Make Valentine's Day Family Day
Before your teenagers get ready for their special outings with boyfriends or girlfriends and you prepare a romantic dinner for your husband, take some time to give your family some loving.

Valentine Exchange
Buy some of those white paper bags elementary kids use as mailboxes for Valentine's Day, get out the crayons and heart stickers and encourage family members—even Mom and Dad—to decorate the bags and tape them to their doors. Shower each other with Valentines, from candy to construction paper hearts to cartoon cards. Showing love in little ways means a lot!

A Date with Mom
If your kids are younger—or if they're older and are dreading a lonely Valentine's—arrange a date with each of them. You might choose a day around Valentines if it's just too embarrassing to be seen with Mom when everyone else is out with their sweethearts. Get dressed up, go to a favorite restaurant, and spend some time letting your kids know you love who they are, one by one.

Personalize your Valentines
Giving a Valentine some thought and a personal touch often expresses more than a store-bought card. Here are some ideas for sharing your love in a special way.

Make your Valentines specific by thinking of a list of 10 things you love about someone and leaving it somewhere she'll find during the day—a breakfast plate, a pillow, a remote control.

Find a poem that makes you think of a loved one and write it out—to him from you—on a construction paper heart.

Make a mix tape or CD of songs you know your Valentine loves or that expresses something about your relationship—like the time you and your best friend took that road trip and sang along to 80s music all the way.

The most convincing sign of love is action. Think of some things your loved ones hate to do—dishes, babysitting, cooking, cleaning the grout in the shower—and make coupons to do it for them, redeemable upon request. Make a little sacrifice to make your love plain to someone this Valentine's Day.

Express Yourself

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