Valentine’s Day. You either love it or hate it don’t you? I remember when I started to understand Valentine’s Day and I must have been about 9 or 10 and one of the lads in my class bought me a card and a box of chocolates! I can still remember what that card looked like and the song it played when you opened it! Fast forward the many years to now and I do still like to do something. BUT somehow it isn’t the same when you have kids. Most years we are racking our brains for Valentine’s date night ideas, as we are stuck in! It’s a tricky one, as Valentine’s is close to my Mum’s birthday and of course she wants to celebrate it too, so we lose a babysitter.
Plus do you really want to to go out anyway? Overpriced meals, a rammed cinema and maybe a little too much forced romance?
For us it has to be cards, possibly a present and a date night at home, if we can get the kids to bed! We try trust me but it doesn’t always go plan.
This year I was after some date night inspiration and as usual the blogging community didn’t let me down with their ideas!
Valentine’s Date Night Ideas
M&S do a great deal over Valentine’s usually. Treat yourself to a late dinner with some delicious food and a nice drink together once the kids have gone to bed. – Lyndsey from Me, Him, The Dog and a Baby.
A takeaway, drink and a mobile phone ban once the kids are in bed. That means no one has to cook and no ones skimming instagram all evening! – Rebecca from The Grey Home.
Plan a cold meal so it’s not ruined if you get interrupted by the kids – a sushi platter with fizz is our go-to meal on Valentine’s Day! – Natalie from Confessions of a Crummy Mummy.
My partner and I are going to have a game of Monopoly, with a chinese once kids are in bed. – Beth from Life as Mum.
We cook a three course meal, open a bottle of Prosecco and make sure the kiddos are fast asleep in bed! – Shel from the Willow Tree.
Bake some love themed treats together and scoff them whilst watching a cutesy Disney movie. Perfection. – Kate from Ever After With Kids.
Definitely movie night! We usually hire one we weren’t able to see at the cinema because we have kids. – Amy from All About a Mummy.
Plan to surprise him (or her) with a romantic after dinner candlelit bubble bath and massage with a lovely scented massage oil! – Liberty from Liberty on the Lighter Side.
Have a picnic on the floor with all your favourite picnic foods. Bonus points if you have the time to make some of them yourself! Add some chocolate dipped strawberries and bubbles et voilà! – Laura from Autumn’s Mummy.
We love to have a spa at home. So we get facemasks, nail varnish, massage oils/bars and pamper each other over a glass of fizz and a movie! – Kelly from Our Transitional Life.
We are probably going with a meal for 2, wine and a film. I did a similar thing for my most recent birthday and it was lovely. We have a hotel break planned but with a breastfeeding baby, we may be waiting a little while for that!
If you are staying in, have a lovely Valentine’s Day this 2020!
Thanks to all the bloggers who gave me some fab ideas!
It’s unreal how many parents must end up with the M&S meal, surprised they don’t just market it exclusively at adults with kids lol
So many amazing ideas, I love the different ways couples find time for each other.
I love the idea of having a spa night I think we might do that. Think we’re planning on writing some valentine themed journals together too!
A certain way to kill the romance of the night stone cold dead for us, would be to play Monopoly together. We are both too ruthlessly competitive and lacking in moral fibre… But a glass of wine, some nice food (maybe a sneaky takeaway) and a film sounds lovely – if only we could agree on what to watch!
These are lovely ideas, I am not sure what we will do. We are actually child free the week after due to differing half term breaks so we might hit the cinema x
We don’t tend to go out to be honest, I fond it too busy and overpriced. Last year we stayed in and the kids helped cook, it was great fun!
We tend to stay in and enjoy a M&S meal for two – gone are the days of romantic meals out
Oh to feel like we did when teenagers at Valentine’s! That excitement of not knowing if you’d get a card or not. Then having to work out who it was from! Gone are the days of secret admirers, as I’ve been married 19 years, and I do believe we’re heading off somewhere as a family this Valentine’s evening, as it’s the day the kids break up for half term!
We don’t really celebrate Valentines Day. For our wedding anniversary last year though, I gave my husband a hamper with some yummy goodies for us to enjoy for a ‘stay at home’ movie date night once the kids were in bed.
We normally avoid going our for dinner and opting for a small home cooked meal. It’s always so busy around Valentines day plus we celebrate our wedding anniversary a month later. But there are some new things we could try this year!