Celebrate a Romantic Valentine's Day with Kids in the House

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. Though my husband and I try to be romantic and show each other daily just how much we love each other, I like that there is one day of the year when we can go overboard with romance. However, as the parents of two small children, our romantic Valentine's Day evenings have had to grow and change. It is possible to have a romantic Valentine's Day celebration with your loved one or spouse with children in the house.

Celebrate with your children first.
Include children in activities and events during the day. Make Valentine's Day cards and decorations. Wear red, pink and white clothes. Give small homemade or store-bought cards and gifts. Have family hugs. Eat heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. Share the love that you have with your spouse with your whole family, whom I am sure you love just as much.

Put the kids to bed early.
If your children are young, hopefully they have a consistent and early bedtime routine already in place. Valentine's Day doesn't need to be any different. New movies are great ways to keep older kids entertained without much parental involvement. The key is for children to be in bed or otherwise occupied so that parents can have some much needed alone time as a couple on Valentine's Day.

Get out the fine china, and order take-out.
My husband and I have done this every Valentine's Day since we became parents, and we highly recommend it to other parents, too. We order take-out from a place in town, and we pull out our nicest dishes to eat off of. We set the table, light candles, and eat Red Robin burgers or Domino's Pizza on our nicest dishes. No one has to cook, but we still feel like we are having a fancy meal. Plus, it won't break the bank, either.