Stay-home Valentines Ideas

Shrimp cocktail, grilled T-bone steaks, lobster tails, baked potatoes, asparagus, cherry cheesecake and wine. Family friendly rom-com.

Make a fun dinner that you don't typically make. Have some wine or bubbly with your hubby.

I'll be home alone but I got some great berries, grapes and apple slices at the grocery and a small angel food loaf. I can do short cake or fruit and dip!

I'm going to open a bottle of wine that was a favorite of mine and hubby's and have a toast to him!! I put red roses and a valentine balloon on his grave today.

You might google family valentine games. Depending on the ages of your kiddos you might find some ideas if that's what you're interested in.

I make brownies in a heart shaped pan. I love the picnic idea Dianne suggested. You can take it a step further and make heart shaped sandwiches using a cookie cutter. If you can find heart shaped ice cube trays, that would be fun.

Grilled cheese with tomato soup (heart shaped grilled cheese). Breakfast for dinner with heart shaped pancakes. Have the kiddos help with chocolate dipped strawberries.

Ok, now I have to have a grilled cheese sandwich. 💕

We usually just exchange cards, a little sweet/present for Kiddo, adults think of each other and give a trinket or so... We try not to expect that day to be the 'be all, end all' sort of event. More just a sweet little moment. Not that we aren't romantic with each other, just that we don't have big expectations. I think I'm making chicken burritos, which everyone likes, and maybe we'll have a nice drink in the evening. We don't really treat it any differently. And my husband will likely buy me flowers either today or next Sunday, when they aren't picked over. He knows I love flowers. All that said, we do keep it simple. Low expectations mean NO disappointment. (and he's such a sweetie all year round, so I'm pretty lucky.)

If we go out, we do it another less busy night or nice brunch date. On Valentines, when the kids were smaller, I'd feed them something easy and my husband and I would have a nice dinner a bit later. Popped kids in to bed early or put a movie in for them, and we just enjoyed our meal and had some wine. Wonderful desert (some special treat).

If you have a fireplace (in Arizona?), play board games and watch movies around a fire. Put the kids to bed and enjoy the rest of the evening with some bubbly and romance. We always enjoyed "indoor picnics" with a big sheet on the floor, either in front of the TV or the fireplace, and ate kid-friendly meals on that. It makes clean-up a snap (and you can put a waterproof pad, a lawn tarp or a cheap shower curtain liner underneath to catch spills. Depending on the age of the kids, you have have them make paper chains (red construction paper) or red crepe paper stream twists. Make a "family bouquet" putting some "I love..." comments on flower "petals" on cardboard or pipe cleaner "stems" and arranging them in a vase.

Pizza and a movie on DVD works well for me!

We used to go out to eat before kids. It was always crowded, over priced, busy, poor service etc. After the last debacle, I got smart & started making a fancy dinner at home. It changes every year. This year I'll make filet mignon, mashed potatoes or twice baked potatoes, asparagus, wine, fancy dessert. The kids like the main entrée or I would make them something separate. Actually, I think I'll throw in mac & cheese for the kids.
-I decorate the table with fancy dishes, white linen table cloth, red plates, heart shaped little dishes, candles.
-I decorate the house a little bit with lights, red & pink pillows, heart shaped cut outs.
-wine, his favorite beer
-a movie dvd to watch later. One for the kiddos & one for us

cooks something fancy you all like. Lobster tails are special occasion and I think a good price at Costco.

We give the kids cards and boxes of chocolates with breakfast in the morning and wish them a happy valentines day. We make an extra fancy dinner (like a fancy appetizer, good quality steaks, etc) and I always make a really special homemade dessert like a strawberry layer cake with fresh berries on top. We never go out on Valentines day...it's too much hassle. My husband and I often have a "valentines date" another night. We did this on Saturday...we had tickets to see a Shakespeare play and go out to eat. It was nice.

We don't usually do a whole lot for Hallmark holidays.
I love Mr. Fuzzy's barbecue, so he's going to grill dinner. He loves when I make his grandmother's chocolate pie, so I'm doing that for dessert.

We had a date night last week that we called an early valentine. Went to our favorite pizza place (where we had our first meal together) and then to a community theater production of "Venus in Fur."

Fun family dinner with a special dessert. And then, when you and DH really should be asleep (it is a school night, after all), you and DH "read under the covers".

I've always made a family dinner on Valentines Day, and a special dessert .

Wine, bread and candles makes any dinner special IMHO.