Family Home Evening Ideas for Valentine's Day

Family home evening is a special time to spend together.

Family home evening is a special time that Latter-Day Saints set aside each week to spend together as a family. Family home evening is a time to focus on building and improving family relationships, to learn a scripture lesson and to have fun together. You can incorporate Valentine's Day into family home evening through a variety of ways.

Read Heart Cards

You can read scripture passages together.

Create a small set of heart cards. On each heart, write a short question or scripture passage that speaks about love. Place the hearts in a pile and let each family member select a heart. Each child should read his card out loud. If the card asks a question, such as "What makes a good friend?" or "How can you show love to your family?" allow each family member to answer the question in turn. If the card lists a scripture reference, have the child read the scripture out loud and then discuss it as a family.

Bake Together

You can bake cookies or another treat together.

Choose a Valentine's Day recipe that is simple to prepare and spend some time baking with your family. Even ordinary recipes, such as cookies or a cake, can easily be spiced up with pink frosting or heart-shaped cookie cutters. Allow each family member to partake in the baking. Even the littlest children can help add ingredients or take turns mixing.

Make Valentine Cards

You can give a variety of cards away.

Supply your family with a variety of creative materials, such as lace doilies, construction paper, glitter and glue. Make a variety of valentine cards together to send out to church members, family members or friends. You can even send valentine cards to neighbors or hand them out to people in your community. Get creative in deciding the recipients of your cards. Perhaps your children would like to give a valentine to your postal carrier or bank teller. Write a scripture reference or word of encouragement on each card before you give it away.

Pray Together

Praying

One of the most important parts of family home evening is prayer. On Valentine's Day, take a few minutes to pray specifically for issues related to love and kindness. For example, pray that your family will find ways to demonstrate love to one another. You can also pray for others you know who may be struggling with feeling loved. Allow each family member to pray during this special time.

Reflect on the Holiday

Share a special scripture or love quote with your family. Talk about the passage or quote and what it means to you. Spend a few minutes reflecting on the purpose of Valentine's Day. Talk about ways you can improve your relationships and demonstrate love to one another more frequently.

References

• LDS Splash: Valentine's Day Lesson
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: Family Home Evening
• Read the Scriptures: LDS Love Quotes