TAKE VALENTINE’S DAY TO HEART
Hate the commercialism of Valentine's Day but want to embrace messages of love, kindness, and generosity? We've got simple ideas to make this day that celebrates love more special than ever.
–Jenny Friedman, Executive Director
Nine Small Acts of Valentine Love
Make a Difference...
The holidays are a perfect time for memory making. Here are ways to get started.
Take our February challenge. Have fun with this heart-themed 28-Day Kindness Challenge. Tackle one small act of kindness each day, or see how many activities you can complete on Valentine's Day alone. Reward your crew with a chocolate heart for their efforts!
Bake heart cookies to share. Create heart-shaped cookies - or simply buy fair-trade chocolates - and share them with friends, neighbors, or folks in need of extra love, like at a local care facility. If you'd like, decorate a clean white ceramic plate with permanent markers, then load the plate with goodies before making your delivery.
Create kindness bags for people experiencing homelessness. Visit the Assemble Care Kits for the Homeless page for directions on how to create these badly needed kits. Along with essentials like socks and granola bars, toss in Valentine treats to spread additional love.
Go on a kindness date. Start a Valentine's Day tradition by going on a "kindness date" with your child. What expresses love better than one-on-one time together? Here are some fun options.
Have a Valentine card-making party. Collect craft supplies (don't forget the doilies!), gather friends and family, and create Valentines for people at a local hospital or nursing home. Or mail them to Soldiers' Angels to be distributed to veterans (guidelines and instructions are on the website).
Join the Valentine's Day Pajama and Stuffed Animal Drive. Family-to-Family, a national nonprofit, is collecting new pajamas and snuggly stuffed animals to help children living in poverty feel special and secure. Check the Family-to-Family website for locations where you can send your gift.
Give Big-Hearted Gifts. If you're giving Valentine's Day gifts to family or friends, try to only give ones that spread kindness and love all year, such as a Kindness Magnetic Poetry Kit or Stars of Hope. You can even donate to DGT in honor of your big-hearted Valentine! We’ll even include a card to print or email your loved one to acknowledge your gift.
Color A Smile. Find "Happy Valentine's Day" templates on the Color A Smile website. Send your decorated pictures to the address provided, and they'll be distributed to nursing homes, Meals on Wheels recipients, and other individuals needing Valentine cheer.
Commit random acts of Valentine kindness. It's easy for your little ones to spread love on Feb. 14: simply leave hand-crafted Valentines for people to find at a gas station, in a park, or on tables at your local coffee shop.
VALENTINE’S BOOKS AND CONVERSATIONS
Talk About It...
Have a "heart-to-heart" with your kids about the importance of kindness and spreading love. Then brainstorm how to bring a new "giving" focus to Valentine's Day.
How can we make this Valentine's Day a real celebration of love and kindness? Is there an idea we can make an annual tradition?
Some kids in your school might feel anxious on Valentine's Day. Maybe they will worry that won't get as many Valentines as other kids. What could you do to make such a child feel better?
How can we spread kindness among the people we know? What about people we don't know who could use some cheer?
LEARN ABOUT IT
Celebrate International Book Giving Day on February 14th by giving a kindness book to those you love. Find some great options on our growing list of books about generosity and love or check out our complete collection.
INSPIRATION
"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."
– Dalai Lama XIV