8 simple ways to stage a day of love for your family

Jet, Feb 16, 2004

Valentine's day is all about love, especially love for your family. Think outside the box of chocolates this year and try these eight simple, yet sincere gestures:

1. Enjoy "we" time.

Share the love and strengthen family bonds by spending the entire day together. Let each person pick a fun family activity, like an afternoon at the skating rink, lunch at the family's favorite restaurant and a pizza-and-movie night at home. Or vote on one event the entire family can enjoy.

2. Feast on love.

A sure way to a loved one's heart is through the stomach, so designate one meal of the day as the love feast. Make planning the menu, shopping for groceries and cooking the meal a family affair. Let your children design and decorate a special menu for the occasion and give each dish a creative name that reflects the spirit of the day. Or plan a love potluck. Invite your extended family and friends to bring a dish and spread the joy.

3. Design a love collage.

In lieu of traditional greeting cards, tap the creative spirit of your family by making love collages for one another. Round up art and craft supplies, old magazines and any odds and ends around the house to express your deepest feelings, Romare Bearden-style.

4. Preserve precious moments.

Got stacks of family photos collecting dust? Preserve treasured memories and start a family tradition by making a memory book. Visit the local drugstore or craft shop for basic supplies: large scrapbook with acid-free paper; acid-free glue stick to adhere photos to pages; scissors; colored pens or markers; stickers and decorative cutouts. Let everyone decorate the book with his or her unique flavor. Write funny captions and dialogue bubbles for photos. Embellish pages with stickers, cutouts and designs.

5. Hook up a love poetry jam.

Bored with "roses are red, violets are blue"? Get those emotions flowing and laughs rolling with a grab-bag poetry game. You don't even need to rhyme to play. Just grab three paper bags, enough pens for everybody and plenty of paper. Label the first bag "Kitchen Objects," the second "Movie Titles" and the third "Love Definitions."

Pass out the pens and paper, then have everyone write examples of an object they would find in the kitchen. Write down one object per sheet of paper, fold it up and put it in the corresponding bag. Next, write down a title of a movie, put it in the second bag, then write your definition of love and drop that in the last bag. Encourage your poets to write at least three suggestions for each category.

Finally, have everyone draw a slip from each bag and write a poem using their suggestions in 5 minutes or less. Make the game more challenging by pulling two or three slips from each bag to use in the poems. Then take turns reciting your odes to love.

6. Sing your sweet heart out.

Fill a bowl with candy hearts and invite everyone to take as many pieces as they want, but don't let them eat the candy. Instead, have them name one song with the word "love" in the lyrics for every candy heart they take. And they have to sing some of the lyrics. Whoever names the most songs gets a big hug and kiss and a heartfelt serenade from the entire family.

7. Kiss and don't tell.

Make loving gestures a frequent occurrence in your home by playing this fun game: Get each family member to come up with a small gift that relates to a kiss--a tube of lipstick or flavored lip gloss, a photo or drawing of people kissing, a bag of chocolate candy kisses or a framed sheet of paper covered with lipstick kisses and signed with your autograph.

Next, have everyone think of a word used in daily conversation or a simple gesture like yawning or scratching. Keep your word or gesture a secret. Each time a family member says your secret word or performs your secret gesture during the day, immediately give them a kiss. The first person to guess your secret word or gesture wins your token gift.

8. Box up your feelings.

Put your tender thoughts and wishes for your family into words by making love boxes. Give each person a small box with a lid, like a shoebox or a keepsake chest. Decorate the boxes to make them extra nice. Create love notes by cutting paper into small strips or shapes like hearts, stars and diamonds. On each strip, write one reason you love that particular person, then fill each person's box with notes. Open your boxes first thing on Valentine's Day to get the day off to a cheerful start, or make your boxes the perfect cap on a beautiful day spent together.