*This post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase on Amazon through a link on my site, your purchase helps support my family. Thank you in advance. All opinions are my own.
Let’s get honest here for a minute…Once you have children, Valentine’s Day changes. For many parents, getting out of the house on Valentine’s Day isn’t an option. Babysitters are expensive. We’re over-committed. We’re busy. A romantic evening is often traded in for a cozy family night at home. (And that’s okay!)
While Hollywood likes to romanticize Valentine’s Day, it’s truly a day to make an extra effort to show love to those you care about. I want my ALL of my family to know they are special and loved. We’ve tried to embrace Valentine’s Day as a family holiday, and love spending time together.
One of my favorite ways to show love is through food. I love to cook, and especially love to cook for people I care about. I also LOVE being thematic. Valentine’s Day really lends itself to a fun food-theme. This year, we will be having heart-shaped food throughout the day. At every meal, my family will have a cute (and tasty!) reminder that they are loved. Have fun sharing your heart with these heart-shaped food ideas.
Valentine’s Day Breakfast Ideas
Heart Bacon
This is made out of bacon. Is there a greater show of love than giving someone bacon? (Except maybe giving them a giant plate of donuts…..or if you prefer both, a plate of my Maple Bacon Donuts.) The Paper Mama is the clever lady behind these meat-candy beauties.
Heart Pancakes
Every year, I make the kids pink heart-shaped pancakes on Valentine’s Day. It’s a fun tradition that the kids have come to anticipate. If your hearts turn out a little lop-sided, feel free to put your batter into a clean squeeze bottle or pancake pen for better accuracy. (If you want to score some extra points, top the pancakes with whipped cream and Valentine’s sprinkles.)
Heart in a Hole
If your family is a fan of the traditional “Eggs in a Hole” breakfast, try this cute little twist. You can find the recipe HERE.
Heart Fruit Skewers
This would make an awesome breakfast side dish or accompaniment to a morning smoothie. This would also be a fun treat for the lunchbox! Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter and make your kids smile. Photo courtesy of 247moms.
Valentine’s Day Lunch Ideas
Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to create a fun sandwich. Use white and wheat bread to create a two-tone “puzzle” sandwich.
Send heart-shaped sugar cookies with pink frosting to school.
Make heart-shaped JELL-O jigglers.
Make heart-shaped Rice Krispy treats. (photo courtesy of spoonful.com)
Don’t forget to tuck in a sweet love-note or Valentine!
Valentine’s Day Dinner Ideas
Heart Pizza
How adorably easy is this?! I love this idea from One Charming Party. Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter, and cut pepperoni, salami, or even Canadian bacon into edible hearts.
Heart-Shaped Roasted Potatoes
Though a tad on the time-consuming time, who could resist a sweet little pile of potato hearts on their plate? I love serving up oven-roasted potatoes as an alternative to fries, and love this creative twist from Haniela’s.
Heart-shaped Burgers
I love this option. It’s cute. It’s easy. It’s gloriously kid-friendly. (And it involves the grill – which means the cooking duties would be split – at least at our house!) Plus, I absolutely adore a good home-made burger.
Make Heart-Shaped Food
At just $1.75 for a set of two (heart and star), this cute little egg mold is well worth the money. I LOVE giving my kids hard-boiled eggs. They’re packed with protein and super healthy. This cute little contraption shapes your hard-boiled egg into a sweet little heart or star.
We love waffles, and while I already have two waffle irons, this one is hard to pass up! Show you family you love them any morning of the year with sweet heart-shaped waffles.
I love making heart-shaped muffins and cupcakes for my kiddos. Even though it’s the same process as regular muffins, the heart-shape makes it feel as though I put in a little extra effort. The kids love it too! These are also great to make heart JELL-O jigglers!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks