Valentine’s Day – a great family tradition
After sharing over 10 Valentine’s Days together, my husband and I have come to the practical, albeit very unromantic, decision that Valentine’s Day should be a celebration that includes our children. We’ve come to the conclusion that Valentine’s Day is a highly overrated holiday, when trying to make dinner reservations at our favourite spots is next to impossible, as is finding a babysitter. And after all, it is our kids who look the most forward to this funny ‘holiday’ – probably because it is hyped up too much at school and on television. But whatever the reason, our two young daughters really look forward to Valentine’s Day…..they prepare their valentines for their friends, enjoy the parties at school and look forward to the surprise they might find on the kitchen table the morning of Valentine’s Day from me (this year it consisted of valentines-themed board books and chocolates, and in other years it has included balloons or Valentine’s Day-themed cupcakes). And tonight, for the first time since I’ve known my husband, our dinner plans will not involve just the two of us, but will include our two little girls.
It is not that we do not enjoy each other’s company – we will just enjoy quiet dinners out on other occasions but Valentine’s Day. So tonight we have thought up a fun kid-friendly menu. It will consist of a fabulous meal where we each grill our own pieces of meat on a special ‘hot rock’ and for dessert we will make chocolate fondue, with strawberries, pineapple and bananas for dipping on melted chocolate. We are all just so thrilled about our meal, we can’t wait to spend tonight together as a family. And we hope that this Valentine’s Day will be the first of a new family tradition (interestingly enough this year Valentine’s Day weekend falls on the same weekend as the newly-introduced Family Day Weekend in Canada).
Maria
PerryWinkles Kids – fine girls’ smocked dresses
