweetheart to think of ways to make your husband happy, not only on Valentine’s Day but all days of the year. We should all be such wonderful wives!
Cute ideas, Emily! One thing I did in the past was to put a candy conversation heart in my husband’s lunch box every day when I made his lunch, starting on Valentine’s day and continuing for a whole year . That way he could feel the love all year long. The hearts were maybe a little stale by the end of the year, but really, who can tell with those things?
I think I vaguely remember when you’ve done this before, and I even tried to do it, but it didn’t work out very well. This year, I’m doing it! And it’s early so I can actually get prepared for it! If I come up with any other ideas, I’ll let you know!
THANK YOU for posting this!!! I am having my second brain surgery on the 15th of February and I have been so caught up in dealing with all of the details of the surgery and arranging my family while I am gone that giving my Wonderful Husband a valentine hasn’t even crossed my mind. This will be PERFECT! Especially since money is tight from all of the upcoming medical expenses. You Rock!!
Kellie, I wish you all the best on your surgery and during all the hectic-ness leading up to it!
Thank you. Just keep you posts coming! They always bring new thoughts to my mind of how to show the people around me how much I love them. Every post is inspiring to me, so Thank you for that.
hello, you have got it going,what about going shopping. buy youself something that micheal would give you. just something little that reminds you of micheal. something you would really like to have and it would remind you of micheal. my husband passed away he would allways buy a card he never put his name on it. he would put LOVE ME. i knew he allways did that just something we did he knew i would allways know where it came from. and now i miss those cards and things he did for me. so know my childrens does things. i want you to have a good time. wish i was near then i could baby set . you just have fun . will talk with you later. so you can tell me all about it. your friend hazel.