Despite
the fact that Valentine’s Day can be a bit of a contrived holiday, kids love
it! And with six kids in elementary school, it’s generally a very busy holiday
in my household. 

I try
to remember that it’s only a Hallmark holiday – there’s no point in letting it
cause stress. So, I have a few easy tips to keep Valentine’s Day in
perspective:

1. Keep it
simple

What puts me
over the edge is when the kids return home from school with gobs of Valentine’s
Day stuff. Gone are the days of the simple card. My children now arrive home
with bags of lollies, pencils, stickers and even gift bags! I continue to
resist the urge to conform. And when I say “urge”, I use that term VERY
loosely.

2. Card delivery system

Having your kid
address each Valentine’s Day card to a specific child turns the process into a
delivery nightmare. Instead, simply have them sign his or her name, and then
every card can go to any friend. And please, if you’re going to send in cards –
for goodness sake, send one in for every kid. No one wants to be left out on a
special day.

3. Keep
the romance out of it

There
is nothing grosser than seeing romance attached to children. I even get twitchy
when I hear parents talking about their five-year-old son’s “girlfriend”. Keep
the focus on friendship, not romantic love. And when it comes to picking out
cards, we go either gender neutral or I have my kiddos pick what they like
based on their own interests, and that’s what everyone gets. Yes, that can mean
girls get Valentine’s cards with trucks on them.

4. Don’t
forget the food allergy kids

I’m not
sure how people get around the whole “don’t send food into school for other
kids” thing on this day. It must drive allergy mamas crazy, unsure of what
their kids might be ingesting. Even mamas who don’t want their kids overloaded
on junk are guaranteed to have kids return home with sugar highs. My personal
take – don’t send in food treats. It’s just not necessary.

5. What
should mama do for her kiddos? 

Again,
I follow my standard rule of keeping it simple. I write a little love note and
sneak it into their lunchboxes with a special treat. Because my kids don’t get
adoring notes from me daily and aren’t bombarded with treats, this makes it
special for them.

How big
a deal is Valentine’s Day in your house? Do you go all out, or close your eyes
hoping the day will pass without much notice?