Celebrate Valentine's Day With the Little Things

Ah, love. What's not to love about love? 

We know not everyone is excited about the upcoming holiday of love. Valentine's Day is not for everyone. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to go all out for this holiday. If you have a bit of a romantic side and you enjoy showing your special someone(s) you care, we have a few easy ways you can add a little extra love into the Day. 

Self Love

First and foremost, why not show yourself a little love? Buy yourself a bath bomb, face mask, and some new pajamas. You deserve to pamper yourself! Baths and facial not your thing? Schedule a fun Galentine's adventure for you and your friends! Whatever you end up doing, don't let it include cleaning or meal prep, if there's one thing we're confident of, you deserve a break! A few other things you can do to make yourself feel good:

• Start a journal
• Do a random act of kindness
• Buy yourself some jewelry

Involve the kids

Kids love any excuse to celebrate, so let them! Break out the doilies, construction paper, and fun shaped scissors and let them decorate your house in pretty red and pink hearts. Want to make it a little more unique? Write messages about what you all love about each other and hang them where they can be seen. If you have older kids, you can have them plan and prepare a special fancy dinner for the whole family. Your kids will enjoy the festivities, and the entire family will feel the love. A few more suggestions for getting your kids involved:

• Have them make valentines for your neighbors
• Paint Valentine's Day themed rocks and hide them around your community.
• Pick a charity to donate funds or supplies throughout the year. 

Stay in

One of the downsides of planning a night out is that all the typical date night venues will be busy, and everything seems to cost just a little more than it does on ordinary nights. So stay in! Pick your favorite What A Crock Meal* and whip up some What A Crock Lava Cake. You won't have to spend time cooking, and it'll taste as if you ordered it from your favorite restaurant! Set the mood by having a cozy picnic with a soft blanket and some pillows on the floor surrounded by candles and flowers. You could watch a movie, or play some board games to add a few more laughs and a little more fun. Want to make the night a little more special? Try:

• Giving each other massages
• Planning out future dates - it gives you something to look forward to together!
• Creating a personal wine tasting, each of you picks out a bottle of wine or two and cheese or chocolate to go with it.

Paint the town red

Don't actually paint things (unless you're going to a paint night type of thing!.) But sometimes the idea of Valentine's date with your sweetheart is just what you need. So if you're thinking that you like the idea of heading out on a romantic date, but you don't necessarily want a big to-do, we want you to know that it is possible. Sometimes it can be hard to think out of the box, but you don't have to stick with the typical "dinner and a show" type of date. To start, try a day date. You'll have more energy and more options for fun things to do. Focus on activities, not just meals and the movies. When you're busy and active, you're more apt to make memories and enjoy the time. Not sure what to do? Try these:

• Ax throwing.
• A winery or brewery tour.
• A trampoline park, even without the kids!
• The local arcade and win each other prizes.

However you spend your Valentine's Day we hope it's filled with love, fun, and good food!

*What a Crock offers multiple meal delivery options that you can customize to your family's tastes. There are plenty of meal kits out there, but those still take time and prep work. When you order from What a Crock, you place a meal in your slow cooker in the morning, and you'll have a delicious dinner by evening. Even for special meals, What A Crock has you covered.