Love is in the Air

Oh my!  It’s February 1st!  And that could only mean one thing: the official countdown to Valentine’s Day has begun.  The pressure is on!

We know it’s official, because almost every store has an entire isle of paraphernalia dedicated to this blessed day: teddy bears for kids and adults, long stem chocolate roses for that special someone and Disney themed candy for the kids.  (Elsa and Anna from Frozen are sure to dominate the displays – as usual.  So brace yourself, people!)

I tend to not have a game plan until about about two or three days before this romantic event.  I’ll walk into a store and see it fully stocked with Valentine’s Day goodies and say to myself, “Oh, yeah!  Valentine’s Day is a coming soon.” Then I’ll walk out and won’t walk back-in until they only have two cards left (one without an envelope!) and the store displays are so bare and unsightly they look like they’ve been ransacked!

The stores are trying to give us a message: BUY, PEOPLE!  SPEND!

But we don’t have to be sucked into the consumerism of Valentine’s Day or be overwhelmed by it’s mega offerings of plush teddy bears so large, they need their own zip code, in order to do the day justice.  All that’s needed is to give the day some forethought.

I picked up this amazing little jar of A Year of Date Nights (by Hallmark) at Kohl’s a few weeks ago.

I considered it a must-have!  It’s chock-full of ideas to jump-start your date night.  I’m a sucker for his kind of thing!  And over on Welcome Home Ministry’s Facebook page for the next two weeks, I’ll be posting one or two neat ideas from this jar to get you in the mood and geared-up for the big day.

I’ve been married for 21 years, and thankfully, I’m not prone to having Valentine’s Day meltdowns (like I do on Mother’s Day).  By this point in my marriage I know that it doesn’t take a candle light dinner at an expensive restaurant (that you had to book six months in advance) in order to say, “I love you.”

And let’s remember that it’s NOT a competition – so don’t let all the Valentine and Cupid awesomeness on Pinterest intimidate you or scare you to death!  You’re going to be OK.

Honestly, the simplest, most frugal activity can say I love you just as much as an expensive one: like a night snuggled up together on the couch, watching your favorite date night movie with sparkling cider, that is, AFTER you’ve put the kids to bed, and you’ve tranquilized them (those maniacal little boogers!), so they won’t be getting up TEN TIMES to ask you for water or to use the bathroom or to pray . . . again!  Or to tell you they have a wedgie, and of course, to say . . . they love you.  (Ugh!  Go back to bed NOW!)

So hop over and “Like” Welcome Home’s Facebook page so you don’t miss any of the good stuff!  See ya there!