Valentine’s Day is coming soon. It is the biggest day of romance, full of flowers, chocolate, and fancy dinners. However, it’s not just about passion. Don’t get me wrong, should we shower our spouses and significant others with gifts of love? Absolutely!
Although Valentine’s Day revolves around romantic love, all kinds of love should be celebrated. Love for our friends, family, children, pets, coworkers, and all the other people in our lives that are special to us. This is a great day to spread some extra kindness in our world. Here are some ideas to make this Valentine’s Day special for all the loved ones in your life and even strangers too.
Friends on Valentines Day
- Send your friends a Valentine’s Day card.
- Treat a friend to lunch.
- Buy your friend a gift like a book, movie, or something else they have had their eye on.
- Buy your friend a gift card to download new books or music on their e-reader or tablet.
- Write your friend a letter about how much their friendship means to you.
Family on Valentines Day
- Send Valentine’s cards to family members who live far away. E-cards count too.
- Write to each member of your family a letter about how much you love them. Hide them somewhere they will eventually find them like a briefcase, lunch box, or purse.
- Host Valentine’s dinner for your family that lives close by.
- Take some time out of your day to help a family member. It doesn’t have to be something huge. Pick up your brother’s dry cleaning or a gallon of milk for your Mom. Let your sister’s dog out or pick up her kids from school if she’s running late.
- Make a special dessert your family loves for Valentine’s Day.
Children on Valentines Day
- Write on a post it note how much you love your child and put it in their lunch box.
- Surprise them with a balloon bouquet on Valentine’s morning.
- Send a special “sweet treat” with them in their lunch box.
- If you have older kids, text them an “I love you” message on their phone. This way they won’t be embarrassed around their friends.
- Spend some time with your child doing something you both love, even if it’s just an hour the evening of Valentine’s Day.
Pets on Valentines Day
(Hey, they’re a part of the family too!)
- Treat your dog to a new chew toy.
- Do some research ahead of time and see if you can take your dog to doggy daycare for the day. They will appreciate being able to expend their pent up energy and socialize. If this is not feasible, hire someone to take your dog for a walk in the early afternoon.
- Treat your cat to a can of wet food.
- Buy your cat some catnip and let them go crazy.
- Buy your cat a new cardboard scratcher or cat tree.
- If you have small animals, new chew toys and upgraded habitats are great ideas.
Coworkers on Valentines Day
- If you have a small office, take or make a sweet treat to take in.
- Buy a coffee, tea, or smoothie for your favorite coworker.
- If you see that something needs to be done (printer needs toner/ink, something needs cleaning, etc.) do it and help everyone out.
- If your boss doesn’t have a problem with it, have a lunch potluck.
- Buy gift cards in small amounts ($10-$20) and leave them randomly around your place of work.
Random Strangers on Valentines Day
- Buy a bouquet of flowers and hand them out to random strangers until they are gone.
- Put some coins in a parking meter that is running out.
- Write a few general notes of encouragement and leave them in sporadic places for people to find.
- Simply smile at someone. This can change everything.
- If you have a little library near you, donate a few books.
- Pay for the order behind you in the drive-through.
- Buy a gift card at your favorite coffee shop and ask the barista to use it for the next order.
- If you see a homeless person, buy them a meal and take it to them.
- Let someone who has a few items go ahead of you in line.
- Carry an extra umbrella or two in your car and give one to someone who is in the rain without one.
- Leave a quarter in the Aldi grocery store cart or enough for a soda in the coin return of the soda machine.
Spreading kindness throughout our communities is always essential but makes spreading Valentine’s Day that feeling extra special. Use some of the suggestions above and make someone’s day today.
Click here to download more ideas for Kindness in our Same Journey Roadmap.