Tips for Dad: Valentine’s Day with Kids

Hello Dads,

It’s your favorite family man The GoodFather here with a few Valentine’s Day ideas that you’ll be able to work in to your family’s busy Thursday night schedule. With a little preparation, this will be mom’s best Valentine’s Day ever. No, not your mom…I’m talking about your kid’s mom, your wife! Man, I can see that this is going to be harder than I originally thought.

Below you’ll find a few simple ideas to help you get started, but with any luck our readers will add additional tips in our comments section below so check back soon for updates!

• Card from the Kids: It doesn’t take a lot of money to melt your Valentine’s heart, and this great hack from Parent Hacks proves it. Make a huge cardboard heart and cut a large hole out of the center. Let the kids decorate the heart and then take their picture with their heads poking out of the center. The end result can be the perfect cover for a home-made card, or frame it with a bright red picture frame.

• Card from Dad (That Would Be You): It may seem a little odd to send your wife mail, but trust me on this one. Receiving a Valentine by mail will be an unexpected (and dare I say “romantic”) surprise, that shows you were thinking of her before the 14th. For delivery, you have two options to make sure it arrives on time (a) mix it in the mail inside your mail box to appear that it was delivered, or (b) drop it off at your local post office two days early for a more official delivery.

• Cook Dinner: It really is the thought that counts, so don’t worry if you aren’t much of a cook. Presentation is everything when it comes to a successful Valentine’s Day dinner, so cook whatever it is that you can make and focus on setting a romantic scene with candle light and the right music. If your kids are young, put a few paper hearts on their bibs and include them on the big dinner event. If your kids are older, make sure you feed them before mom is allowed into “Chez Daddy” and let them be the waiting staff for your romantic dinner!

For bonus points, you might want to pick two from the list. I think you’ll find that dinner will go a little smoother when mom has already received a Valentine earlier in the day. If she goes the entire day without a card or flowers, she might think that you forgot!

Do you have any Valentine’s Day tips for dads? If so, please share them with us using the comments section below.

Happy Valentine’s Day!
The GoodFather